They'll never make meangingful changes.

...willingly.

In another decade or two European economies & societies will be so screwed up that they'll embrace some sort of fascist totalitarianism. Ensuing wars will straighten out some of the demographic complications they have, and we'll pay for their rebuilding, like the suckers we are. I'd prefer my kids not have to fight a European war, but I don't think it's avoidable.

If they wait two decades to have those wars, most of the Americans in the fight will be robots.

Unless your kids become SpecOp ninjas, they're probably safe.

Posted by: Michael Herdegen at April 11, 2006 10:50 AM

We should start lecturing the Euros now, so that when they come to D.C. in about 5 years, hat in hand, we can call the shots more effectively.

And its probably time to start dis-engaging from the UN, because the next big movement is going to be all the junior second world and third world wannabes attacking the European carcass (with Chinese encouragement, to be sure).

Michael: Nah. In two decades we'll still mostly use soldiers (maybe 1/4 or 1/3 of military jobs will be done by robots), but they'll have nanotech full-body armor that will make them pretty much unkillable. It'll be another decade or two after that before everything is done by robots.

If Americans so privileged as to be denizens of this site speak of wearing one's country's coat in foreign wars as a fate to be evaded we are in almost as much trouble as the Europeans.

Fortunately our common culture of war, our car-gun-sports-video game culture, will see us through the coming savage wars of peace.

Lou: As the great man said, the secret to war is not to die for your country, but to make the other poor SOB die for his.

Lou: You've misinterpreted my comments. I would be proud to bursting if any of my kids join the military, either as a career or as a more temporary service. What I find depressing is the fear that the European conflicts that are coming are so stupid and so predictable, and are being made inevitable by their current idiotic selfishness.

David: That "great man" has one of the most undeservedly overrated reputations in American military history. Utterly ignorant of & recklessly indifferent to logistical concerns, hated by his superiors & subordinates alike, and chiefly remembered now thanks to a movie that the Hollywood left intended as an indictment of the military ("See, military leaders are delusional psychopaths!").

b: The "great man" was the finest American combat commander of the war. His response to the Battle of Bulge was brilliant. He alone of all the senior people in Europe kept his head.

His casulties per troops engaged was the lowest in Europe. His subodinates hated him but many, many left Europe alive because of him.

Great is a correct term for him, whatever his personality faults.

Bob: I unwaveringly stand by my "overrated" description. How many other Lieutenant Generals can you name from WWII? When he was actually doing his job and following orders, he was of course capable of greatness. But like MacArthur (against whom he pales in comparison), he was a product of the 19th century who couldn't quite adjust to certain realities of the 20th.

The 20th century generalsm beginning with McLellan, were awful. Patton and MacArthur were great because men of the 19th century.

"Great" or not, if MacArthur, Patton, LeMay had not been stifled by the politics of the time (which was Democrat Party Socialism), there wouldn't have been the extended Cold War.

Granted it might have been an extremely messy Hot War, but short.

And the mess would have avoided us.

Short because after WWII we were the only ones with any marbles left . . . and I never cease to be amazed that we still have all our marbles after almost a hundred years of relentless leftwing propaganda and Democratic politicians actively engaged in sabotaging our military and our intelligence agencies desperately trying to bring us down to third world status.

Here we stand, not only unbloodied and unbowed, but reveling in an unheard of prosperity at home even after sending so much of our treasure abroad in the world to help those less fortunate who have been ravaged by the likes of the U.N. and leftist dictators.

God bless us one and all.

b: Actually, Patton was promoted to full General. Without looking it up, the only other Lietenant General I can recall was Simpson who commanded the 9th Army. But that is only because the other senior officers got 4 or 5 stars by the end. I can name quite a few of them. So, what is your point. Patton was famous before the movie.

Yes, Patton was no MacArthur. Few in history were MacArthur's equal.

And just who are going to be the soldiers in these European armies---doddering 65 year-olds? 'cause for sure the children not born today won't be carrying rifles 20 years from now.