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| Home Front: Politix |
| Walter Russell Mead grades Bush foreign policy |
| 2004-09-04 |
| RTWT; covers the whole world, but this section stuck out. ... The real problem was Germany. It is interesting that the Kerry people have not made U.S.-German relations more of a focus, because, in fact, what has changed is that Germany sided with Paris rather than with Washington in this latest round. There are a lot of factors there, but I think the reality is that even before the invasion of Iraq, when Gerhard Schroeder was re-elected chancellor on a pledge to oppose Bush's policies no matter what, the die was cast. Bush at that point had not taken a lot of the steps seen as so provocative later. Another factor is that Europe, in the last 10 years, believed it was strong and getting stronger and more important [as a result of] the euro and the development of European institutions. The United States was going to have to pay more attention to Europe. And in the United States, very quietly, I think both Democrats and Republicans were thinking maybe in the future we'll pay less attention to them. The Europeans are not spending money on their military. They are not a source of threat, but they are also not particularly willing to do a lot to help us beyond their own immediate interests. And on probably our biggest long-term issue, the future of Asia, Europe has no real interest. You could look at a country like India, which is concerned about the Middle East and about the future of China, and argue that the connections between American and Indian interests are greater than the connection between American and European interests in the future. This is a tectonic shift. I blame the Bush people for rubbing salt in wounds and being unnecessarily provocative. But I think the structural changes in U.S.-European relations are probably something no administration could control. |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #8 The euros are becoming more insular and more more deluded by their own propaganda telling them how important they are. They really aren't, and their own opinions are walling them off. The future lies to the east,and we need to be involved in it. A billion lying cheating Chinese and a billion underhanded Indians both bear carefull watching. I would have to agree that the Chinese are generally liars and cheaters, but the Indians deserve better than that. They will give you exactly what they said they would. Not one whit more. Does not mean that they will give you what you thought you were getting, but that is semantics . . . |
| Posted by: Jame Retief 2004-09-04 8:14:56 PM |
| #7 The euros are becoming more insular and more more deluded by their own propaganda telling them how important they are. They really aren't, and their own opinions are walling them off. The future lies to the east,and we need to be involved in it. A billion lying cheating Chinese and a billion underhanded Indians both bear carefull watching. |
| Posted by: Slumming 2004-09-04 4:16:01 PM |
| #6 Good one, Frank! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-09-04 3:20:51 PM |
| #5 a Teutonic, not tectonic shift |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-04 3:09:19 PM |
| #4 The "Incomplete" thing does seems like a cop-out to me. However, note that Mead says he would have given Clinton the same grade at the end of his first term. On the whole, it sounds like an argument for a second Bush term. What I found interesting was the remark that under Clinton, everyone thought that terrorism had been pretty much dealt with. Uh-huh. As for the salt in wounds, that's just plain American talk, rather than Euro diplo-speak: "You guys are old has-beens" "We demand an apology!" "Ok. We're sorry you guys are old has-beens" |
| Posted by: SteveS 2004-09-04 2:40:25 PM |
| #3 .com, no offence taken. I think the whole report card idea is sort of juvenile my self and that's why I didn't include it. But his thoughts on Eruope and Asia in the midle para are interesting and might stir up some comentary by the always well informed Ranters. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-09-04 10:46:48 AM |
| #2 Grrrrrr. Mead makes an excellent case for discounting his opinions - his schizophrenia is running amok. He's almost honest, almost insightful, almost clear and almost worth listening to. He lays out arguments in one direction, then sort of apologetically concludes in the opposite. Repeatedly. Some of what he says, such as "rubbing salt in wounds", is just idiocy. His observations on Clinton are a no-brainer - though you seldom encounter anyone willing to tell the ex-Emperor he's naked these days. He seems to be fighting some internal battle between deserving his reputation and playing the deluded cloistered Ivy League academic twitter. This must be a ploy to keep those cocktail party invitations coming in, but not lose all self-respect in the process. A for effort / C- for achievement summed to an Incomplete. Must be nice to have zero deliverables and just sit in judgement on others - second-guessing, quibbling, splitting hairs. Grrrrr. Right. Well, sonny, some things just aren't microwavable. Have cake. Eat it too. Must be tenured. Sorry, Mrs D - I appreciate the post. Mead's a head case, methinks. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-04 10:38:18 AM |
| #1 Rubbing salt was a part of a resuscitation effort. Unfortunately, the corpse is mostly dead, rather than mostly alive. |
| Posted by: Zarathustra 2004-09-04 9:54:01 AM |