Monday, August 02, 2004
Killing time in Milan: Notes on Kerry's diplomacy (via email)
tonight. I don't know when I'll next be blogging up a storm, but I do want
to comment on an item from this morning's International Herald-Tribune.
On page 1 there is a story with the headline "Kerry vows to form new
alliance to help in Iraq." That's an interesting vow, and it attaches to a
claim that "as president he would be able to attract large numbers of new
foreign troops to Iraq."
How is he going to do this? He has implied in other contexts (sorry, no
links because I'm working via Blackberry) that foreign leaders will put tens
of thousands of their soldiers into the desert after his election because
they already understand that it is in their interests to do so, but they
have held off to prevent bolstering Bush's chances at re-election. This may
be true in certain quarters - the Elysee Palace, perhaps - but what country
other than France can project the kind of power that we need? The Russians?
Arabs?
More troubling is that Kerry has now hung a major campaign promise on
something beyond his control, the willingness of foreign leaders to commit
soldiers to Iraq. Those leaders, of course, now know that President Kerry
will need their help every bit as much as President Bush does. One wonders
what they will ask in return for their help, and what President Kerry would
give them. I hope that somebody asks him.
1 Comments:
By 
Another Person, at
Thu Aug 05, 05:18:00 PM:
Spot on, Jack. Kerry seems to be making a very amateurish error by predicating his success on the whims of other governments. Surely someone in the Senate for as long as he has been must be aware of domestic considerations in various lands far afield.
Much of the Kerry Doctrine for Iraq seems to come from a belief, apparently deep-seated, that other nations are holding back troops or assistance because of personal animosity towards Bush.
I'm just back from a few months in Africa. While I encountered many anti-Bush types there, few of them seemed eager to get involved in Iraq under any circumstances.
What spawns this belief, then?
