PRESUMABLY, outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has already sent condolences to his old friend, the former president of Lebanon, Amin Gemayel. On Tuesday, his son, Pierre, the 34-year-old minister of Industry was killed in Beirut when an assassin stepped up to his car window and shot him.

It is unlikely Gemayel’s murderers had the Rumsfeld relationship in mind, but it is almost certain that an American ally was killed because the United States is perceived to be weak. Our enemies likely see things something like this: Rumsfeld’s resignation in the wake of a resounding vote of no confidence in the Bush administration is another storyboard in the long narrative of American weakness, destined to end in a thorough rout of U.S. allies, interests, and policies in the Middle East.