" Much of what is happening here is personal. French President Chirac has been a personal friend of Saddam Hussein for over 30 years. Germany, Russia, China, and France do a lot of business with Iraq, providing communications equipment, infrastructure, and in the case of Russia participating in Iraq’s oil industry. Thus, not only will America become more powerful after a war with Iraq, if it wins, but Germany, Russia, China, and France would all be weaker, having lost a significant trading partner.
President Bush is not well liked around the globe, because he has not been subtle in his international diplomacy. He has not bowed to the more senior members of the big boys club, and instead has taken a book from the old days of Theodore Roosevelt and the Monroe Doctrine, where the U.S. would intervene actively in the affairs of other countries in order to further its own agenda, simply because it believed that it was the right thing to do, and because it could, just as any other country has done in the past and will do in the future. France is deeply involved in African politics, including armed conflict, but nobody seems to care. Russia is involved in Chechnya, but no one is worked up about it. Only President Bush is someone that needs to be held back. So there is a double standard being applied in many ways.
But, even if he has not looked good to non-Americans while taking care of business, in our opinion he has done well in a very difficult environment. Yes, he might have been more conciliatory, at least in appearances. And yes, he has alienated the French, who think Europe and Africa are their turf, although the feeling is not shared by Africa and Europe. He has upset the Germans who don’t like war, and whose economy is too bankrupt to be able to finance one anyway.
-- Dr. Joe Duarte |
