SEOUL -- Roh Moo Hyun is agonizing publicly over a difficult decision he must make over the next several weeks: whether to commit a 5,000-strong South Korean brigade to Iraq.

How he goes about making this decision is as important as the decision itself and as revelatory of his leadership skills or lack thereof.

In this regard, the South Korean president appears to be reverting to a familiar pattern of pandering to the public, equivocating with his allies and swerving sharply from pillar to post.