I came away from the [Global Leadership Forum, in London] (portions of which I missed) with several broad impressions. One was that multilateralism has become virtually an end in itself. What matters to many Europeans and liberal-leaning Americans is the process rather than the results. What almost never gets discussed is what happens when one’s desire for multilateralism collides with achieving a worthy end (for example, trying to stop genocide in Darfur or prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb). The child-like faith in multilateralism as the solution to all that ails the world would be touchingly innocent if it weren’t so terribly dangerous.
It's almost as if "multilateralism" is only authentic if it involves endless conferences, no action on the topic of the conference, and a nice leather-bound final report in five official languages affixed with bright ribbons and official wax stamps that document the entire crisis from start to agonizing finish--prior to the West taking action, of course.
No number of nations acting in defense of the West counts as multilateral.
And there are the usual complaints about America that rest on nothing but Bush Derangement Syndrome. Read it all.
And then weep for the West. This was a "leadership" forum.
