I was just listening to the Greek Foreign Minister waxing poetic about the EU on Charlie Rose - how all the countries in Europe were now democracies, just think of the progress from 50 years ago! they just needed to get their political act together with the constitution and all to become a proper power, a soft power mind you, not a hard power, no, no, not a rival to the US, never mind what France and Germany have been saying, the important thing to remember is No More European Civil Wars, etc. etc.
And while I was listening, the true cause of President Bush's extreme unpopularity in Europe dawned on me. If a man who thinks all is well with the world comes home from a wonderful party and goes to bed entranced by a beautiful dream, then some guy rushes in to tell him that the levee has burst, now get out of bed, dammit, sober up fast and help with the sandbags and refugees! that guy is not going to be a popular fellow.
That in a nutshell, is what Bush has been telling Europe: You think you have no enemies that we won't defend you from forever. You think you don't need to worry about armies except for humanitarian missions. You think you've outlawed war in Europe and needn't worry about it elsewhere. But I have news for you: we both have a serious enemy who comes from a large area of the world that has not shared your political and economic progress for the last fifty years. Furthermore, you're in a worse position to be sanguine about it than we are - just look at your demographics! As Bernard Lewis says, by the end of the century, Europe will be Islamic.
No wonder the Europeans hate Bush's guts. |
