A Journey [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONAmerica's burden is that it wants to be loved, but knows it can't be. Love is given to nations with which we sympathise; nations that are victims of tragedy, oppression or even poor governance. Powerful nations aren't loved. They can be admired by their friends, respected by neutrals; they have to be feared by their enemies.This is especially so of a nation like America that is not only powerful, but aspires to lead. The leadership will be resented, sometimes actively opposed. It will also, however, be expected.This book, in many ways, is a story about America as well as, evidently a history of my time as British PM. In it, I describe my relationship with Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, with whom I worked closely, and also with President Obama, who I never worked with in office but who I work with now in the Middle East.With Presidents Clinton and Bush, I lived through some turbulent and difficult times. Their consequences resonate today and very often have provided the context for the decisions of the Obama presidency. Though this book covers the period from 1997 to 2007, it has a chapter about 200710 and the economic and security challenges that are current. In any event, as the reader will know, events after September 11, 2001, continue to reverberate. It is hard to know how we best navigate where we must go without knowing where we have been and how we got to our present position.Leadership is personal. People often think of leaders as the repositories of unique knowledge, even thought, who can survey, by reason of their office, things that others cannot. Despite the modern media way, which is to bring leaders down to earth and expose their frailties more rapidly and intrusively than in times gone by, there is still a sense in which the leader, and most particularly the president of the United States, remains on the Olympian heights. Mere mortals are still inspired