Eurobabble
Victor Davis Hanson takes a look at why Europe is so annoying. Excerpt:
The world as we knew it is now in flux, and in one of the greatest transformations since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Middle East is slowly rejoining civilization. In response, Europe snores, awakening only to chastise the United States, which alone set off the chain reaction of liberty. After all, would Europe send help to the Lebanese if the Syrians brought in more troops? Would it do anything if Iran announced that it actually does have five or six nukes and the missiles to deliver them? And would the vaunted EU joint force or the French navy mobilize if China invaded Taiwan or if North Korea shelled Seoul? Or does the free world stop at the borders of Europe? Did the Spanish army ensure the election in Iraq? In the meantime, it is better to damn the United States, which got al Qaeda out of Afghanistan, toppled Saddam, and ignited democratic movements across the Middle East.
The world as we knew it is now in flux, and in one of the greatest transformations since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Middle East is slowly rejoining civilization. In response, Europe snores, awakening only to chastise the United States, which alone set off the chain reaction of liberty. After all, would Europe send help to the Lebanese if the Syrians brought in more troops? Would it do anything if Iran announced that it actually does have five or six nukes and the missiles to deliver them? And would the vaunted EU joint force or the French navy mobilize if China invaded Taiwan or if North Korea shelled Seoul? Or does the free world stop at the borders of Europe? Did the Spanish army ensure the election in Iraq? In the meantime, it is better to damn the United States, which got al Qaeda out of Afghanistan, toppled Saddam, and ignited democratic movements across the Middle East.
posted by Wonderdog | 12:02 PM | Permalink
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1 comments
1 Comments:
All honor and thanks to Tony Blair and the brave British soldiers who have stood (and died) with Americans in the Middle East, but as for the rest of Europe -- if they'd like to step up and be the "World Police," they're welcome to the credit. I don't hold out much hope, though, for a continent that couldn't even prevent as recent a massacre as Srebenica in its own backyard.
(Come to think of it, though, I'm being unfair to the Italians, the Poles, the Hungarians, the Czechs, etc. When I say "the rest of Europe," what I mean is France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries, Russia, etc.)
I'm all for a miltarily stronger Europe -- as is Hanson, but I'm not so sure that Europe itself is on board for that. Too many Europeans seem too infatuated with the idea of "soft power" (and glad-handing with dictators a la Chirac)as a way to solve the world's problems. Americans are getting tired of the routine: a shocked Europe stretches the limits of soft power and relies on the despised, arrogant World Police to set things right.
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