Whither Atlanticism?

It is interesting to read back to back these two articles Why we must break with the American crazies by Anatole Kaletsky in The Times and Come together, right now by Margarita Mathiopoulos in the International Herald Tribune. Well, I question Kaletsky's judgment here. Iran's President waxes lyrical about wiping Israel off the map, claims a green aura surrounded him and entranced his audience when he spoke at the UN, and eagerly awaits the arrival of the 13th 'Hidden' Imam, and it's Americans he calls crazy? Riiight.

To be fair he seems to be referring to specific American neo-cons as crazy not Americans in general in which vein he notes the recent piece by Norman Podhoretz The Case for Bombing Iran as being especially nutty. I've held the view for a long time that we should use a range of measures covert and overt (including bombing) against Iran which is not to say I agree entirely with Podhoretz's argument. I think the characterization of the Cold War as WWIII and therefore the current 'Long War' as WWIV is misleading and unhelpful (see Timothy Garton Ash's A long war? No, a long struggle). His claim that Iran puts religious objectives before national interest is not supported by the actual evidence of its relations with neighbouring states (for example its quiet backing of Christian Armenia in its war with Shi'a Muslim Azerbaijan; see the work of Ali Ansari including this Guardian piece Only the US Hawks can save the Iranian president now), and I'm almost certain that this story about the UK government's handling of the recent kidnapping of its sailors by Iran is an urban legend:

But then, as if this show of impotence were not humiliating enough, the British were unable even to mobilize any of that soft power. The European Union, of which they are a member, turned down their request to threaten Iran with a freeze of imports. As for the UN, under whose very auspices they were patrolling the international waters in which the sailors were kidnapped, it once again showed its true colors by refusing even to condemn the Iranians. The most the Security Council could bring itself to do was to express “grave concern.” Meanwhile, a member of the British cabinet was going the Security Council one better. While registering no objection to propaganda pictures of the one woman hostage, who had been forced to shed her uniform and dress for the cameras in Muslim clothing, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt pronounced it “deplorable” that she should have permitted herself to be photographed with a cigarette in her mouth. “This,” said Hewitt, “sends completely the wrong message to our young people.”

She didn't actually say that. Did she? We aren't that badly governed are we? Still, Podhoretz's argument is not crazy and Kaletsky's characterization of it as such is sloppy and lazy. What does he propose to do differently with Iran? More of the same (which is to say nothing)?

Here's what Mathipoulos says:

We in Europe need to wake up to the reality that we cannot afford a weak America.

Far from enhancing Europe's position in global affairs, America's failures have also been ours, from securing peace in the Middle East to curbing Iran's quest for nuclear weapons.

Conversely, success has come to us when Europe and the United States have acted in close partnership, whether it was winning the Cold War or building a global economy.

I agree.