I'd agree on the "depends" for unilateral military action. I don't ever like the idea, but things one dislikes are occasionally necessary. I don't think it's a situation to be sought out.
If the Europeans can't handle it, they can find another planet.
It's not just the Europeans. It's the rest of the world, and bluster as we may, we often do need them. Look at the current problem with Iraq. We want to invade, but we can't do it without the cooperation of Turkey, Kuwait, and/or Jordan. We will likely be in the same position with future deployments. The less we swagger and the more cooperative we appear, the easier it becomes to make these arrangements. There is something to be said for speaking softly as a companion to carrying a big stick.
"Conservative" actually has two meaning in politics.
When terms have more than one meaning, and two or more of those meanings are incompatible, the words quickly become meaningless. It would help, perhaps, if anybody who used the word had to specify which meaning they mean, but that would be somewhat cumbersome.... |
