Still Not France So We're Still Going it Alone

America and New Zealand have been on the outs military cooperation-wise since 1985 when the New Zealand government got ansty about nuclear weapons on our ships and we refused to exclude them when going to New Zealand (or even confirming their existence on our ships).

Well, after twenty years, we are moving closer together. The New Zealand foreign minister stated:

"We committed ourselves to a forward-looking relationship as two countries and to strengthening that relationship in the future," Peters said after meeting in Washington with Secretary State Condoleezza Rice.

Well this is about time. It has been a while since we even had nukes on our ships, making New Zealand objections rather moot.

I was annoyed at their attitude at the time during the height of the Cold War, but we have new threats to worry about. This is no time to harbor grudges over past perceived slights. New Zealand's military is small but they are good quality troopers.

So add New Zealand to the growing list of countries who are moving closer to us despite the caricacture of the Left that we are unilateral cowboys alienating the world. At this point, France and Russia are about the only two major countries left to really join us.