Link: Charles Krauthammer on Iran on National Review Online.
I am sick of the cheap anti-Americanism of the British media. The Guardian, in particular, would back Satan himself in any conflict with the United States. The supposedly conservative rags are little better. Even the otherwise sound Jeremy Clarkson is unhinged on this subject.
OK, so our own superpower days are ancient history. Perhaps we can be excused for having forgotten that envy and resentment goes with the territory. But do we really have to join the envious and resentful ourselves?
It seems from the linked article that America quietly traded some Iranian "assets" in Iraq (spies and trainers of terrorists) for our sailors and marines. This, after the first Foreign Secretary from the Caravan Club was beaten to the diplomatic punch by Channel 4; after the EU refused even to threaten trade sanctions against Iran and after the UN Security Council all but spat in our eye. As Mark Steyn puts it
The British ambassador to the U.N. had wanted the Security Council to pass a resolution ''deploring'' Iran's conduct. But the Russians objected to all this hotheaded inflammatory lingo about ''deploring,'' and so the Security Council instead expressed its ''grave concern'' about the situation. That and $4.95 will get you a decaf latte. Ask the folks in Darfur what they've got to show for years of the U.N.'s "grave concerns" -- heavy on the graves, less so on the concern.
Understandably, Americans are irritated by European midge-bites:
The capture and release of the 15 British hostages illustrate once again the fatuousness of the “international community” and its great institutions. You want your people back? Go to the EU and get stiffed. Go to the Security Council and get a statement that refuses even to “deplore” this act of piracy. (You settle for a humiliating expression of “grave concern”). Then turn to the despised Americans. They’ll deal some cards and bail you out.
Uncle Sam may not be the perfect ally. But he's the best one we've got. The occasional "thank you" might not go amiss.
