Book Details U.S. Pressure On Allies Before War

[laststeamtrain]

Book Details U.S. Pressure On Allies Before War

By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 22, 2008; A01

UNITED NATIONS -- 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.

The rough-and-tumble diplomatic strategy has generated lasting "bitterness" and "deep mistrust" in Washington's relations with allies in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere, wrote Heraldo Muñoz, Chile's ambassador to the United Nations, in his book "A Solitary War: A Diplomat's Chronicle of the Iraq War and Its Lessons," set for publication next month.

"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, Muñoz wrote.

But the tough talk dissipated as the war effort worsened and President Bush came to reach out to many of the same allies that he had spurned. Muñoz's account suggests the U.S. strategy backfired in Latin America, damaging the administration's standing in a region that has long been dubious of U.S. military intervention.

<snip>

Muñoz said subsequent ties remained tense at the United Nations, where the United States sought support for resolutions authorizing the occupation of Iraq. He said that small countries met privately in a secure room at the German mission that was impervious to eavesdropping. "It reminded me of a submarine or a giant safe," Muñoz said in an interview.

The United States, he added, expressed "its displeasure" to the German government every time they held a meeting in the secure room. "They couldn't listen to what was going on."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/22/AR2008032201020.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq

[glowing]

1. I'm not sure how much more the world is going to take of us.. We are broke

We are occupying many countries with our bases and intervention. If McCain is elected, the world will turn on us. They are watching. If the United States elects to continue on the same path, we will be the enemy, and we will know what it will feel like to be in Iraq.

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. You have reason to be concerned - the World is getting more than just "tired" of the bully

.
.
.

South America is pretty well "lost" as friendly to the USA

Russia and China the same, except superficially politic-wise.

Ya can't just keep running around the globe killing everyone and expect the survivors to love you.

As bad as many other countries may be, they keep to themselves.

USA does not, and the World knows.

And we're tired of it.

Ready for change

[glowing]

4. Agreed.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Bullying tactics

spoiled bullies, no different than Mussolini....
schoolyard kids with bigger toys...

Do we have an emoticon for contempt???
We need one...