Five Vital Lessons From Iraq

Forbes ^ | 2 mar 03 | Paul Johnson

[white trash redneck]

The Iraq crisis has already pointed up a number of valuable lessons. So far I have identified five:

• Lesson I. We have been reminded that France is not to be trusted at any time, on any issue. The British have learned this over 1,000 years of acrimonious history, but it still comes as a shock to see how badly the French can behave, with their unique mixture of shortsighted selfishness, long-term irresponsibility, impudent humbug and sheer malice. Americans are still finding out--the hard way--that loyalty, gratitude, comradeship and respect for treaty obligations are qualities never exhibited by French governments. All they recognize are interests, real or imaginary. French support always has to be bought. What the Americans and British now have to decide is whether formal alliances that include France as a major partner are worth anything at all, or if they are an actual encumbrance in times of danger.

We also have to decide whether France should be allowed to remain as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, with veto power, or whether it should be replaced by a more suitable power, such as India. Linked to this is the question of whether France can be trusted as a nuclear power. The French have certainly sold nuclear technology to rogue states in the past, Iraq among them. In view of France's attempts to sabotage America's vigorous campaign to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction, we need to be sure that France is not planning to cover the cost of its flagging nuclear weapons program by selling secrets to unruly states. Certainly Anglo-American surveillance of French activities in this murky area must be intensified.

• Lesson II. Germany is a different case. The Germans are capable of loyalty and even gratitude. For many years Germany was one of the most dependable members of NATO. But the country is now very depressed, both psychologically and economically, with unemployment moving rapidly toward the 5 million mark and no prospect of an early recovery. With a weak, unpopular and demoralized government, Germany has been lured by France into a posture of hostility toward the Anglosphere, a posture that corresponds neither to the instincts nor the interests of the German people. Germany is a brand to be snatched from the burning; we must make a positive and urgent effort to win it back to the fold.

• Lesson III. The assumption, in many minds, seems to be that whereas individual powers act on the world stage according to the brutal rules of realpolitik, the U.N. represents legitimacy and projects an aura of idealism. In fact, more than half a century of experience shows that the U.N. is a theater of hypocrisy, a sink of corruption, a street market of sordid bargains and a seminary of cynicism. It is a place where mass-murdering heads of state can stand tall and sell their votes to the highest bidder and where crimes against humanity are rewarded. For many people the true nature of the U.N. was epitomized by the news that Libya, a blood-soaked military dictatorship of the crudest kind, is to chair the U.N. Commissionon Human Rights. It's people like Muammar Qaddafi who benefit from the U.N., who are legitimized by its spurious respectability.

Looking back on the last year, it is clear the U.S. should not have accepted Britain's argument that, on balance, the U.N. route was the safest road to a regime change in Iraq. In fact, going this way has done a lot of damage to U.S. (and British) interests and has given Russia, China and other powers the opportunity to drive hard bargains. President Bush should soon make it clear that, where his country's vital interests are concerned, the U.S. reserves the right to act independently, together with such friends as share those interests.

• Lesson IV. The split within NATO underscores the fact that in its present form and composition NATO is out of date. There is no longer a frontier to defend or to act as a trip wire; there is no longer a reason for the U.S. to keep large forces in fixed bases on the European continent--at great cost to the U.S.' balance of payments. These forces should be repatriated with all deliberate speed. There is obviously a need to have bases, which can be activated in an emergency, in states the U.S. feels can be trusted to honor their obligations.

Britain, which is not so much an ally of America as it is a member of the same family, will continue to serve as the geographical center of the Anglosphere and as America's offshore island to the Eurasian landmass. Other than that, the U.S. should put its trust in the seas and oceans, which offer a home and a friendly environment to its forces and do not change with the treacherous winds of opinion. The military lessons to be learned from the lead-up to the Iraq operation are profound, and all point in the same direction: America should always have the means to act alone, in any area of the globe where danger threatens and with whatever force is necessary.

• Lesson V. This last lesson flows from the fourth. The U.S. must not merely possess the means to act alone if necessary; it must alsocultivate the will. Fate, or Divine Providence, has placed America at this time in the position of sole superpower, with the consequent duty to uphold global order and to punish, or prevent, the great crimes of the world. That is what America did in Afghanistan, is in the process of doing in Iraq and will have to do elsewhere.

It must continue to engage the task imposed upon it, not in any spirit of hubris but in the full and certain knowledge that it is serving the best and widest interests of humanity.

[white trash redneck]

From the always-brilliant Paul Johnson

[Paleo Conservative]

BOMB FRANCE!

[EternalVigilance]

Very good!

I share his conclusions almost entirely.

[JeeperFreeper]

Great post. This guy's smarter than a tree full of owls.

[Caipirabob]

For shame, France!

Approching 2,500 rpms and rising...

[prognostigaator]

(Where)this country's vital interests are concerned, the U.S. reserves the right to act independently, together with such friends as share those interests.

The summation of all five points or lessons as indicated and stated by the author....

[AdA$tra]

Disarm the French.

[Cathryn Crawford]

Finally someone else is saying what I have said about Germany - it's worth saving, it just has to want to be saved, so to speak.

