September 11, 2006
THEY ROLLED OVER FOR THE NAZIS AND COMMIES BUT YOU EXPECTED THEM TO STAND FIRM NOW?:
Stop blaming America for terrorism (Anne Applebaum, 12/09/2006, Daily Telegraph)
Since then, the changes in both foreign and domestic policy in the US have been profound. Although I don't need to remind anyone of the former, the latter have been largely invisible abroad.Living in Washington for the past four years, I watched as the American government reorganised itself, often clumsily, much as it reorganised in the late 1940s, at the start of the Cold War.
The Bush Administration – with the support of the Democrats in Congress and elsewhere – created an enormous new Department of Homeland Security, a new directorate of intelligence. The Department of State finally shifted its attention to the Muslim world; new funds were made available for the study of Arabic and Farsi.
For better or for worse, the conversation in Washington changed dramatically, too, and as a result is now largely focused on problems of Islamic fundamentalism, the Middle East, and democracy (and the lack thereof) in the Arab world. For better or for worse, the "war on terrorism" has become what the Cold War used to be: the focal point of American foreign policy, the central concern around which everything else is organised.
The same cannot be said of Europe. Despite the fact that the worst subsequent terrorist attacks have taken place here, not in the US – and although it now appears that the most dangerous pool of Islamic fanatics is here, not the Middle East – I don't detect a similar desire in London or Berlin to rearrange priorities or to change the tone of national debate, let alone to forge a stronger alliance with the US or to engage in what ought to be a joint project.
In part, this is thanks to the extraordinary diplomatic failure of the Bush Administration, which, believing its military power entitled it to arrogance, spurned America's traditional alliances and launched a war in Iraq without making any preparations for the consequences.
We're big fans of Ms Applebaum, but what could be more arrogant than the notion that American diplomacy might have made the Europeans behave like serious people after 90 years of letting us carry their load. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 11, 2006 10:45 PM
"In part, this is thanks to the extraordinary diplomatic failure of the Bush Administration, which, believing its military power entitled it to arrogance, spurned America's traditional alliances and launched a war in Iraq without making any preparations for the consequences."
How about: ... thanks to the extraordinary corruptions of the Chirac, and Putin administrations with cronies closely tied to Annan/Saddam's Oil-for-fraud program, believing they could stop America's military power by throwing roadblocks in the UN, reassuring Saddam he was protected by his henchmen in the UN, without making any preparations for the consequence when the Americans ignored their so-called allies and have done what need to be done to safeguard American lives.
Posted by: ic at September 12, 2006 2:00 AMThere is a lot of Anti-Americanism in Europe, but let's not exaggerate it.
If there was a lack of solidarity, why did NATO invoke Article V for the first time and why is Sarah Kreps, who worked in the Air Force from 1999-2003, holding a roundtable discussion at the American Institute of Contemporary German Studies today to discuss this question: "With overwhelming levels of international support, and numerous offers for operational assistance, why did the U.S. undertake the Afghanistan intervention almost entirely unilaterally?"
Don't forget Applebaum also said "While not entirely incorrect, the notion that President Bush has wasted international post-9/11 sympathy is not entirely accurate either." So it is complicated and ambigious and tried to address that in
To Defeat the Beast, Don't Feed the Beast, which is a quote from Germany's ex-Foreign Minister Fischer, who is now teaching at Princeton. He does not blame America for terrorism, but for making the conflicts worse due to policy mistakes. I think we can all agree that Europe and the United States need to increase all their efforts in the war on terrorism and have to choose the right and hard and painful rather than the wrong and easy and appeasing way to deal with the threats.
No, we'd disagree there. Europe is dying and appeasemnent is the most rational course.
Posted by: oj at September 13, 2006 9:47 AM