"The house that George built"

Al-Qaeda has regrouped and morphed into new and deadly forms across the Middle East and beyond (authoring recent attacks in Pakistan, Algeria and Yemen). And the Arab-Israeli conflict, once difficult to resolve has now become an even more problematic, suffering from US neglect and misplaced intransigence.

In fact, the only areas offering a glimmer of hope are those where others have stepped into the breach (like Lebanon) to offer a steadying hand.

These new and ugly realities have been shaped by the recklessness of the Bush Administration. And while the president cavalierly dismisses the resultant disarray with the claim that history will prove him right, that is pure fantasy. The mess he leaves behind says otherwise.

And the perfect irony here is that in implementing his allies' "Project for a New American Century," the president has brought about the opposite result. Instead of positive transformation, he has created chaos, and instead of establishing American power, he has only made clear the limits of that power, effectively weakening the American role in the world.

This is "The House That George Built" and it, like the famed Yankee Stadium of old, will be with us for generations. Make no mistake about it, history will be a harsh judge. There will be no monuments built to George W Bush, and no one eager to see his records broken. Only a dramatic change in direction and hard work will enable the US to recoup the stature it has lost and rebuild the fractured nations and tattered relationships this president leaves behind.

The writer is the president of the Arab American Institute, Washington DC