Dilemna

Alan Cowell in the New York Times:

Somewhat on the defensive after Iraq's election, European leaders who had opposed the war welcomed the vote today, though with less than full enthusiasm...Indeed, said Timothy Garton Ash, an Oxford historian and expert on trans-Atlantic affairs..."The challenge for the British left in particular is: Are you for democracy in the Middle East even though Bush is in favor of it?"

...That same question applied in many parts of Europe where, some Americans believed, the urge to see an all-powerful United States humbled by an outright failure in Iraq far outweighed concern for the future of Middle Eastern democracy.

Well,that's a sophisticated position. Nuanced even. Humanitarian. Once upon a time the Left cared about the people, or so they said. Now they just want to screw the capitalists, but then they always wanted to do that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/31/international/europe/31cnd-europe.html