European Defense

All right, I'm embarassed to admit it. But I came across this Reuters story on the Drudge Report site. Yes, I know, I know, but there! I've said it. I feel better already.

The European Union's top military official suggested on Sunday that American and European forces should be responsible for their own territorial defence and only cooperate on major crises outside their regions.

Finnish general, Gustav Hagglund, who is chairman of the EU's military committee, told a defence conference it was time Europe shouldered the defence of the continent itself.

"The American and the European pillars (of NATO) would be responsible for their respective territorial defences, and would together engage in crisis management outside their own territories," Hagglund told the conference ...

"My prediction is that this will happen within the next decade," he told a news conference later.

Republicans will be tempted to read this as "well, at least some of those Europeans are ready to step up to the plate and do their part." But that would be a real misunderstanding of what's going on. Europe is being forced by the recklessnesss and extreme unilateralism of the Bush Administration to develop military capabilities independent of NATO and American influence. Unless the American policies change and soon, NATO is effectively dead.

The democratic countries of Europe - whether with conservative or social-democratic governments - are not going to be willing to accept the Bush Doctrine's vision of NATO, in which the NATO organization itself does not act, but rather the White House gives orders and the vassal states obey. If they had wanted that kind of alliance, they would have joined the Warsaw Pact decades ago.

Poor, pathetic Tony Blair wrecked his effectiveness as a European leader by backing Bush and Rummy on the Iraq War. The Hutton inquiry report is expected to be published in a couple of weeks. Odds-makers are reported to be giving 20:1 odds that he will resign within days of its publication. He may not last past Valentine's Day.