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One of the silliest arguments that I hear travellers in leftist politics in this country make is that George W. Bush has squandered America's moral authority and destroyed our traditional allliances with our friends in Europe. This alleged situation was brought to a head with Don Rumsfeld's salient -- if somewhat impolite -- comment about "Old Europe v New Europe".
But consider this: "Old Europe" seems to be coming around.
Consider that both France and Germany -- two nations extremely hostile to our decision to invade their former partner -- have both seen new governments that are not only friendly to George W. Bush, but heartily endorse his willingness to push an aggressive defense, not just for America, but for all of Europe. And this great news courtesy of Michael Ledeen points to a massive landslide in Italy for the extremely pro-American Berlusconi. How big is this news? For the first time in 53 years, there are NO COMMUNISTS in the Italian government. None. At. All. The Greens (think a European version of Al Gore crossbred with a vegan) have no seats, either.
The French are even considering sending 1,000 troops (about 1/2 of a battalion) to Afghanistan. Now, the Left in this country will pooh-pooh the measure. But you need to examine the facts. The French have zero power projection capability. They have two aircraft carriers, one of which has been in drydock for over a decade. The second -- the Charles DeGaulle -- cannot currently conduct air operations. They have no airlift capacity. They possess -- other than cross-channel ferries -- no sealift capacity. The French, in short, no longer possess anything resembling a potent military force. Sending 1,000 troops to Afghanistan is a big deal for them.
Meanwhile, NATO has wholeheartedly endorsed the US-proposed missile shield-- aptly demonstrated when we shot down a satellite last month. What does shooting down a sattelite have to do with missile defense, you ask? Well, it's pretty simple. The "holy grail" of missile defense has ALWAYS been shooting down missiles in low earth orbit. Shooting down missiles like the SCUDs that are the favorites of former Soviet client states are relatively easy. But shooting down objects in low earth orbit is a challenge. Killing that satellite was a great demonstration of our missile defense systems... given that it was our missile defense system that did it.
And NATO's newest partners -- like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland -- remain ardent friends of the United States.
But will the Left notice? Short answer: no. Barack Obama is so in love with the image he has created as a black Jimmy Carter (he'll talk to Ahdeminjad! Carter talks to Hamas!) that he does not realize that America's willingness to lead with an aggressive defense of freedom around the world is what keeps us safe. Were he smart, and not just a smart-ass, he would appreciate the irony that a Bill Clinton foreign policy approach -- give terrorists a stage, and they will blow up the world -- is what led to the first and second Intifadas in Israel, the bombing of the Cole, and the destruction of the World Trade Center.
If Barack understood the Arab mindset -- note that I said Arab, not Muslim -- he would see that history shows us that they respond to strong, forceful, and muscular leadership. Not the tepid wanderings of boys lost in the forest. If he would spend a few minutes to actually understand the Marine Hymn (you know, the part about "Shores of Tripoli"), he would know that this a lesson even Thomas Jefferson understood.
And the same goes for the Congenital Liar, and her water carriers on the left.
Let's just hope that America votes to keep the course our European friends have joined us on.