medmo
The Fly
I caught a little of David Gergen being interviewed on CNN the other day. For those who don't know, Gergen was a prominent advisor to Clinton, Reagan, Ford, and Nixon. He was discussing Bush's speech and second term, and he mentioned that he knew of people who were concerned that some European leaders were going to see Bush's words and the plans he laid out as a continuation of the wedge that has formed between Europe and the US.
He said some European leaders may be thinking along the lines of, 'if the kind of freedom you're talking about spreading is the kind we're seeing in Iraq, we're not interested'. I personally didn't interpret the speech that way, but then again I am not a European leader and have never been a presidential advisor.
Gergen said, though, that the concern is if Europe continues to distance itself from the US, they will be very likely to form an alliance, economic and/or otherwise, with China. Europe is already more open and willing than the US to deal with China, and if things continue the way they are going, the result may be some sort of super - alliance.
Things would change in many ways for the US if this happened, obviously, and Bush would not be judged very kindly by American history books. On the other hand, if his plans succeed, he will go down as a visionary. It is possible for both to happen, I guess, but the result would still be the US losing its position in the world. After all, the US and a handful of fledgeling democracies doesn't exactly pack the same punch as the EU and China.
This is nothing more than the slightest of possibilities, of course, but still interesting to think about.
He said some European leaders may be thinking along the lines of, 'if the kind of freedom you're talking about spreading is the kind we're seeing in Iraq, we're not interested'. I personally didn't interpret the speech that way, but then again I am not a European leader and have never been a presidential advisor.
Gergen said, though, that the concern is if Europe continues to distance itself from the US, they will be very likely to form an alliance, economic and/or otherwise, with China. Europe is already more open and willing than the US to deal with China, and if things continue the way they are going, the result may be some sort of super - alliance.
Things would change in many ways for the US if this happened, obviously, and Bush would not be judged very kindly by American history books. On the other hand, if his plans succeed, he will go down as a visionary. It is possible for both to happen, I guess, but the result would still be the US losing its position in the world. After all, the US and a handful of fledgeling democracies doesn't exactly pack the same punch as the EU and China.
This is nothing more than the slightest of possibilities, of course, but still interesting to think about.