*** Wolfowitz throws Tantrum at France, Germany, Russia and Canada: The Failure of Emotional Intelligence
It transpires that the Pentagon order denying Iraq reconstruction contracts to France, Germany, Russia and Canada was issued by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. It created enormous anger in the US allies of NATO. They feel that they have been putting themselves out there for the US, and are now being screwed over. Germany has been spending extra money and military resources on guarding the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa from al-Qaeda incursions. Germany, France and Canada all have troops in Afghanistan risking their lives for the US (al-Qaeda has not blown up any tall buildings in Toronto). Even outside NATO, Russia acquiesced in letting the US move into Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, traditional Russian/Soviet spheres of influence, for its war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Wolfowitz's timing could not be worse. He issued the order just as Bush envoy James Baker was about to make the rounds of Iraq's creditors, asking for extensive debt forgiveness. Iraq owes $9 bn. to Russia, for instance, and in international law the debt must be repaid by Iraq regardless of regime changes. And, Russia's foreign minister promptly announced that the US could kiss the prospect of any debt forgiveness goodbye.
Since Iraq owes on the order of $40 bn. to Russia, France and other European countries, and since the reconstruction budget so far is under $20 bn., it is obvious that vastly more was to be gained by letting the NATO countries and Europe have a few contracts and then getting them to forgive or refinance the loans.
Instead, Wolfowitz was intent on scoring petty points. He had promised to "punish" France for defying him. The move was so gratuitous and immature that one can only guess something else lay behind it. There are lots of reasons for which the Likudniks would like to make bad blood between the US and France and Russia in particular. France is no longer a knee-jerk supporter of Israeli militarism and expansionism. In part this is because of the growth of the Muslim electorate in France. About 7% of French residents are Muslim, nearly 5 million persons, whereas French Jews amount to only 600,000 or perhaps a bit more. France has been alarmed at Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's combination Iron Fist and Land Rustling, since it makes French Muslims upset. Likewise, Russia has a more balanced view of the Arab-Israeli conflict. So, it may be that the powerful Likudniks inside the US government are deliberately engineering a diplomatic rift in NATO, so as to ensure that Paris and Moscow cannot position themselves to influence Washington's position (usually supine) toward Sharon's excesses.
I have concluded that the Bush team lacks Emotional Intelligence as defined by psychologists such as Daniel Goleman. [....]
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If these guys were managing a company and I were deciding whether to hire them, I'd take one look at the track record of deficiencies in emotional intelligence and dump them immediately in favor of adults.
<http://www.juancole.com/2003_12_01_juancole_archive.html#107121469040903 099> ***
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