For all America's embarrassment in Iraq, none of its fundamental interests is impaired by Iraq's misery...The US may not get what it wants, which is to remake the world in its own image, but it well might get what it needs, which is the elimination of the prospect of threats greater than the sort that an aircraft-carrier task force or two can swat down in a few days...the US (like its European allies {and even its European detractors} ) continues to have an interest in preventing a new Shi'ite empire from dominating the Persian Gulf region, especially if such an empire might obtain nuclear arms...The US might simply begin aerial bombardments of Iranian nuclear-weapons-development facilities, although the cost of such action would be much higher oil prices and economic instability. China would suffer the most under such a scenario and understandably wants no such thing to occur. {"higher oil prices and economic instability," how about worldwide economic collapse?}...There simply is no reason to take preemptive military action in the immediate future, and no responsible power would employ this option unless it were quite necessary {since the Mad Mullahs are several years away from their insane quest for nukes}...If Saudi Arabia makes good on the threat offered by Nawaf Obaid in the November 28 Washington Post to sink the oil price {now happening at oil futures markets near you}, Iran's {inevitably decreasing} capacity to subsidize its increasingly indigent population will vanish..There is no point negotiating with the present regime in Teheran, which knows better than outsiders that it has barely a decade to stake its imperial claim in the region before economic and demographic factors push it into inevitable decline. With President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who has sublimated decline of Iran's position in the real world into an apocalyptic fantasy, there can be no debating. One has to drive a stake through his heart.
.... What does China want? ...China requires stability and predictability in its foreign economic relations.
What does Russia want? Stability on its borders, often at the expense of the aspirations of peoples who have the misfortune to occupy the Russian near abroad, and a free hand in arranging the economic affairs of the Russian state....
Fostering democracy in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Georgia and other venues was the silliest undertaking of US foreign policy of all time. Jacksonian Americans enthusiastically kill people who threaten them, and they do not mind too much the loss of American soldiers in the cause of US security, but they rise up in anger at the sacrifice of American lives {for no substantial reason}.
.... Cruel as it may sound, the United States has no interest in Ukraine, because the Ukrainians have no interest in Ukraine. Through immigration or infecundity, Ukraine has the hideous distinction of the world's fastest rate of population decline (tied with Moldova). The number of Ukrainians will fall by half as of mid-century. There simply won't be any Ukrainians to oppress a hundred years from now, and there is no point wasting powder on the place. {also the Russians have no interest in preserving Russia, either, by the same standards}...in a rational world, Bush would call Putin and say more or less: "Listen, Volodya, I have to admit that some of the inmates at the State Department overstayed their passes out of the asylum in the matter of Ukraine. I have reviewed the matter and decided that the United States has no interests whatever in Ukraine - nor for that matter in Georgia, Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. But you also must understand that we have some quite serious concerns about Iran, and we expect your help."
... The US president has it within his power to make the job of the Chinese government much, much easier. Bush should say more or less the following to Hu Jintao: "We understand and support your 'harmonious society' program. China's stability and prosperity are essential to the world's stability and prosperity. We understand that in the present economic transition, it would be of great help to China to eliminate the uncertainty associated with the value of the dollar against the yuan. Without publicizing the matter, we propose to keep the yuan-dollar exchange rate stable during the next two years."
... Once the America's mission changed from the delusional goal of promoting democracy in Iraq or Lebanon, to the achievable one of eliminating threats to the US and its allies (in this case Saudi Arabia and Israel {having allies who are mutual enemies is such a problem}), foreign policy would be fun again.