American Diplomacy: Nothing Surprising There

I remain surprised after reading something like this that the Canadian government actually had the gonads to tell ‘lil Georgie Bush to bugger off.

In the months leading up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration threatened trade reprisals against friendly countries who withheld their support, spied on its allies, and pressed for the recall of U.N. envoys that resisted U.S. pressure to endorse the war, according to an upcoming book by a top Chilean diplomat.

Then they followed up with the tried and true

“In the aftermath of the invasion, allies loyal to the United States were rejected, mocked and even punished” for their refusal to back a U.N. resolution authorizing military action against Saddam Hussein’s government, Mu¿oz writes.

Freedom fries anyone?

These are things that the western world seems unwilling to talk about anymore, but none of it went away, lil George hasn’t mended any bridges, and whoever gets to sit in the big chair come next January has a whole bunch of work to do.