"We must learn to view the world through a social capital lens."

This project, despite its goofy name and its public 'message' being a bit on the corny side, has its heart in the right place, and it enjoys sound, solid backing in the form of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. It should be rechartered with an international scope.

In his national best-seller "Bowling Alone," Robert Putnam decried the collapse of America’s social institutions. But while traveling to promote the book, one question came up at every appearance: what can we do to end the atrophy of America’s civic vitality?

What can bring us together again?

Better Together

It is difficult to understate France's importance to Europe -- and to us. For both countries, a strong working relationship is a necessary and important asset.

Mark me down for curiosity and anxiety.

I have seen France at its most tragic in 1940, and I have seen it at its best in later years. Although there will still be differences about Iraq and other issues, I know that France and America need each other strategically, economically, culturally. And beyond that, there is the history buried in the cemetery of Omaha Beach.

We need a relationship built on mutual respect as well as mutual interest.

Perhaps it will be rekindled on Omaha Beach.

The French Connection

Unfortunately, the official American reaction was to panic.

Don't Panic!

It is all very well to talk about a global war on terrorism. To win it, however, you have to fight it -- on every front.

We must do everything we can to help the region's more moderate and friendly regimes — the Saudis and others — defeat terrorism and improve the protection of foreign workers and oil facilities. Equally important is stepping up aid and antiterrorism assistance to Pakistan. Yes, these fights have a military dimension — but the primary struggle is political, ideological and economic. We can't win it by force or on the cheap. Victory will come only through strengthening local allies and reformers, not by trying to impose our own political values.

Anthony Cordesman argues that al Qaeda's latest attack was more 'successful' than the Madrid bombing. I need him to explain this further, but his point cannot be dismissed.

As Stratfor points out regularly, the decisive battles in the war against Al Qaeda must be fought in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. And while cruise missiles, UAVs, tanks, and SEALs will play a role, ultimately its success or failure does not hinge on the military.

This war can be lost by the military, but they cannot win it for us.

Focus!

Al Qaeda's Small Victories Add Up

Originally published on September 19, 2003.

We were in France last week. Seven old friends. One more reunion while there's time.

High above the valley, on a hill once marked by trenches and shell holes, stands a monument of 24 mighty columns and two heroic-size figures. Their hands are clasped -- a tribute, the inscription tells us, to the French and American troops who fought here, and a lasting symbol of "the friendship and cooperation" between the two countries.

France and America have been allies for a long time now. The sentiment runs deep, despite differences over Iraq today.

Last week, even the Financial Times threw up its hands in despair at Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice.

Don't they know, the paper asked, that "alone the US is far more vulnerable than it likes to believe, while in concert with free nations, it is far more powerful than even it can imagine."

This is something to think about on the battlefields of France. You think about the times we've helped each other, and how we still need each other to confront global terrorism. So you want to celebrate our ties, and nurture them. And that's what we did.

France and America, A Shared History, by Bill Moyers

Located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy.

Statue Of Liberty National Monument

The L'Enfant plan was one of true genius, monumental in every sense of the word.

Reminder to Americans: the French designed your capital, people.

The L'Enfant Plan

France in the Revolution, a 26 chapter work by James Breck Perkins.

From the introduction, circa March 1911: On all this, the author of the present work has much to say that should be remembered, and never, perhaps, has the question of how and why what happened could take place, been so clearly put before the American reader.

"Public opinion became, at the last, the most potent factor in controlling the decision of the French government ... It was the popular enthusiasm for American liberty which penetrated the council chamber and influenced the ministers in their decision, even if they failed to recognize such a motive."

Would France keep her word, and, if success was attained, reserve for herself nothing on a continent two thirds of which had been hers?

She would, and did, keep her word.

Relationships can be hard work, but they are worth it.

France in the Revolution

The skillful leadership and professional wisdom of Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, the commander of the French land army, were vital in advising General Washington and in guiding the 'end-game' strategy that implemented the Yorktown Campaign.

Talk about your nation building ...

Expédition Particulière

"Bush might be unpopular in Italy, the Iraqi war is not popular in Italy, but Italians know damn well that in 1944, they were liberated by America from the Nazis," said Franco Pavoncello, a political science professor at John Cabot University in Rome.

Damn straight.

Likewise, Americans should know damn well what the French have done for the United States. Unfortunately, many do not.

American politicans, academics, and combinations thereof like to criticize Arab and Muslim educational systems for their deficiencies. I hope it is not too Democratic of me to suggest that people whose children are taught in glass portables should not throw too many rocks at the stone madrassas, lest they bounce back unexpectedly and disrupt a watered-down, papered-over, PC retelling of American history.

"Berlusconi is not simply pro-Bush, Berlusconi is pro-America," said a close aide. "His sense of gratitude is toward America for what it has done over the past 60 years, in World War II, the Marshall Plan, its role in the NATO alliance, in the cold war and, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the fight against terrorism."

For Berlusconi, Bush's D-Day Visit Will Add Drama to the Drama

Mr. Obama's effort to connect in a more than superficial way with people across ethnic, economic and geographic lines should serve as a template for future campaigns in both parties.

A Leap of Faith