Lost in the tragedy and noise of the Tucson shooting has been a comment made by President Obama during a press conference last week with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Obama stated that “We don’t have a stronger friend and stronger ally than Nicolas Sarkozy, and the French people.” Apparently our president wasn’t paying attention in his history classes, and hasn’t been watching the news for the past ten years.
This statement is over a week old now and I have just heard it yesterday, but the Brits have heard it and there has been predictably negative reaction in the UK press. Patrick Mercer, a former commander of the Sherwood Foresters regiment, stated in the Daily Mail “I’m getting a bit fed up with the American President using terms like "best ally" so loosely”. Every American should be infuriated by these careless comments. Great Britain and the United States have a very special relationship that is unmatched by any other nation. When the chips are down and we need someone to stand behind us the Brits never fail us. Can the same be said of the French? Of course not, in fact they often go out of their way to point out when they believe we are wrong. Obama has repeatedly over the past two years insulted Great Britain with seemingly little thought. Who doesn’t remember the bust of Winston Churchill that was given as a gift post 9/11 that was returned by the Obama’s? Or Obama refusing to meet with the British Prime Minister after his inauguration?
The French are our ally, but to raise their allegiance to that of the British is absurd, and one has to look no further than recent history to prove it. In 2003 when the U.S. invaded Iraq the French were outspoken opponents of the war while Tony Blair and the British supported the move. Even now in the war in Afghanistan the British have 10,000 troops serving in Helmand Province almost three times the number of French troops. No country beside the U.S. has lost more servicemen in Afghanistan that the British with approximately 350 killed. The French are third on the list after Canada with approximately 50 combat deaths. While the number of war dead itself shouldn’t signify the strength of an ally the numbers can be used to see who is shouldering the burden, and more fully committed to the cause.
Some point to the experience of Obama’s father and family under British colonial rule in Kenya as the cause for is dislike of America’s greatest ally, but whatever the reasons Americans need to be concerned that our president in damaging our most important international relationships. Sarkozy has admittedly been more pro American than previous French leaders and our relationship with France is important, but not so much so that he should risk alienating our other friends. For a president that gave an entire campaign speech on the importance of words, and has recently called for a return to civility due to the power of the language being used in public debate, it is hard to imagine he does not understand the ramifications of these statements. While I find it difficult to believe that Obama is intentionally doing harm to our international relationships, I do believe that he undervalues the significance of them, and he probably doesn’t see why all our allies shouldn’t be held in equal accord. His naiveté with regard to the international consequences of this philosophy is disturbing at best, and we can only hope that the British and our other allies know that we the people understand the significance of these relationships, and in 2012 we will elect a president who does also.
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