“Israel is a democracy and a friend, and has every right to defend itself from terror,” President Bush said last Tuesday in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. On Wednesday, Israel actually did try to defend itself against terror, with tanks, helicopters, and troops aimed at shutting down tunnels used to smuggle arms to Gaza from Egypt and seizing those arms and ammunition. The Bush administration’s response? Secretary of State Powell said, “I believe the activities of the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza in recent days have caused a problem, and it worsened the situation.”The White House press secretary issued a statement second-guessing Israel, saying, “While we believe that Israel has the right to act to defend itself and its citizens, we do not see that its operations in Gaza in the last few days serve the purposes of peace and security.”

At the United Nations, America abstained instead of exercising its veto power and thereby allowed the passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1544, “condemning” Israel for its actions in Gaza.

It’s all enough to raise doubts about whether Mr. Bush really meant what he said that Tuesday morning. For if this is how the Bush administration treats its allies, it’s hard to see how it’s going to go about winning new friends as it seeks to lead the war on terror.