Michael Ledeen’s conspiracy theory

Michael Ledeen, for National Review Online, suggests that French and German opposition to U.S. policy regarding Iraq may well be the result of a deal with radical Islam and Arab extremists. Under this deal, a response by the French and Germans to America’s dominant position in the world, the Islamofascists go after the United States and France and Germany protect them, so as to weaken America. However, Ledeen does not present a persuasive case that any such bargain, whether explicit or implicit, exists. He relies mainly on the extraordinary lengths to which France and Germany have gone to thwart of our aims. But this shows only that France and Germany are trying to take an advantage of what they see as an opportunity to undermine our diplomatic standing, while promoting their economic interest in Saddam Hussein’s survival. One need not posit active collaboration with radical Islam, or a desire to see it successfully terrorize the United States, in order to explain the behavior of France and Germany.

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