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Diplomacy isn’t their strong point

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In recent months, Bush has said repeatedly that he would like to avoid war, that he has hasn’t formally resigned himself to war, and that the U.S. will “seek and strive for peace.”

For all the White House’s rhetoric, these sentiments are not true and never have been. The administration has made its commitment to “diplomacy” clear by browbeating and intimidating other countries at the United Nations while arrogantly proposing that the future of the institution is on the line.

Yesterday’s Washington Post reported, “A senior diplomat from another council member said his government…was told not to anguish over whether to vote for war. ‘You are not going to decide whether there is war in Iraq or not,’ the diplomat said U.S. officials told him. ‘That decision is ours, and we have already made it. It is already final. The only question now is whether the council will go along with it or not.”

With diplomatic efforts like these, it’s no wonder America’s place in the world has fallen so precipitously. Remember during the 2000 presidential campaign, when Bush routinely said he would “strengthen our alliances” around the world if elected? Of all of this president’s broken promises — and there are just too many — this is probably the one that he has broken more dramatically than any other. Carpetbagger believes Bush will be remembered for years to come for the brazenness with which he has ignored America’s standing as a world leader. Whereas heads of state around the world used to seek public support by highlighting their ties to the United States, for the first time in Carpetbagger’s lifetime, international leaders now seek election (or re-election) by running against the U.S. (see Brazil, Germany, South Korea — which are supposed to be U.S. allies — for some of the higher profile examples). With diplomatic efforts like these underway, it’s not hard to understand why.

Our next president, whoever he or she might be, will have a herculean task simply repairing the international alliances Bush has casually cast aside.