Bush will be remembered as the president who was hand-delivered presidential briefs warning of impending attack by al Qaeda, but who chose not to act until it was too late. He is the president of the administration that was unwilling to budget reinforcement of levies against the destructive power of entirely predictable hurricanes, a mistake that contributed to the destruction of much of New Orleans. Bush is the president that declared the end of the Iraq war when it was in its infancy. Bush is the president surprised and undermined by the criminal prosecution of corrupt operatives of the political machine and spoils system that brought him into power.

Bush's biggest surprise yet may be just around the corner. Like the other "challenges" it will largely be a disaster of his own making: both highly predictable, but nevertheless devastating. Bush's fatally flawed Middle East policies may drive either Russia or China to base nuclear missiles in Iran. China might do it in order to maintain needed access to natural gas and petroleum reserves. The US rejection of China's $18.5 billion bid to purchase a US petroleum company UNOCAL in 2005 has not been forgotten.  Rather, it serves as a reminder that access to reserves may have moved beyond the reach of buyers, to the sole province of occupiers.  China could also benefit from offering a "strategic nuclear umbrella" in the region as a checkmate to the US's forward Pacific naval deployment and maneuvers, endless administration rhetoric about Taiwan, and pressure for not doing enough to reign in North Korea. Chinese missiles in Iran would be a not-too-subtle rebuke to the US, simultaneously reaffirming sovereignty and the legitimacy of Chinese national interests without creating a direct threat to the US homeland.

Russia, for its part, might wish to create a "nuclear stockade" around territory the Kremlin does not wish to see turned into another Iraq or radioactive slag heap. By basing short and intermediate range nuclear missiles in Iran, Russia could send the unmistakable message that it is unwilling to tolerate yet another seething mass of violence and destruction created in its back yard by the US. It would buttress a standoff with Israel's nuclear missiles, many of which are believed to target Russian cities. Russia's key interests in deployment are the continued long term access to the Iranian market for engineering services and large scale construction projects as well as the protection of military exports. A Russian "sphere of influence" in a willing Iran would counter and balance the expected permanent US military presence in Iraq.

Russian or Chinese missiles in Iran would create a global standoff over Iran's nuclear program. It might even end Iran's uranium enrichment by eliminating the motivation to develop its own nuclear weapons. Such a move would also undercut the Bush Administration's stated designs for a "New World Order". A post Cold War realignment in the form of a Sino or Russian-Iranian military alliance would be a regrettable, but realistic great power response to the disastrous regional policies of neoconservative ideologues. It would be the final failure of the aggressive, but na�ve, policies of an administration that has been constantly surprised by its own shadow.