Posted on: Monday, April 28, 2003
EDITORIAL
Snubbing allies won't help post-war effort
If democracy ensures the right to disagree without fear of retribution, then the Bush administration isn't setting a great example on the global front.
Fresh from their military victory in Iraq, administration officials have made no bones about the fact that U.S. allies who opposed the war can expect to pay the price. This includes France, Germany, Russia, Chile, Canada and Mexico.
Topping the list, of course, is France, which sought to use its leverage on the U.N. Security Council, along with China and Russia, to thwart the invasion.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said recently that France would have to "pay some serious consequences" for its actions.
Meanwhile, President Bush has indefinitely postponed a long-scheduled May 5 trip to Canada. His excuse? The rebuilding of Iraq. That won't stop him from visiting in early May with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who gave support and troops to the U.S.-led coalition.
As for Latin America, where polls showed more than 70 percent of people were against the war, President Bush has been ignoring his old pal, Mexican President Vicente Fox. And a Free Trade Agreement with Chile has been put on hold.
Sure, these nations took a risk by not going along with the United States. But the reality is, if their leaders blindly followed America's wishes over the objections of their constituents, they risked being seen as U.S. puppets.
Payback might feel good. But there's a danger in alienating nations, particularly our closest neighbors, whose cooperation we will need if we're going to win the global war against terrorism.
Why, even the senior George Bush sees that. "We have differences with European countries, and they've got differences with us," he said recently.
"I worked on those relationships, and I feel confident when all this calms down, when Iraq lives within the international law, you will see the United States back together as allies and friends with both Germany and France."
We sincerely hope that's the case.
