Re: Then why is Europe expanding its military?
Well, I think it's not so much "expanding" as "coordinating" and "pooling" the military resources of European countries. For instance, the European Rapid Deployment/Expeditionary Force is made up of French, German, Belgian,... troops that were not created from scratch but pooled together into a new "EU force".
Next there's the pooling of engineering and technological resources to develop European military airplanes, helicopters, tanks, GPS satellites.... Europeans, however, are not as gung-ho about the military as Americans are, if only because they still remember WWI and WWII. In Europe's collective unconscious, war is a DOMESTIC calamity, a disaster that unfolds AT HOME, not far away in some remote wasteland.... Contrariwise, to Americans, war is basically yet another iteration of WWII: young, unselfish, brave American boys (and girls) on a divine mission to liberate other peoples.
Gus |
