The big mystery is, where is President Clinton on national security business? The answer is, keeping mostly out of sight but very much involved and in charge - to the point of telling his top aides exactly what he wants them to keep in mind even before policy choices bubble up.
Clinton actually devotes considerable time daily to his foreign chores. But he shuns the world spotlight, partly to show the folks at home he's minding their business and partly because he's still leery about his international footing.He also may be skittish about hot issues like Bosnia and Haiti, where it's embarrassing for him to explain the contradictions between his present cautious positions and his bolder campaign promises. And perhaps he doesn't want to commit himself personally and publicly on crises that could blow up in his face.
So he encourages Secretary of State Warren Christopher to step out front. It was no accident that Christopher was the one to announce administration policy on Bosnia two weeks ago.
Surprisingly, the shy Christopher revels in the attention. Also surprisingly, he has emerged as a force in Cabinet-level discussions. He sits back, lets the debate unfold, then defines the issue, and later sets the terms of what's practical to do.
Defense Secretary Les Aspin has been more of an intellectual gadfly. It's not unusual for him to expound at length and with considerable creativity on several sides of an issue - without taking a clear-cut position.
Bosnia has dominated three-quarters of the White House meetings. Most other sessions have been devoted to Haiti, Iraq and Somalia. There hasn't been time for much else, though studies on longer-term issues are under way.
The Clinton team is working together very harmoniously. Personalities are not getting in the way of policy debates.
But senior officials do seem a little intimidated by Clinton. On a personal level, he treats them with huggability. On a business level, he's tough and demanding.
The president and his national security team all seem a little nervous. They've inherited a lot of knotty problems. And there's no prospect of an immediate success to build power and confidence. They badly need a victory under their belts before they will feel able to act with vision and boldness.