America's Greatest Casualty: Credibility

Washington Post ^ | 11/09/03 | Zbigniew Brzezinski

[Pokey78]

Forty years ago, an important emissary was sent to France by a beleaguered president of the United States . It was during the Cuban missile crisis and the emissary was a tough-minded former secretary of state, Dean Acheson. His mission was to brief French President Charles de Gaulle and solicit his support in what could become a nuclear war involving not just the United States and the Soviet Union but the entire NATO alliance and the Warsaw Pact.

At the end of the briefing, Acheson said to de Gaulle, "I would now like to show you the evidence, the photographs that we have of Soviet missiles armed with nuclear weapons." The French president responded, "I do not wish to see the photographs. The word of the president of the United States is good enough for me. Please tell him that France stands with America."

Would any foreign leader today react the same way to an American emissary sent abroad to say that country X is armed with weapons of mass destruction that threaten the United States? It is unlikely. The recent conduct of U.S. foreign policy, by distorting the threats facing America, has isolated the United States and undermined its credibility. It has damaged our ability to deal with issues in North Korea, Iran, Russia and the West Bank. If a case ever needs to be made for action against a truly imminent threat, will any nation take us seriously?

[Chi-townChief]

I didn't know old Ziggy was still alive; I guess all of the scum are coming out of the woodwork.

[Pokey78]

Next will be Scowcroft.

[Cicero]

I wouldn't be survived if Hillary channeled Acheson from the dead. He was, as I recall, a singularly bad Secretary of State.

[facedown]

Credibility

As compared to that of Carter?

[nothingnew]

Don't forget McNamara.

FMCDH

[neverdem]

This advice from the fellow who couldn't do anything but enable the Islamic fundamentalists to take over Iran has to be taken with a grain of salt.

He does make a good point about regaining credibility. David Kay's next report needs to be a lot more impressive to the rest of the world.

[Tacis]

Yeah, but de Gaulle wasn't on Fidelito's payroll!

[Brilliant]

It doesn't help that we have Democrats who are accusing the President of lying for their own political gain.

[EGPWS]

It isn't our foreign policy that generates a sense of credibility, it's the lack of support from our members of congress through their politic's before country attitude that has generated a credibility issue with the USofA.

[KC_Conspirator]

ZB has no credibility since he served with Jimmy Carter.

[RobFromGa]

THEN: At the end of the briefing, Acheson said to de Gaulle, "I would now like to show you the evidence, the photographs that we have of Soviet missiles armed with nuclear weapons." The French president responded, "I do not wish to see the photographs. The word of the president of the United States is good enough for me. Please tell him that France stands with America."

NOW: At the end of the briefing, Powell said to Chirac, "I would now like to show you the evidence, the photographs that we have of Iraqi WMDs." The French president responded, "I do not wish to see the photographs. The overwhelming evidence of the president of the United States is not good enough for me. Please tell him that France stands against America. We prefer to cast our lot with Saddam."

[pacpam]

Chirac would have told Powell, I do not need to see them since we provided them and we will not let you destroy them.

[Billthedrill]

Zbiggy had better put a sock in the "intelligence failure" approach. As the chief intelligence conduit to the president for four years, he was passing precisely the same information that his successor was. He just didn't get caught.

I will confess a certain impatience with the equivocation inherent in his simultaneous desires to support the putative peace process in the Middle East and condemn Israeli brutality. His own guidance in the form of a long-standing U.S. approach under the rubric of Camp David led us to the 9/11 atrocities. Clearly a different approach should at least be investigated. I think, also, that his "they only hate some of us" bleating was naivete at its height. It isn't all of "them," of course, but some of them hate all of us and proved it by killing anyone who happened to be occupying the World Trade Center on not only that fatal day, but on the previous attempt as well. These are our enemies, they really are, self-described, fanatical, and supported by some who call themselves our friends. Zbiggy's era of hopeful engagement came crashing down on September 11, and we're left with the rubble.

[thoughtomator]

The reason we need to prove what we say now is that for 8 years, people took Clinton at his word because he was the President of the United States. Once burned, twice shy. But we're getting back to where we once were.

[Jorge]

He does make a good point about regaining credibility. David Kay's next report needs to be a lot more impressive to the rest of the world.

Not only for our credibility, but for that of Clinton, Gore, Hillary, most of the Democrats, the UN Security Council, the intelligence agencies of most of the world including France, Germany, Russia and China.

The idea that we have to produce anything to regain credibility in the eyes of the rest of the world is joke. What hypocrites.

[neverdem]

"The idea that we have to produce anything to regain credibility in the eyes of the rest of the world is joke. What hypocrites."

Unfortunately, the hypocrites control the traditonal, "old", major media and have us at a public relations disadvantage. What happened to Saddam's WMD is still important. Going it alone has its benefits. So does having allies if possible.

[emcj111]

The possibility of war today between nations has pretty much disappeared, at least for the time being. Why? because the republicans and a few courageous democrats (which have also disappeared) were willing to accept the challenge of the Soviet Union. If we have any hope as a nation, that hope comes from being true to our constitution, values and moral standards,not the values of the French(Think about this). If it takes the French socialist to agree with me to make me feel okay, then certainly I've lost direction and my future.
We are a great country,but will never be perfect. We have done more to help others than any country I know of and will continue to more than our share. Would we be able to those things today if everytime some country disagreed with us we gave up to their way of thinking?

[nathanbedford]

How can you regain credibility which is dependent on credible intelligence when your intelligence assets are so broken they missed 9/11 and the WMDs in Iraq? He is right, intelligence must be fixed. But how can it be fixed when the Democrats' own smoking memo has betrayed them as unfit to manage America's intelligence services because they were caught trying to turn the Senate Intelligence Committee into a clone of the Civil Rights Commission? It is the responsibility of that committee to manage, oversee, and, if necessary lead the reforms which will gain us the intelligence which will keep us safe.

This is why the petty factionalism of the Democrats is so damaging to the nation in time of war. But this message is not being well articulated by Roberts et. al. All the public is hearing is, there they go again, Republicans and Democrats are squabbling.

[tpaine]

All the public is hearing is, there they go again, Republicans and Democrats are squabbling.
19 -NBF-

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All the public is hearing is, there they go again, Republicans and Democrats are squabbling about which faction told the biggest lies, when.

We are in the clutches of babbling fools in Washington, who have NO credibility left.