In foreign policy, presidents tend to take one of two approaches to engagement with other countries. Generally, a foreign policy decision is either a multilateral decision, secured by the agreement of multiple allies before being implemented, or a unilateral decision, made by the country in question without regard for garnering support from allies. Read this article to learn about foreign policy topics that dominated the start of George W. Bush’s second term in office. Pay particular attention to the sections on the war in Iraq. Then write 2-3 paragraphs to address the following topics.

Determine whether President Bush wanted to implement a more unilateral or multilateral approach to the war. Drawing on what you have learned in this lesson, speculate on why this was the president’s approach. Also, speculate about obstacles that stood in the way of this approach.