Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Barack Obama pledged on Friday to repair damaged relations with Europe, saying the world came together following the 2001 terrorist attacks but then "we got sidetracked by Iraq."
"We must be honest with ourselves," Obama said. "In recent years, we've allowed our alliance to drift."
The new U.S. president said that despite the bitter feelings that were generated by Iraq, the United States and its allies must stand together because "al-Qaida is still a threat."
Yeah, sorry we drifted away from sophisticated European thought and liberated 25 million Iraqis by removing a bloodthirsty and aggressive tyrant who hoped to dominate the region to our detriment. Oh, and we turned back an al Qaeda's offensive in Iraq, which at one time al Qaeda considered their central front in their jihad against us.
But despite that thunderous applause for our president, those cheering Europeans aren't going to sign up for his Afghan surge any more readily than they signed up for George Bush's Iraq (and that includes either Bush for either 1991 or 2003). Their cheers and a buck will get you a small coffee.
God love him, but President Obama really seems to believe that the Europeans are one good speech away (if he can get that speech on their iPods) from developing that Gordon Brown puppy dog look and signing up for the good war in droves, like some sort of Children's Crusade. (Although I'll admit the Brits have been stand-up allies in Iraq and Afghanistan, had Blair acted this way toward Bush, the "poodle" cry would have been out in full force. That insult and "chicken hawk" have been retired for the duration of the Obama presidency.)
I mean, as long as we're being honest with ourselves.
