Thomas Nephew, still reluctantly hawkish, responds to some of the "balking hawks" who have been driven back over the fence by the recent diplomatic meltdown. I recommend reading the whole post, which is a smart and, I think, pretty accurate assessment, particularly here:
It's true, we might have been able to finesse things better: Rummie could have shut up more often, Powell could have made a few more visits to European capitals. But what comes through, at least from the German media and blogs I read, is a fundamental difference of views, of "Weltanschauung." It's one I think is grounded in the belief -- possibly well-founded -- that Germany and Europe are too valuable as economic engines for anyone in their right mind to attack them -- and that's all they worry about. It's Europe as a super-Switzerland, and it's an interesting point of view. But it's not one I think will stand the test of Europe's own ambitions for itself. To be a "player," you need a real military, not the toy varieties that Europe fields, on average; but once you have a "real" military, you will acquire suspicious neighbors as if by magic -- especially in Europe. And the days of being a player without an army and a navy are waning, and will probably be over by Tuesday or Wednesday or whenever that vote is.Posted by Dr. Frank at March 15, 2003 09:42 AM | TrackBackThis doesn't mean we can't work with these countries ever again; we need to right now, and it will behoove us to be polite about it. But it also doesn't mean that we've lost some pearl of great price: the unconditional loyalty of other nations. We may have had something resembling that for a fleeting moment in world history. Now it's back to the usual situation: everyone looking out for number one. That's no more tragic than most periods in human history, and a good deal less tragic than some. Get over it.