Fistful of Euros has an interesting discussion going about why the French and Germans haven't contributed to the reconstruction in Iraq - the idea is that surely it's in their interest to contribute, because of the influence they'd get in return.
Problem is, it's not clear that France and Germany could ever get any influence on postward Iraq given the present political climate. Bush has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to act on his own. When he has gone shopping for other nations' support, he hasn't been ready to make compromises or concessions; on the contrary, his primary bargaining tactic has been to speak openly of American power and suggest that he's doing other nations a favor by allowing them to participate. Under these circumstances, other nations would be foolish to get involved... unless their interest is to further American hegemony.
Post a comment