Bush and European Leaders Reunite

In the run up to the war in Iraq, Democrats and liberals screamed about unilateralism despite the fact that we had numerous allies with us. You see, Germany and France were not a part of the "Coalition of the Willing" and therefore it was unilaterialism. The left moaned and whined that our standing was degraded by the thoughtful and nuanced Europeans seeing the folly of our actions and the "cowboy" George W. Bush has made us a laughingstock in the eyes of our "allies" across the Atlantic. The fact that France had, shall we say, a financial reason for not joining us was lost on the anti-warriors. Also lost was the way the left short-changed our newest allies such as Poland and Bulgaria.

Fast-forward to present and the current state of our relationship with European leaders. Angela Merkel is a close ally with the President as is Gordon Brown of Britain (update: he's been cold due to his political situation but that will change). But the most avid response we've seen from a European leader has to be from Nicolas Sarkozy, the new leader of France.

Sarkozy is currently in Washington D.C. and he seems to have a firm grasp on the seriousness of the Iran question as well as the greater War on Terror:

"Let me say it here before all of you: The prospect of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons is unacceptable for France," Sarkozy declared to applause.

"Iran must be convinced to choose cooperation, dialogue and openness," he said. "No one must doubt our determination."

Sarkozy said the Americans did not need to worry about France backing out of Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban challenges NATO troops. France has about 1,100 troops in the country.

"France will remain engaged in Afghanistan for as long as it takes, because what's at stake in that country is the future of our values and that of the Atlantic alliance," he said to more applause.

France did not live up to their NATO obligations under Chirac but with the advent of a new Europe and the undetermined future of Russia, Sarkozy is well-aware of the need for alliances like NATO.

This is all well and good for now as it is still the honeymoon portion of Sarkozy's rule, yet time will tell how he'll react if the only course remaining against Iran is the military one.