I saw an amusing story in my paper this morning and so I found the electronic AP counterpart on the internet. It seems that the Belgian Foreign Minister, whose portfolio would seem to include appeasement and inaction, given that nation's sorry military and post-colonial history, has praised France for saving "Europe's honor." Funny, I thought we had done that twice last century with deeds rather than words. Anyways, see the story here.
I write this morning only to illustrate an irony. It seems that two Francophone countries, which have in common their inability to seriously influence world events, have mutually decided in some salon somewhere, that the American-Europe relation needs to be "reforged to reflect what has transpired." The problem is, any talk of West Central Continental European influence is really the spiritual successor to Seinfeld, the original show about nothing.
For once I couldn't agree more with a Belgian foreign minister. Perhaps the first step in a "reforging" would be to melt down NATO and recast it into an alliance of countries that actually have, and more importantly, will actually use, military force when it is deemed necessary by a preponderance, not by unanimity. This would of course entail the removal of American forces from Belgian and German soil. Rip SHAFE out of Brussels. Move out of Germany, and perhaps headquarter the new organization in Prague. Since the old borders of the Cold War have moved decidedly east, there is no compelling reason to remain stationed amongst the Walloons and the Greens and act as an antiacid between France and Germany since the two are in such an open lovefest.
Rendering NATO asunder and reformulating it into something more virile, and decidedly more "New Europe," would be the best way, short of pulling out of the United Nations, to cement the irrelevancy of Old Western Continental Europe as a world power player. The EU experiment of the past 50 years has only been possible under the wing of American military might, which is why, I think, the former Eastern Bloc nations have a clearer view of our contributions to worldwide freedom and steadfastness against global threats no matter the quarter, than do our old friends, most of who have devolved to the point of passivity and who cannot be bothered, like Belgium in 1994, to lose 10 soldiers in an effort to halt the slaughter of millions in their former colony of Rwanda for instance.
So for once in a long, long, time, I found myself in total agreement with an European governmental official. France has "saved European honor," that is of course presuming the honor of an aged, twice violated, prostitute can indeed be saved from any insult. The relationship between the United States and certain parts of Europe certainly needs to be reforged. Reforged that is, with different European material.
Time for my basketball game pregame show to come on. Ta-ta Belgium.
I write this morning only to illustrate an irony. It seems that two Francophone countries, which have in common their inability to seriously influence world events, have mutually decided in some salon somewhere, that the American-Europe relation needs to be "reforged to reflect what has transpired." The problem is, any talk of West Central Continental European influence is really the spiritual successor to Seinfeld, the original show about nothing.
For once I couldn't agree more with a Belgian foreign minister. Perhaps the first step in a "reforging" would be to melt down NATO and recast it into an alliance of countries that actually have, and more importantly, will actually use, military force when it is deemed necessary by a preponderance, not by unanimity. This would of course entail the removal of American forces from Belgian and German soil. Rip SHAFE out of Brussels. Move out of Germany, and perhaps headquarter the new organization in Prague. Since the old borders of the Cold War have moved decidedly east, there is no compelling reason to remain stationed amongst the Walloons and the Greens and act as an antiacid between France and Germany since the two are in such an open lovefest.
Rendering NATO asunder and reformulating it into something more virile, and decidedly more "New Europe," would be the best way, short of pulling out of the United Nations, to cement the irrelevancy of Old Western Continental Europe as a world power player. The EU experiment of the past 50 years has only been possible under the wing of American military might, which is why, I think, the former Eastern Bloc nations have a clearer view of our contributions to worldwide freedom and steadfastness against global threats no matter the quarter, than do our old friends, most of who have devolved to the point of passivity and who cannot be bothered, like Belgium in 1994, to lose 10 soldiers in an effort to halt the slaughter of millions in their former colony of Rwanda for instance.
So for once in a long, long, time, I found myself in total agreement with an European governmental official. France has "saved European honor," that is of course presuming the honor of an aged, twice violated, prostitute can indeed be saved from any insult. The relationship between the United States and certain parts of Europe certainly needs to be reforged. Reforged that is, with different European material.
Time for my basketball game pregame show to come on. Ta-ta Belgium.