[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
PoliticsOL.com Editorial - Week of June 17, 2001
The Spoiled Children of Western Europe
The rude treatment President George Bush received during his recent trip in Europe isn't so much about the politics and personality of the president as it is about future U.S.-European relations.
For nearly the whole 20th Century, America's ties to Europe were forged by three predominate factors: (1) a common heritage, (2) international trade, and (3) collective security. The latter was brought on only by this nation twice coming to the aid of Europeans after German militarism got out of control.
After the destruction of the Second World War, bankrupt Western European democracies were in no position to defend themselves against any potential Soviet aggression and hence NATO was born and flourished as a cornerstone of a partnership that has lasted over fifty years.
But now, it seems, many Western Europeans display as much disgust and distrust with America and its values as one would expect to find in some fundamentalist Middle East nation. No doubt some left-wing politicos in the U.S. found the treatment of Bush amusing. But, the president just happened to be on the receiving end of it as the elected leader of the United States. What Europeans were really lashing out against was U.S. values and political beliefs.
In Spain, protesters bemoaned the U.S. execution of Timothy McVeigh. In Spain of all places! For all the death and destruction Spain brought to the New World for four centuries, a nation which sympathized with Hitler and Mussolini in World War II, which kept a fascist dictator like Franco in power for decades, Spaniards are criticizing us for executing mass murderers like McVeigh!
Bush was then off to Belgium, were further anti-American protests blasted Bush for his opposition to the Kyoto Accords for pollution controls. But, as of yet, not a single Western European nation has ratified the accords themselves.
In Sweden, protesters mooned the president and lashed out against his view (and that held by many millions of Americans) that we need to build a ballistic missile defense system to protect ourselves against rouge threats. Of course, in Sweden, perhaps one need not fear an attack by a madman intent on exterminating millions of people. The defense may be as simple as claiming "neutrality" and selling the potential aggressor millions of tons of iron ore to feed his military machine, just as Sweden sold to Nazi Germany in World War II.
At least in Poland and during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bush found a receptive ear. Perhaps, unlike Western Europe, those two nations appreciate democracy, probably because they've had so damned little of it in the past two hundred years.
In this 21st Century, the U.S. will continue to see its trade increase with partners along the Pacific Rim and in Latin America. Immigration, too, has increased from these regions of the globe. Finally, potential security threats of concern to the U.S. -- Iraq, North Korea and China -- are not necessarily those that Europe sees as threats. So, it is only natural that the U.S. and Europe are drifting apart.
That does not, however, mean that a trade war need be started with Western Europe. But, it also presents opportunities, such as Bush made evident during his meeting with Putin. Perhaps Bush and his advisors are keen enough to realize that an economically strong and democratic Russia is not a security threat to the U.S. or Western Europe. Rather, it can be an important trading partner and even an ally when facing common foes, such as in dealing with international terrorists based in the Middle East.
Democracies rarely go to war with each other and economically strong democracies almost never revert to totalitarian pasts. Bush seems to understand this and, therefore, forging the beginning of a potential partnership and better understanding with Russia was more important to him on this trip than offending a few spoiled children in Western Europe who would have likely grown up under a swastika if not for the allied efforts of the U.S. and the former Soviet Union in defeating fascism.
PoliticsOL.com reserves the right to shorten or to edit letters for clarity. Only signed letters will be considered for publication. (i.e., include name, city & state of residence)
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
For nearly the whole 20th Century, America's ties to Europe were forged by three predominate factors: (1) a common heritage, (2) international trade, and (3) collective security. The latter was brought on only by this nation twice coming to the aid of Europeans after German militarism got out of control.
