Quote Originally Posted by walrus View Post
While of course its valid to suggest that what non Americans think is irrelevent, so who cares? I would point out that America had a huge store of foreign goodwill, built up from 1945 onwards and peaking in the days immediately after 911, that has now been squandered for no particularly good reason.

One can question the value of that goodwill, but I happen to believe it was valuable because I also believe that the concept of a unipolar world advanced in the "Project For a New American Century" is flawed.

To put it another way, alliances matter, and you never know when you are going to need friends.

Selil, a word of correction, the meta message is not "the message within the message" its the message you send by your actions when you don't think you are sending any message at all.

The classic "meta message" sent in the early days of the Iraq war was (reportedly) the billeting of American troops in Sadaam Hussiens palaces, in effect sending the "meta message" that the Iraqis have swapped one ruler for another. While the comfort was no doubt earned, it sent the wrong message, but perhaps I'm just being fussy and picky.
But are allies and friends the same thing? Must allies be friends?

Personally I think the only "friends" the United States has are the English speaking nations.