Uncle Sam, your aim may not ring true but thanks for the protection

US President George W Bush is not attending the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development currently taking place in Johannesburg.

He has decided to send his Secretary of State, Colin Powell, instead. It's a bad decision by Bush. Not because his absence will make much difference to environmental protection or the alleviation of world poverty. It won't, but it sends a negative message about the US at a critical moment in its war on terrorism.

Many European commentators have fixed views about Bush and his foreign policy. They particularly dislike his proposal to invade Iraq, arguing (unlike American critics of an Iraqi war who believe it would not be in America's interests) that the US wants to protect its oil supply, not just rid the world of Al-Qaida.