DOES AMERICA HAVE A STRONGER ALLY IN EUROPE?

Today I was reading an article from Newsweek International that I found on my MSN home page, titled “America’s New Ally, Jacques” by Denis MacShane, a Labour MP from England. Now, not being an admirer of the French government, this got my attention.

The article starts by stating that the United States of America has a “tarnished foreign policy”. I don’t agree with Mr. MacShane’s comment about our foreign policy. In fact, after reading the article it sounds like France as well as more of Europe is starting to come around to our way of thinking about how to proceed with the war on terrorism.

Jacques Chirac has come up with a number of initiatives that are aligned with America’s global strategy. The French are supporting the buildup of India’s nuclear energy program. Their government has signed an agreement to export French nuclear know-how to India. Earlier this year, Chirac indicated that France would use its nuclear weapons against any state sponsoring terrorism on French soil. This tells terrorists that there will be a cost to pay for any terrorist act. This is the same message our government has put out. France is also working strongly with us to stop Syria’s control over Lebanon. They are leading the effort to control Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and have strongly denounced Iranian threats against Israel.

This should all be looked at as a positive. I believe Chirac and his government have seen the light, and have reached the realization that France’s previous position on Iraq has not provided them any protection against terrorism. Today we appear to have a stronger ally in France than we did at the beginning of the war in Iraq.