Curious George

TALK ABOUT A SECURITY NIGHTMARE. IN THE FINAL sprint of a peripatetic presidency, George Bush arrived in Mogadishu just as armed thugs were returning to the streets. "I doubt if any American President has ever visited a nation in such turmoil and such a state of anarchy," said Colonel Fred Peck, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition. Bush waved off the threat with characteristic thumbs-up bravado, stating improbably, "It's perfectly safe."

All the same, U.S. Marines stepped up security checks and erected razor-wire barriers around the sites Bush toured during his sweep through the capital, Baidoa and Bale Dogle. Troops also accelerated...