The Times of London is this week publishing excerpts from a book by its chief foreign commentator, Bronwen Maddox, In Defence of America, due for release September 11. The first extract, "America is not an environmental villain,’ which appeared September 1, argues that although the United States emits the second highest amount of greenhouse gases per person after China, it is in fact a country that holds environmental values close to its heart.
The second excerpt, "Why America needs a post-Bush makeover,' published September 2, offers a laundry list of suggestions aimed at helping the next U.S. administration improve America's world standing and strengthen its alliances. Maddox's recommendations include, "give a nod to co-operation,’ 'stop demonizing China,’ 'stay engaged in Iraq and the region,’ ‘consider talking to Iran’ and ‘drop the phrase "War on Terror" and shut Guantanamo.’'
While the first excerpt gives a relatively fair shake to environmental regulations and the environmental movement in the United States, and to the misperceptions of this reality abroad, the second reads more like a standard European wish list for American reform. Many of her proposals are in fact already being advocated by the two leading Presidential candidates, although John McCain might not go as far as Maddox would like in talking to Iran, for example, and Barack Obama is less likely to “stay engaged in Iraq.”
Generally, however, Maddox believes that her suggestions are unlikely to be adopted and, even if they were, would produce demands that Europe would be reluctant to meet:
"Any successor of George W. Bush will want to seem different. But Europe is going to be disappointed if it expects all the things it has disliked about Bush to fall away at the same time. That won't happen , and shouldn't. Europe will no doubt get something of what it wants in a president who sounds keener on working with other countries – but that could bring Europe itself a new discomfort. It would produce demands , for military spending, for trade concessions – which Europe, in turn, might not want to meet.'
