WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT from an ally who disagrees with us? The question arises because of France’s strong objection to President Bush’s call for disarmament by Iraq–by war if necessary. The French reaction has infuriated many Americans, stirred talk of a boycott of French goods, and generated a spate of biting anti-French jokes. Angry Americans see France as breathtakingly ungrateful.

But this is unfair. Gratitude is not what’s required of an ally. A French retreat on Iraq would no doubt soothe American indignation. And if the French mentioned their gratitude for America’s role in saving France in both world wars, bailing out the French economy with the Marshall Plan, and giving France a seat on the United Nations Security Council with veto power, so much the better. But a grateful heart is a character trait, not a principle governing foreign affairs.