The news items this week point to a severe international crisis pointing ahead (maybe within months of now). Sweden has enabled new surveillance measures on the heels of Germany.

The Treasury's man Paulson thinks procedures for future bank failures should be erected.

The Bank of England is warning the British that tough times are ahead and to downplay union strikes to protect against upward wage pressures.

What the British are reading now about credit, housing, inflation and employment projections are what Americans heard in January and February. The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets. So far, it is a carefully programmed and artfully implemented design.

Bush's European tour put other Western players into orientation - England and Germany, especially - to what is ahead. But it will be more than financial shocks; it will be an invasion of the Middle …