Bush's New Coalition


Al Kamen has such a wonderfully developed sense of irony. He doesn't always hit you over the head with things, he lets them slip in subtlely.

In the Loop, Friday, November 7, 2003 "Bush's New Coalition"
There is concern these days that some members of the Iraq "coalition of the willing" might be having second thoughts about hanging in there. Problem is that withdrawing would leave them dangerously coalition-less.

Not to worry. President Bush has got a coalition for you. He's formed a new coalition -- a kind of Third Way -- called the "Coalition of the Peaceful," which he announced last month on the eve of his Asia trip.

Bush, in an Oct. 14 meeting with Asian journalists in the White House, talked about efforts to defuse the ongoing nuclear threat from those wacky North Koreans. He mentioned that the four countries working with Washington in trying to persuade North Korea to back off were "making progress" and were all "making the very same point" to the North Koreans.

"And I will talk to the prime minister [of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi] about how to, you know, what we need to keep the process alive and strong," Bush said, "and to keep the Coalition of the Peaceful united so that we have one message and one voice."

Some Asian media and the Agence France-Presse noted the creation of this organization -- its members are China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States -- but it was scarcely noticed in the U.S. media.

It's unclear what regulations govern membership in the new group. Obviously, being a democracy is not essential. And non-Pacific countries should be eligible, since those in the willing coalition come from all over the world.

No doubt the French and the Germans will want to join this one -- there being no question about weapons of mass destruction in North Korea -- along with Nicaragua or Bolivia or other Latin American, Asian or African countries.

The only drawback might be getting named as a defendant in a potential copyright suit. AFP noted, "Ironically, 'coalition of the peaceful' is what the US Communist party called for in a March press release -- as a counterweight to the 'coalition of the willing' that backed the war in Iraq."

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