Too bad so many have turned out to be fair-weather friends, eh?

Doesn´t have Finnish flag. Interesting details for the reasons in the history for that…

The Marshall Plan entry in Wikipedia contains the following:

The idea of a reconstruction plan was [.] an outgrowth of the ideological shift that had occurred in the United States in the Great Depression. The economic calamity of the 1930s had convinced many that the unfettered free market could not guarantee economic well-being. Many who had worked on designing the New Deal programs to revive the American economy now sought to apply these lessons to Europe. At the same time the Great Depression had shown the dangers of tariffs and protectionism, creating a strong belief in the need for free trade and European economic integration.

Changed days; dangerous tariffs and protectionism are all the rage again. It’s a pity that transient national ideology is allowed to be so influential – the IMF was supposed to stop this by being the umpire of the post WW2 global economy.

I guess I should have scrolled down the page, as it shows the picture with the flag in question id’d as Trieste, noting the colors are wrong.

We seem to have a version of the Marshall Plan nowadays that is directed by the East. Asia wants to build up its economy, and is lending hugely to the West in order to do it.

In the absence of an IMF umpire, this leaves the G8.

@ Rommel

Are you saying that supporting the US in Afghanistan and the war on terrorism is easy and convenient?
(Wpedia: A friend who supports others only when it is easy and convenient to do so is called a “fair-weather friend”.)
Tell that to the 2000 German soldiers in Afghanistan or the German intelligence agents who support the US efforts in many ways, like those who gave you one of the Iraqi defense plans.

Another big problem with the G8. EU members the UK, Italy, Germany and France are members but don’t have to take a common position. The EU has similar disconnectedness at the United Nations and the IMF.

Another big problem with the G8. EU members the UK, Italy, Germany and France are members but don’t have to take a common position. The EU has similar disconnectedness at the United Nations and the IMF.

Where the European Union is concerned, national interest still trumps a unified front (see the wrangling over farming subsidies). Considering it grew out of a shared market in coal and steel, it’s unrealistic to expect it to develop a unified political/military position. Which is why individual countries, and not the organisation itself, will be players on the global stage in future.