MAX BOOT ON DIPLOMACY AND “UNILATERALISM:”
Bush has gotten the most flak for, in essence, placing too much stock in the U.N., not too little. Like his father, he thought it could become an effective collective-security organization once it was freed of Cold War constraints. This approach worked in the first Persian Gulf War, because his father was confronting a clear-cut case of aggression — Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. But not even Bush père could have gotten U.N. approval for regime change in Baghdad.
That’s why he didn’t try. His son did — and nearly succeeded. His mistake was becoming a little too ambitious. Not satisfied with U.N. Resolution 1441, which passed unanimously in November, Bush unsuccessfully sought a second resolution (or, more accurately, an 18th). Now, like every U.S. president since 1945, he has embarked on military action without explicit U.N. authorization. . . .
It’s true that acting “unilaterally” — actually with a substantial “coalition of the willing,” in Bush’s words — increases distrust of U.S. power. But it’s far from clear what the consequences are. Will France and Germany stop fighting al Qaeda? Refuse to continue helping to rebuild Afghanistan? Torpedo the free-trade treaties they have supported? All possible, but all unlikely, because they didn’t undertake these actions as a favor to Washington — it’s in their self-interest to promote trade, stamp out terrorism and foster peaceful development in war-torn lands.
Political scientists warn of “bandwagoning” against a hegemon, and they might see some evidence of this in the U.N. debate, where France, Russia and China ganged up on the United States. But only one of these nations — China — is making an effort to challenge U.S. power, and then only in one region. France and Russia, along with the rest of Europe, are doing little or nothing to build up their military capabilities. If they were serious about taking on America, they would be forming a military alliance against us. No one imagines this will happen.
Why not? Because for all their griping about the “hyperpower,” our fair-weather friends realize that America is not Napoleonic France or Nazi Germany.
Indeed.