So the United States has landed itself in an undesirable position: having to ask help from the people we scorned not even one year ago. With President Bush's announcement that the United States would seek help from the world's major powers and the United Nations to rebuild Iraq, the myriad nations not among the coalition of the willing have reason for some smug smiles.
So someone messed up. Just like when you grab the wrong book for class or forget that a paper is due tomorrow morning, a few people in high-level positions miscalculated the cost of liberating, occupying and rebuilding a country. Accidents do happen, right? Granted, most of us have not made a mistake that is putting soldiers' lives at risk and endangering our country's ability to move a state toward a better tomorrow.
This was not a mistake made by Bush alone, or only by his Cabinet, or departments, etc. It was a mistake made by many people and history will judge them accordingly. However, something that many average Americans are at fault for in all of this is the straining of relations with the countries with which we are now pleading for help, most notably France and Germany.
The surprising thing here is not that France, Germany, Russia and countless other nations are hesitant to send troops to bolster the coalition force in Iraq. The surprising thing is that they are even considering the move after the classless way in which we Americans slammed their sovereign decisions months ago.
Among the congenial behavior exhibited was a refusal by many to buy French bread. Nothing upsets French President Jacques Chirac more than Americans refusing to buy goods that are probably produced in Indiana or some such place. Equally praiseworthy were the moves made by certain members of Congress and legions of people with too much time on their hands to change the name of one of our beloved McDonald's foods to include \freedom"" in its title. A country that is supposed to be the melting pot of the world showed a level of xenophobia that was embarrassing, especially considering our views were in the minority.
France bore the brunt of the U.S. backlash, but our disdain for the other antiwar nations was also strong. We hated the fact that they would dare go against evidence that even now has not been proven accurate. We went on tirades because of their refusal to see the immediate threat, which we have yet to find was very immediate.
Knowing all of this, is it time to acknowledge that maybe we were wrong to come down so hard on the rest of the world? Because if we had not been so dismissive of their concerns, maybe we would not be in such an awkward position now.
We have to cover an $87 billion expense and are calling on some alienated friends to help foot the bill. Did no one think we would need allies in the future? Maybe France, Germany and the rest were being too disagreeable, but the way we burned our bridges with such influential and powerful neighbors is inexcusable. Such foreign policy is comparable to that of the totalitarian regimes of the last century.
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others in the inner circle can be held accountable, but it was the constituency who allowed them the freedom to do this. The people who joined them in spitting on ""Old Europe"" and others in opposition to the war are now the same people chastising those countries for not jumping to our aid. It is a miracle that Secretary of State Colin Powell has been able to get countries besides Britain, Spain and Poland to even discuss the issue with us in a way that respects our current position.
So next time we decide to isolate ourselves from the world's major players, Americans should, for once, use foresight and think about whether it will come back to haunt us at a later date. At this point, America would be fortunate to get any help.
