Posted by Dan Ewert : 1/31/2003 03:19:00 PM (Archive Link)
Love this article. Just love it. Much has been made about how Europe opposes action against Iraq. Well, turns out that most of Europe is in favor. It’s mostly just France and Germany who are being obstinate. Chirac and Schroeder are probably sputtering in indignation about this. Rumsfeld was right… France and Germany constitute Old Europe. New Europe includes a whole lot more people than just them.

Another interesting thing about those two countries is how they’re perceived by liberals in contrast to the United States. For many on the left, America in the Iraq situation is working purely in its own selfish, greedy military, political, and economic self-interests. The old nonsense talk of “oil-whores” (an Alec Baldwin quote) and “blood for oil.” France and Germany, though, are acting on very noble principles and that’s why they oppose action. Neither of these scenarios is the case. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Does America have military, political, and economic interests in Saddam’s downfall? Sure does (although the economic reason that’s hit on so much is probably the worst argument since the U.S. stands to lose more than gain in that respect). It also has some very good principles at work in protecting American lives, eliminating sources of weapons of mass destruction, freeing the Iraqi people from tyranny, and bringing a prosperous democratic republic to the heart of the repressed Middle-East. France and Germany are basing their policies on a few principles, but they’re also acting in their own national interests. France, for example, has lucrative oil contracts with Hussein. Any war in Iraq puts those agreements and profits at risk. Also, the populations of both countries have an anti-American streak and their respective leaders score big political points when they oppose the U.S. People tend to forget that France and Germany are countries like any other and countries act in their own interests. That’s what they do. They don’t operate in the world’s interests or in the interests of other nations unless said interests are compatible with those of their own country. So don’t be overly cynical about the U.S. or overly romantic about Europe.