Let Them Hate as Long as They Fear
By PAUL KRUGMAN - NY Times 3-7-03
Why does our president condone the swaggering and contemptuous approach to
our friends and allies this administration is fostering, including among its
most senior officials? Has 'oderint dum metuant' really become our motto?"
So reads the resignation letter of John Brady Kiesling, a career diplomat
who recently left the Foreign Service in protest against Bush administration
policy.
"Oderint dum metuant" translates, roughly, as "let them hate as long as they
fear." But this week's crisis in U.S.-Mexican relations — a crisis
that has been almost ignored north of the border —suggests that it is a
perfect description of George Bush's attitude toward the world.
NYTIMES
