"Intelligent policy? You use that in regard to a collection of the opinions of a bunch of 10th-rate tinhorn dictators?"
I used it in regard to whether or not the policy of collaboration with allies is intelligent. I have no idea how that translates into the comments you make.
"The US wants to tell the consensus up which orifice it may shove its opinion and you object to that."
Objecting to shoving a consensus off an orifice is not the same as insisting that consensus must always prevail. How you come up with these unrelated responses I haven't any idea.
"What's wrong with that?"
I don't know. Is there a point which is hanging on what the Canadian or US GDP is at??
"You guys better hope you got this right. The consequences of a mistake could be disasterous. Your lovely UN stands a good chance of being shown up for the farce it is."
I have no idea what you are talking about. Nobody has been posting with me.
"If countries like France, Germany, and Britain can be scared off by a bunch of banditoes running around the hills of Yugoslavia, then the US really should forget about the UN and NATO"
I didn't say that someone was frightened by banditos. Here are some countries of Europe with populations:
Country Population Capital
Belarus 10,236,000 Minsk
Bulgaria 8,225,000 Sofia
Czech Republic 10,244,000 Prague
Hungary 10,036,000 Budapest
Moldova 4,380,000 Chisinau
Poland 38,765,000 Warsaw
Romania 22,327,000 Bucharest
Russian Federation 146,934,000 Moscow
Slovakia 5,387,000 Bratislava
Ukraine 50,456,000 Kiev
Northern Europe
Denmark 5,293,000 Copenhagen
Estonia 1,396,000 Tallinn
Faeroe Islands 43,000 Tórshavn
Finland 5,176,000 Helsinki
Iceland 281,000 Reykjavik
Ireland 3,730,000 Dublin (City)
Latvia 2,357,000 Riga
Lithuania 3,670,000 Vilnius
Norway 4,465,000 Oslo
Sweden 8,910,000 Stockholm
United Kingdom 58,830,000 London
Southern Europe
Albania 3,113,000 Tirana
Andorra 78,000 Andorra la Vella
Bosnia and Herzegowina 3,972,000 Sarajevo
Croatia (Hrvatska) 4,473,000 Zagreb
Gibraltar 25,000 Gibraltar
Greece 10,645,000 Athens
Holy See (Vatican City State) 1,000 Vatican City
Italy 57,298,000 Rome
Macedonia 2,024,000 Skopje
Malta 389,000 Valletta
Portugal 9,875,000 Lisbon
San Marino 27,000 San Marino
Slovenia 1,986,000 Ljubljana
Spain 39,630,000 Madrid
Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro) 10,640,000 Belgrade
Western Europe
Austria 8,211,000 Vienna
Belgium 10,161,000 Brussels
France 59,080,000 Paris
Germany 82,220,000 Berlin
Liechtenstein 33,000 Vaduz
Luxembourg 431,000 Luxembourg
Monaco 34,000 Monaco
Netherlands 15,786,000 Amsterdam
Switzerland 7,386,000 Bern
Europe is just a wee bit older than the US. These countries have traded territories and conducted war with outsiders and with one another for thousands of years. They do not have oceans separating them from armies and missiles and Comunists and Fascists and huge religious countries with directives from on High. If every State in the US was a different country you would think a little harder about every move you make. Separated and isolated from enemies, YOU may have the luxury to be arrogant and casual about the economies and the lives and the stability of these regions and nearby regions. They do not.
"Just when, since WW2, has the US threatened invasion of Europe"
Don't be perverse. Everything the US does affects the world. Economic warfare is more insidious for Nations sometimes than just being done with it.
"The logic here appears to me to be this:
Rescuing My Fair Lady is criminal kidnapping if done alone.
If done by a teenage gang, it's laudable."
What a strange comment. How fortunate that you are not part of the diplomatic corp! Who is the fair lady? Who is the teenage gang?
You have been acting perverse and wrongheaded about this from the beginning. Do you think this is just about the US?? You think there is some benefit in NOT at least attempting to make the invasion lawful? Do you think that an outlaw act will endear public support? Do you want your country demonstrating like they did in the Vietnam era? Do you want divisiveness eating the guts out of your people day after day after day?
Don't you know that the UN is not just about the US? It is about slowing down and controlling the aggressions of ALL countries and providing an intelligible process for separating lawless from lawful acts. Do you know how much incredible control the US has been able to exert on world affairs BECAUSE the UN provides a lawful means of exercising control over others???
"What was asked for was preparation for the defense of Turkey in the event it is attacked by Iraq"
Yes. I know that. I told you it was a political maneuver designed to crimp the US juggernaut. Turkey is not being attacked. Politicians are used to reversing policy when ever they need to for temporary leverage.
But let me tell you something before your distress eats you alive: You will get your bloody war. It is too bad that the willingness to ignore world opinion will cause so much anti-Americanism, protest, harm, and world friction and instability. You deserve better--but strength without intelligence or patience has never been a great combination.
All the allies over there are not so capable of self defense as you are. You have forced them to try to downplay their support in order to survive economically and actually. You don't seem to understand the difference between rowing a boat when everybody can be convinced to pull in the same direction, and rowing a boat in a whirlpool where everybody is using the rows as clubs. Nor do you understand the difference between having thousands of miles separating you from enemies, and having a few minutes separating them.
But, as I said...you will get your war. |
