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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zoltan! who wrote (226977)	2/14/2002 7:48:06 AM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 769670

Incroyable!

To: Zoltan! who wrote (226977)	2/14/2002 7:59:13 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

This is an e- mail I sent Andrew Sullivan (heavily edited): andrewsullivan.com PHONY PROPHETS: Remember when we were being told that the Asian Tigers and the Common Market were going to outperform us economically, and being counseled to emulate Japan or West Germany? Back then, Declinism was taken for granted by all intelligent people. Of course, in the end, "directed capitalism" turned out to be "crony capitalism", where corruption ruled and bad loans threatened to break the economy; as for the European juggernaut, NATO relied on America to solve its Yugoslavia problems and Eurosclerosis has led to the end of the social democratic consensus. And now the very same prophets of American decline are terrified of American power. Are we supposed to care? ***************** As a matter of interest, the original e- mail: Good column. Of course, it is amusing to recall how recently we were being told that the Asian Tigers were going to outperform us economically, and being counseled to emulate Japan, or Declinism was taken for granted by otherwise intelligent people. Atlanticism was threatened by the EU, Europe would take over its own security, and the former customs union would become a new confederacy and economic powerhouse. Of course, in the end, "directed capitalism" turned out to be "crony capitalism", where corruption ruled and bad loans threatened to break the economy; decline was elsewhere; NATO relied on America to solve its Yugoslavia problems; and Eurosclerosis had the social democrats questioning their own welfare states. The thesis of American exploitation suffers somewhat from the obvious fact that those countries most under American hegemony (Germany and Japan) have prospered; that those nations that trade with us the most prosper; that we have put ourselves out with security guarantees and foreign aid, and are the mainstay of many multi- lateral institutions; and that we are so sensitive to world opinion, so much of the time. America may be the most powerful nation on earth, but much of its power is entangled in alliances and at the service of others. That some of those others turn around and spit in our face, as well, has created some rancor. The rest of the world should not be surprised at Bush's "unilateralism". The United States is determined to act like a superpower, for the first time since Ronald Reagan, and clarify things for those in doubt. We are not going to endlessly defer, no matter how strong the sentiment is about a particular matter. We are not going to renounce our sovereignty, de facto or de jure. Of course others are affected by our actions, and that is why we are so often willing to engage in bilateral or multilateral exchanges. But we are the ones carrying the greatest burden, and with that, the ones who must make the final call on a number of issues. And, let us be frank, we might be more willing to listen on some of these things if there were not a sneaking suspicion that antagonism to our country tainted the advice. If some countries are iffy about us now, how will they feel if we get fed up and really go it alone?