From: Mongiovi Gary (mongiovg@stjohns.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 12 2003 - 11:40:08 EST
This is mind-boggling, and, for me, as disturbing as any recent development connected with the Iraq situation. One need not be a romantic about the Atlantic alliance, or its members, to think that the Bush government's attempt to demonize France & Germany to the American public is reckless and dangerous. These countries share a commitment to values that are indispensable to global peace and prosperity: democracy, human and civil rights, free speech, rule of law--the whole Enlightenment thing. For the most senior members of a western democracy to PROMOTE domestic hostility towards such close allies (the French are ungrateful cowards, the Germans are unreliable friend) because, in pursuit of their own interests, they refuse to take direction from US officials, is irresponsible in the extreme. I would never have thought any western government capable of diplomatic spite of this magnitude and foolishness. The Bushites are prepared to discard long-standing international friendships that have widely been presumed essential to western security and well-being. These friendships are grounded in large part on shared values, and the reason for discarding them is that our friends refused to bend over and take it up the ass from us. I am hard-pressed to think of comparable instances of willfully destructive behavior of this magnitude at such high levels of government. In the last six weeks or so I have truly come to understand the expression: "The inmates are running the asylum." I fear for the future of civilization. Gary Gary Mongiovi, Co-editor Review of Political Economy Economics & Finance Department St John's University Jamaica, NEW YORK 11439 USA Tel: +1 (718) 990-7380 FAX: +1 (718) 990-1868 E-mail: mongiovg@stjohns.edu
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