"THEY HIRED THE MONEY, DIDN'T THEY"

Prosperous EU conveniently forgetting its debt to America (JOHN O'SULLIVAN, May 6, 2003, Chicago Sun-Times)

America occupied Germany, saved Greece from communism with the Truman doctrine, defeated the Soviet blockade of the German capital with the Berlin airlift, and firmly anchored itself in Europe by signing the North Atlantic Treaty--all between 1945 and 1950. The Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community (now the European Union) was signed in 1957.

France and Germany could live in peace as good neighbors because the presence of American troops meant that neither need fear the other--the United States would protect both. On that geopolitical truth was built the entire structure of a united Europe.

Unfortunately, Europe (or at least the Western half of it) is in danger of forgetting this. France and Germany emerged from the Iraq war anxious to restrain U.S. power in the world by building the EU into a rival superpower. They are wooing Russia to join them in a diplomatic coalition against "unipolarity" (i.e. U.S. power). Together with Belgium (and, er, Luxembourg), they decided last week to create a European defense force independent of NATO.

Other Europeans are resisting this demarche. Yet it should be remembered that Paris and Berlin, despite their frequent denunciations of U.S. "hegemony," have a long record in the EU of amicably imposing their own programs on other Europeans. If the United States were to leave Europe, either discouraged by hostility or pleased that the continent was now able to defend itself, then a European Army under Franco-German control would be a very big battalion indeed, at least from the standpoint of Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, and other small nations. Nor has the end of history arrived yet.

Putting down his Alan Furst novel, the traveler might be surprised to see dark shadows of possibility in the shining Danube countryside--and conclude that Europe is too important to be left to the Europeans.

The difference now though, one would hope, is that no one could take seriously the idea that a European country or any combination of such could ever threaten the United States. Of course, the same was true in WWI, WWII, and the Cold War and we got bogged down in them anyway. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 6, 2003 11:07 PM