[sourcery]

It's a good thing we only have to deal with Chiraq, and not with someone much nastier and more competent, such as Cardinal Richelieu.

[neutrino]

There is another lesson. By and large (with certain exceptions duly noted) moslems are united. The rest of us had better get that way.

[KriegerGeist]

"But the country is now very depressed, both psychologically and economically, with unemployment moving rapidly toward the 5 million mark and no prospect of an early recovery."

Proof that socialism does not work. We should take a lesson that government taking total care of it's citizens from cradle to grave will cause us to end up in Germany's boat.

[UncleSamUSA]

Excellent, excellent article. I very much agree with all five of his "Lessons" -- though I remain a tad dubious about #2 on the Germans.

[sourcery]

In fact, more than half a century of experience shows that the U.N. is a theater of hypocrisy, a sink of corruption, a street market of sordid bargains and a seminary of cynicism. It is a place where mass-murdering heads of state can stand tall and sell their votes to the highest bidder and where crimes against humanity are rewarded.

Sounds like any socialist-controlled legislature, including our own Congress.

[Mister Baredog]

Lesson III. The assumption, in many minds, seems to be that whereas individual powers act on the world stage according to the brutal rules of realpolitik, the U.N. represents legitimacy and projects an aura of idealism. In fact, more than half a century of experience shows that the U.N. is a theater of hypocrisy, a sink of corruption, a street market of sordid bargains and a seminary of cynicism. It is a place where mass-murdering heads of state can stand tall and sell their votes to the highest bidder and where crimes against humanity are rewarded. For many people the true nature of the U.N. was epitomized by the news that Libya, a blood-soaked military dictatorship of the crudest kind, is to chair the U.N. Commissionon Human Rights. It's people like Muammar Qaddafi who benefit from the U.N., who are legitimized by its spurious respectability.

It makes me want to puke. And we pay for about one third of the bill for this giant convention of USA bashers . Time to move UN headquarters to Paris

[WOSG]

"Germany has been lured by France into a posture of hostility toward th ..."

false, Germany wasnt lead by France. The leaders did it themselves. The current German Govt has a Communist as a foreign minister , Joachim Fischer. If Cythia McKinney was named Secty of State our own foriegn policy would be equally looney. Just like Carter in the US, even a few years of such 'leaders' can do decades worth of damage to a country. Fortunately, we do not rely on such 'allies' for much beyond moral support.

[KriegerGeist]

"There is another lesson. By and large (with certain exceptions duly noted) moslems are united. The rest of us had better get that way."

Exactly! Plus, Muslims are willing to die for their religion by killing and destroying as many lives not of their religion as possible, whereas Christians are willing to die for their religion trying to save as many lives not of their religion a possible.

[libstripper]

France's role in WWII was far more pro-Nazi than most of the sanitized history we have learned in our public schools tells us.

The recently-published book, "An Army at Dawn," shows that the only major WWII action fought by the French Navy was against the U. S. Navy. This was the largest single fleet surface battle we fought in the European theater. We defeated them. Then the rest of the French fleet, rather than join the Allies, scuttled itself. That emulated what the German High Seas Fleet did immediately after it surrendered to the British at Scappa Flow in the immediate aftermath of WWI.

Naturally, the Froggies, not being satisfied with their great fleet action, had to figure out another, even more disgusting, prodigy of collabaration. They did it by enthusiastically helping the Nazis to murder most of the French Jews. The Italians, although they were allied with Germany until the middle of 1943, made a far greater effort to avoid participating the the Holocost.

[edwin hubble]

Paul Johnson...

One of the great minds working today.
The force and the clarity of his writing are powerful.

[Bonaparte]

"Germany is a brand to be snatched from the burning; we must make a positive and urgent effort to win it back to the fold."

The majority of Germans showed what they thought of us when Shroeder's America bashing put him over the top in the last election. That's good enough for me but apparently not for Johnson.

Germans have no problem with the Chirac/Schroeder plan for dominating the rest of Europe through the phony "EU." They support Franco-Germanic ambitions for political and economic conquest of Europe and the destruction of the national sovereignty of their neighbor states. That's good enough for me but apparently not for Johnson.

They support Germany's policy of profiting from ties to terrorist sponsor states. That's good enough for me but apparently not for Johnson.

The French and German public support the terrorists, not their American ally. Let them go their way and suffer the consequences.

[caltrop]

Johnson's right on the money as far as bringing our troops home from their various overseas postings - particularly Germany where they've had no mission for more than a decade.

His question about whether or not we let France remain on the Security Council not only shows he's divorced from reality but also an amazing degree of arrogance. If there's anything he should have figured out it's that a more likely result would be the addition of a few more countries to the Security Council's Permanent Members. France's position on Iraq has plenty of support around the world. We're the ones who are isolated.

I'd also question his argument that taking the Iraq question to the UN was an option. I suspect the Tony Blair made it clear that, without UN cover, he was on mighty thin ice and would have a tough time staying on board.

Finally, his assertion that we'll have to intervene around the world more and more is, IMHO, ill considered. IMHO we should, when we have the option, leave things alone in areas we don't understand and avoid future disasters like Somalia and our very expensive presence in the Balkans.