Last month he waded deep into the Wye Plantation talks between Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu. In August he helped orchestrate a strike against Osama bin Laden. Berger cringes at the spotlight, fearful of bruising other egos, but there is no denying his insider status and influence. He and Clinton have known each other since 1972 when they worked together on George McGovern's presidential campaign. At the end of their daily national security briefings, they often swap jokes or answers to especially nettlesome crossword clues.
Nettlesome dictators remain a more intractable problem.
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