THE ANGLOSPHERE IS THE WEST:

The latest sign is AUKUS, the new geopolitical alliance of Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., which has China as the obvious adversary. There it is again: the old Anglosphere, as distinct from the wider West. The undertone is that when it comes to staring down genuine threats -- in the 21st century as in the 20th -- it's those ancient ties of language and culture that bind. 

France under President Emmanuel Macron, predictably, is as livid about being snubbed as it ever was under Charles de Gaulle or other Gallic roosters. As part of AUKUS, Australia will buy nuclear-powered submarines from its fellow Anglophones, instead of conventional ones from France, as previously agreed. Macron recalled his ambassadors to Washington and Canberra and is now preparing for an extended sulk.

You can expect to hear a lot from him in coming weeks about "European sovereignty" and "autonomy," nebulous slogans he's been pushing alongside his more evocative ruminations about the alleged "brain death" of NATO, which remains the most concrete manifestation of a strategic West. If it were up to Macron, the European Union, now unencumbered by those pesky Brits, should finally become a distinct geopolitical and military power, at eye level with the U.S., and presumably led by France.

The usual suspects in a few other European capitals have taken up his rallying cry, especially since the ignominious Western withdrawal from Afghanistan. There, too, the Europeans felt betrayed by the Americans, who didn't bother to meaningfully consult or coordinate with their allies as they pulled out. Predictably, the call for a "European army" has returned. In this latest iteration, the idea is to start with an EU 5,000, a sort of elite force that could have secured the Kabul airport without American help. Forgive my skepticism, but the Spartan 300 this will never be. 

It's understandable that the Europeans are frustrated about not being taken all that seriously, either by adversaries like Russia and China or by friends like the U.S. and Australia. But rather than fume impotently, they'd do better to take an honest look at themselves to find the reasons.

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