Honey, the Cold War is over
An interesting comment by James Connaughton, the senior US negotiator at the Bali conference of climate change, for me sums up the main problem with the current US mindset to not just climate change but a wide range of issues.
"The US will lead, and we will continue to lead, but leadership also requires others to fall in line and follow."
The Guardian, 14/12/07
The Bush regime is trying to water down the follow up to Kyoto which is calling for a 25-40% cut in CO2 emissions by 2020 for industrialised nations. Canada is playing along with the US but the EU, China, India and well, the rest of the planet, are not going to dance to this tune.
For me, what is interesting in the mind set of the USA which seems like a hangover form the Cold War. While the USSR pretty much told what its allies should think, the democratic nature of the West meant that disagreement was more common. However, to present a unified position, the West generally deferred to the US on important issues.
The Cold War is over, but the USA is still acting as if it has the sole right to be the voice not just of the West but the planet. Leadership is contingent on others willing to follow. The USA has forfeited the right to lead.
Posted by Evil European
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12:08
1 comments:
Couldn't agree more. The Bushies are grumpy because their good mate John Howard got turfed out, new Australian PM Kevin Rudd signed onto Kyoto, and now the US is isolated like the only kid at the school ball who's not dancing. More and more, the other kids don't want to dance with them, it seems to me.
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