April 01, 2004
The principle difference will be everything.
Lileks:
"Senator Kerry, in the clearest terms, what would be the principal difference between the foreign policy of your administration and that of the Bush administration?"
Let’s just think back to 1942, and imagine a blinkered, stumble-tongued Republican saying that the real problem isn’t Tojo, it’s the lack of affordable transit solutions to get women to their jobs in the munition factories. Here’s Kerry’s reply:
Brian, the principle difference will be almost everything. This administration has been arrogant. I think they have been reckless. They have been overly ideological. They have pushed our allies away. I will bring our allies back to us.
By “allies,” of course, he means Germany and France. And perhaps our deep long-standing ally Russia. Kerry’s statement indicates that either he doesn’t know about the French government’s vested financial interests in Iraq, or he does know and thinks we don’t. Or he dismisses the story as irrelevant to the larger goal: building a body of international resolve that will meet any challenge by sending diplomats to exchange Frank and Honest Views in conference rooms, with that nice lemon tea they serve. Do they use a zest, or a peel, or just run the lemon along the rim of the cup? Whatever they do, it’s quite delicious.
I know this paints me as a buffoon of the tenth magnitude, but I don’t care what France thinks, and I wonder why some are so eager to seek their approval. France is the only nation that behaves as high-handedly as China and somehow has the moral reputation of Tibet.
How will he bring our allies back to us? By waving the magic ally-reassembling wand? No: by doing what they want us to do, not by doing the things they don’t. It’s almost as if Kerry believes that the point of a war is to have allies first and victory second. But I think I know what he’s doing. It’s an appeal to those who always say – always - that we “squandered” the goodwill of the world after 9/11. But in certain quarters that “goodwill” was equal parts pity, schadenfreude and the belief that we would now realize the errors of our ways. And note how no one ever talks about how the Palestinian Authority squandered the goodwill it got from the Oslo Accords. The Squander, it would seem, is a bird unique to our nation, and we alone are responsible for its care and feeding.
Read the whole phenomenal thing.
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Yeah. That's the kind of thing I keep meaning to write, and the only reason I haven't gotten around to it is I'm not that good.
Posted by: Gib at April 1, 2004 01:25 PM
I rather have foreign support than no foreign support. America has a lot fewer friends today than on September 12, 2001. I believe that the Bush administration's Iraqi foreign policy has contributed to this loss of support.
When America is looking for extra troops and cash to support its wars, I think we will care what France, Germany, Spain, etc. think. America does not have unlimited resources and we are stretched thin right now.
Posted by: Dan at April 1, 2004 02:34 PMLileks and neo-conservative believe support of our allies and squandered good will in terms of National Governments of these other countries and not the people these countries.
Having the people of other countries support us is important to me. Look what happened in Spain. According to the neo-conservatives Spain was a great ally they were totally on our side but in reality were they? Was is truly Spain who supported the war or was it only the Aznar gov't.
Posted by: PAUL at April 1, 2004 06:10 PM
