Writing's on the Wall

If they ever black your eyes, put me wise.
If they ever cook your goose, turn me loose.
If they ever put a bullet through your brain; I'll complain.
It's friendship, friendship, just a perfect blendship.
"Friendship" lyrics, Cole Porter, 1939

Some of the finest rhetoric supporting U.S. war making is the concept of assisting our beloved allies. The present administration constantly emphasizes that Iraq is an ally in the War on Terror that must not and can not be abandoned. The same people that never fought in Vietnam use that war as an example of abandoning an ally to an unacceptable consequence.

But what is an ally, anyway? Webster's New Collegiate says it's a sovereign or state associated with another by treaty or league, or one that is associated with another as a helper. Sometimes we get wangled into alliances from which we later need to extricate ourselves, after they are no longer defined by the second part of that definition. That is not "cutting and running;" that is prudent and judicial conservation of resources.

An ally can be personal or national in nature. In order to personalize this concept and to make it more relevant to daily life, it would be expedient to compare an ally to a spouse. The list of desirable attributes might include the following:

• Faithful
• Long term
• Mutually beneficial
• Cooperative (helps achieve common goals)
• Shared interests, both short and long-term
• Independent

The same list might also apply to choosing international allies, if we believe that the personal is the political. But what happens when the partner doesn't work out? What if your spouse [national ally]:

• Is unfaithful
• Depends entirely upon you for money
• Spends the money as if there's no tomorrow
• Has a family is totally dysfunctional and constantly fighting
• Is schizophrenic
• Has opposing goals
• Has religious beliefs which cause you grief
• Is more receptive to the neighbors than to you.
  

Well, at least 50% of Americans cut their losses and leave. They accept temporary setback, take their knocks, if they are fortunate, learn a lesson and move on. Should international affairs be any different? Divorce is not necessarily a bad thing, and staying the course in a toxic relationship might do you more damage than leaving.

Choose your allies carefully. The result of doing otherwise is much worse than divorce.