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“Ever since 9/11,” Billmon writes, “there’s been this attitude among the Bushies that the most important thing is to convince the world that America’s enemies (who are now identical with Israel’s enemies) represent the ultimate in evil–the Wal-Mart of evil, the Pittsburgh Steelers of evil, the Dr. Evil of evil. Once that goal has been accomplished, why then of course the ‘free world’ will line up and enlist in Uncle Sam’s army. Or so the thinking seems to be.
“To paraphrase a slogan, Manichaeism is not a plan. Other than Tony Blair, even our closest allies no longer buy the shining-city-on-the hill act–if they ever did (and Blair may just be a good actor with an eye for the main chance). The French, like the rest of the non-Islamic world, look at the United States and see a great big muscle-bound bundle of great power ambitions, resource hungers, security paranoias, and ideological arrogance –in addition to the good things America represents (or once represented, back in the day). They look at Hizbullah and see a complex mixture of religious fanaticism, grassroots loyalty, and political pragmatism–as well as Iran’s proxy in Lebanon. A problem to be handled, but handled with care. . . .
