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May 28, 2002
The Canadization of Europe
Price is right to point out Peggy Noonan's analysis of Bush's Berlin speech below. Bush certainly seems to have made an eloquent case to the Europeans for why we share common values and should be united in this war against terrorism. The two questions that follow are: will the Europeans listen? and does it matter? The answer to both may be: probably not.
The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes looks at the issue of how the Bush administration views Europe in this piece published in the London Times. To describe how the US and Europe are drifting, he notes his colleague William Kristol's observation that "America is nationalist, religious, and martial, while Europe is post-nationalist, post-Christian, and pacifist" and makes an important point: Bush doesn't wake up worrying about Europe. In fact, Europe is fairly far down the list.
For the first time in 500, perhaps 1000, years, Europe is not one of the central characters on the world's stage. Do they matter? Of course they do. They are a very important trade partner and provide valuable military support at times--and they have great food--but it may be that Europe will in essence remain on the sidelines during the new geopolitical global struggle: the war against terrorism.
Americans--even those who raise an eyebrow when our president speaks about the "evil ones" or other Bushian gaucheries--find it difficult to imagine the degree of disdain, alarm, and repulsion that George W. Bush evokes in Europeans.
In part it is because Europe is, as William Kristol describes it--post-nationalist, post-Christian, and pacificist--while America is none of these things.
But largely it is because, in a way that most Americans are unaware, America opposes European positions on most controversial issues from the Kytoto Accords to landmines to the International Court of Human Rights. And on these issues, America either unilaterally opposes Europe, or sides with regimes of ghastly awfulness.
At the same time, Bush does seem to the average European vulgar, ignorant, self-satisfied, provinical. And European pride does not allow them to see the one thing that they do owe to us: their security.
The failure to engage with Europe is crucial: the War on terrorism cannot be fought unilaterally. And if Europe is not engaged, the War will begin to go adrift. After all, where was September 11th formented?