[OPE-L:8586] RE: France fried by U.S. Congress

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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