Interesting BBC Article

On the end of the idea of "the West." Basically, the author notes that the idea of Europe, the UK, and the US as some kind of "civilization" really only dates back to the Cold War. But there was this interesting graph:

Americans aren't noted for their ability to turn the other cheek. Angry at European criticism and, as they see it, ingratitude, they've been hitting back sharply. A friend of mine, a former Senator - and by the way a Democrat, not a Republican supporter of President Bush - said to me "I don't ever again expect to see the French or the Germans pointing their guns in the same direction we're pointing ours. They're petty, they're envious and in their guts they hate us."

Okay. Note the preceding argument - that the idea of "the west" dates only back to the Cold War. That is, it was essentially a wartime alliance, and no more inherently stable than the alliance between the Soviets and the western Allies during World War II. So, if you agree with this argument (and I do) then it's not surprising in the least that the alliance is breaking down - Europe and the US have fundamentally different views, objectives, and interests in the world. Maybe not quite so divergent as US v. USSR, but more than enough divergence exists to break down a Cold War "friendship". No half-serious international observer would be surprised, and nobody could really take it personally.

But that's exactly what the Americans are doing. This senator uses words like "petty", "envious" and "hate." The American reaction to European anti-war politicians was also incredibly emotional, as if they'd slept with their boyfriends or some similar betrayal. Never mind that these governments were simply following public opinion - the American intelligentsia acted as if the Europeans were attacking the US itself.

I find it bizarre that a country that has really led the world for a half-century now should have such an immature view of foreign policy, but this isn't the first time the Americans have had this problem. When you look at most of the disastrous US adventures, they more or less come down to the Americans not understanding why other people insist on being and thinking different. This would be opposed to standard European imperialism, which simply didn't care. The US can bash the french all they want for being "jealous" and "surrender-monkeys", but the simple fact is that France and the US are two totally different countries. Of course France is going to oppose the US when it can. It has nothing to do with jealousy or irredentist Franco-imperialism. It's simply France looking out for it's own interests, when it can.

The larger question is: Can the US formulate a foreign policy where it doesn't need allies in strong European countries like Germany and France? The answer there is no, so the US might as well get used to the idea of shepherding it's allies when it can't, and dealing with it's own petulance before it lectures other countries.