Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Embrace Germany
An article at The New Republic - which is currently inaccessible due to serious problems with that site's interface - notes a warming trend in US-German relations. Schroeder has gotten all the benefit he was going to get from playing the anti-American card and it wasn't that much. With the failure of the Franco-German axis apparent, he and Bush have mended fences to a significant extent. Meanwhile, a Franco-American force works toward a shared mission in Haiti.
The Bush administration has often handled alliances badly, but it would be unfair to ignore their successes as well. At this point, with the prospect of meaningful German help with Iraq at hand, it's only fair to credit them for making significant gains with Germany in the wake of the Iraq war. A certain Democratic challenger will need to ensure that his rhetoric tracks with reality on this score. If the Bush administration can answer charges that it has isolated America by citing revitalized or mended alliances, it will retain the advantage.
An article at The New Republic - which is currently inaccessible due to serious problems with that site's interface - notes a warming trend in US-German relations. Schroeder has gotten all the benefit he was going to get from playing the anti-American card and it wasn't that much. With the failure of the Franco-German axis apparent, he and Bush have mended fences to a significant extent. Meanwhile, a Franco-American force works toward a shared mission in Haiti.
The Bush administration has often handled alliances badly, but it would be unfair to ignore their successes as well. At this point, with the prospect of meaningful German help with Iraq at hand, it's only fair to credit them for making significant gains with Germany in the wake of the Iraq war. A certain Democratic challenger will need to ensure that his rhetoric tracks with reality on this score. If the Bush administration can answer charges that it has isolated America by citing revitalized or mended alliances, it will retain the advantage.
