A NEW WORLD ORDER (FOR REAL THIS TIME)

You don't have to be Collin Powell or Jacques Chirac to find American unilateralism problematic. The breakdown of the Atlantic alliance bodes well for neither Americans nor Europeans. But a frank reassessment of the international order shows that tremendous decay has set in over the past fifty years. The United Nations routinely makes a mockery of its self-proclaimed ideals, acting at best as amorally inefficiant and at worst as the conduit for the propaganda of the world's tyrannies. There is room however for a grand deal that can put the Atlantic alliance back together, and create a more just, more effective world order. America will agree to once more act as a good global citizen (using the proper international channels, increasing its investment in foreign aid, cooperating on international treaties) if the Europeans replace their formalist approach to international law with substantive commitment to expanding liberal, humanistic values. In other words, no more anti-American rallies masquerading as U.N. Conferences. No more Khadaffis chairing Human Rights Commission. No more hijacking of international fora to scapegoat Israel for the world's problems. As distateful as this multilateral idealism may be to European diplomats, its got to be preferable to an unrestrained global hegemon.