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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (122893)	1/8/2004 9:20:32 AM
From: aladin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Jacob, With the exception of Spain and Portugal, Europe did nothing to spread democracy south and east. The Balkans are the most current example of European impotence. American influence freed the east and permitted democratic movements to take hold. John

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (122893)	1/8/2004 10:39:44 AM
From: smolejv@gmx.net	Respond to of 281500

>>Europe has a much better model, of how to spread democracy and liberalism<< It's a suggestion, an alternative, which make me feel much more comfortable (positive, cooperative) than a point or two in the NSS paper. I do assume NSS of sept 17 2002 still reflects the official position of US' government btw, CSU (the bavarian sister party of CDU opposition) is pushing Schäuble up, up and away into the position of the Bundespresident - evidently they want the foreign ministry as spoils down the road. And Angela Merkel (CDU chairwoman) is making his position harder (and - more or less - hers as well) by ignoring the issue. Schäuble is hemiplegic as a result of an attack by a mental patient during an election rally a dozen or more years ago. dj

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (122893)	1/8/2004 4:04:05 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

The U.S. has 5% of the world's population, yet spends 50% of the world's total military funding. This is unsustainable. The U.S. must find a way to share the burden. The only other alternative, is to vastly decrease our global footprint. Our military funding is about 4% of our GDP. What's unsustainable about that? Europe has a much better model, of how to spread democracy and liberalism, than the U.S. Europe has steadily, incrementally, spread democracy from NW Europe, to the south and east. Jacob, when's the last time you read a history of the 20th century? Do you consider two World Wars and 45 years of containing the USSR "incremental"? Do you seriously believe that Europe would be democratic at all if the US hadn't interfered? Do the words "Fascism" and "Communism" ring a bell? What continent did these movements originate on? I can't believe you list Spain as a success story - it suffered under a Fascist government for over forty years, precisely because the US did not interfere in that case. Even today, far from being able to take care of their own house, the Europeans let Sarajevo burn in 1991, and stood by and wrung their hands while the Serbs massacred the men and boys of Srebenica. Only US/Nato intervention brought an end to the bloodshed, without UN approval, if you'll recall. Sheesh. Sometimes I wonder what world you live in. It would nice to live in your world. It would resemble a Star Trek episode, where everybody trusts the Federation Council. But it bears no relation to reality.