Friday,March 14, 2003
Vital Lessons on Iraq, France, Germany, U.N.
The French are good for something after all: We can learn a lot from this enemy. That's one of the lessons drawn by eminent British historian Paul Johnson.
In next week's issue of Forbes, Johnson offers "Five Vital Lessons From Iraq."
Lesson one. "We have been reminded that France is not to be trusted at any time, on any issue." Centuries of history have proved this to Great Britain, "but it still comes as a shock to see how badly the French can behave, with their unique mixture of shortsighted selfishness, long-term irresponsibility, impudent humbug and sheer malice."
'French Support Always Has to Be Bought'
"Americans are still finding out - the hard way - that loyalty, gratitude, comradeship and respect for treaty obligations are qualities never exhibited by French governments. All they recognize are interests, real or imaginary. French support always has to be bought. What the Americans and British now have to decide is whether formal alliances that include France as a major partner are worth anything at all, or if they are an actual encumbrance in times of danger."
Yowza!
Lesson two. Although many Americans think Germany is as bad as France, if not worse - think of its long history of warmongering, its comparable ingratitude for the Marshall Plan, and just weeks ago the photographic proof of those disgraceful appeasement activists in Munich dishonoring the American flag - Johnson says there is hope for the Germans.
"For many years Germany was one of the most dependable members of NATO." Now the "weak, unpopular and demoralized" socialist government has the nation "very depressed, psychologically and economically," with the soaring unemployment that accompanies socialism.
"Germany has been lured by France into a posture of hostility toward the Anglosphere, a posture that corresponds neither to the instincts nor the interests of the German people. Germany is a brand to be snatched from the burning," Johnson insists.
U.N. a 'Sink of Corruption'
Lesson three. Though its supporters try to pretend the United Nations somehow embodies idealism, "more than half a century of experience shows that the U.N. is a theater of hypocrisy, a sink of corruption, a street market of sordid bargains and a seminary of cynicism. It is a place where mass-murdering heads of state can stand tall and sell their votes to the highest bidder and where crimes against humanity are rewarded."
Latest proof: The extraordinarily abusive dictatorship of Libya gets picked to lead the laughable "U.N. Commission on Human Rights."
The British historian says Washington should have rejected London's wish to let the U.N. decide on Iraq. "In fact, going this way has done a lot of damage to U.S. (and British) interests and has given Russia, China and other powers the opportunity to drive hard bargains."
Stop Rewarding Phony 'Allies'
Lesson four. The split in NATO shows the alliance is an anachronism. "There is no longer a frontier to defend or to act as a trip wire; there is no longer a reason for the U.S. to keep large forces in fixed bases on the European continent - at great cost to the U.S.' balance of payments. These forces should be repatriated with all deliberate speed." Yes!
Instead of rewarding America-hating "allies" with the economic boost of our military bases, "the U.S. should put its trust in the seas and oceans, which offer a home and a friendly environment to its forces and do not change with the treacherous winds of opinion. The military lessons to be learned from the lead-up to the Iraq operation are profound, and all point in the same direction: America should always have the means to act alone, in any area of the globe where danger threatens and with whatever force is necessary."
Lesson five. "The U.S. must not merely possess the means to act alone if necessary; it must also cultivate the will," Johnson concludes. "Fate, or Divine Providence, has placed America at this time in the position of sole superpower, with the consequent duty to uphold global order and to punish, or prevent, the great crimes of the world. That is what America did in Afghanistan, is in the process of doing in Iraq and will have to do elsewhere."
George Will: Replace France With India
As long as we're putting the U.N. and the Frenchies in their place, did you see George Will's excellent column Thursday?
"War precipitates clarity as well as confusion, and the war against Iraq already has clarified this: The United Nations is not a good idea badly implemented, it is a bad idea," he began.
"For France, and for the United Nations through which France magnifies its own significance, the objective of disarming Iraq, if ever seriously held, has been superseded by the objective of frustrating America. And for America, the imperative of disarming Iraq will soon be supplanted by the imperative of insulating U.S. sovereignty from U.N. hubris."
Johnson suggests replacing France on the U.N. Security Council with a country that is actually important, such as India, and Will agrees.
"With India already the most populous democracy and soon to be the most populous nation, with its population growing more in a week than the entire European Union's grows in a year, why exactly is France (population 60 million) a permanent member of the Security Council?" |
