As Washington Burns...

It was Saturday, four days after the Monica Lewinsky story burst into the media frenzy that engulfed Washington. Bill Clinton spent most of the morning and afternoon with his political aides and lawyers trying to figure out how to deal with the crisis and agonizing over whether to brave a press conference or stand silent until after his State of the Union address. Then, at 4 p.m., he took an hour break from the mess to think about going to war. He walked into the Cabinet Room, where his top foreign and defense officials were debating whether and how to bomb Iraq, maps and target lists spread on the table. He had met with the same officials on the same issue two weeks before, and now plunged directly into the discussion. "He just picked right up," says a participant, "where we had left off at the last meeting."

For the Clintonites the anecdote is self-serving, but it tracks the President's astounding ability to wall off parts of his life and focus intently on the job at hand. The performance in the Cabinet Room speaks as well to a growing worry: Will the President manage to turn his gaze overseas often enough to protect U.S. national interests? Nervous foreign governments are wondering how much clout the leader of the free world can still wield, and how fast it might drain away in the bloodletting over Interngate. As Administration officials tell it, the scandal posed no problem. And to make the point more emphatically, officials say, "He certainly has no trouble concentrating on issues of war and peace." In other words, Clinton is thinking very carefully about whether to bomb Iraq and punish Saddam Hussein for defying U.N. arms inspectors.

Clinton has responded to paralysis at the U.N. by yanking the issue out of the Security Council and turning it into a bilateral American transaction. He dispatched Cabinet officers to capitals all over Europe and the Middle East last week. "I am not going anywhere to seek support," said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "I am going to explain our position." Her message: The U.S. welcomes allies, but will take to the skies alone if necessary. In Paris she managed to wring an agreement from France not to protest in public if the U.S. hits Saddam, but Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeni Primakov refused to cooperate even that much.

Albright will also try to persuade leaders in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to allow U.S. planes based there to take part in any anti-Saddam offensive. So far only Britain, which has sent an aircraft-carrier task force to the gulf, stands firmly with the U.S. on the use of force. Prime Minister Tony Blair, paying an official visit to Washington this week, will repeat that pledge.

Clinton hopes that all this capital hopping will convince everyone the U.S. means what it says and that pressure will mount on Saddam to reverse course. But White House officials glumly conclude he probably won't. To them, the term diplomatic solution means finding a way for Saddam to back down without losing too much face. It is much to be desired, says a senior adviser, "but it's unlikely." If it fails, Clinton is prepared to give the order to attack.