Axis of Our Allies: Defense Spending and SDI

The popular, and misguided, way American Liberals like to think of Europeans is that after 9/11 it was “we are all Americans now” until former President George W. Bush created a divisive foreign policy that forced Europe to choose a side.  Whether it was Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” banner on the aircraft carrier (his strutting in a flight suit cowed all the Democrats in Congress for years until Iraq went badly and they grew a backbone) or his “Axis of Evil” pronouncement, the fact is many on the Left thought he blew Europe’s “sympathies” towards the U.S. and squandered “goodwill” and caused them to become unhelpful in our “war on terror.”

Throughout Barack Obama’s presidential campaign (and Hillary Clinton’s, too) it was parroted on the news, in newspapers and magazines that a new approach was needed to repair the damage to the trans-Atlantic relationship.  With the Elite Left, Europe was more advanced and culturally evolved than the U.S. and former Prime Minister Tony Blair of  England, in his steadfast support of our country, was somehow “Bush’s poodle” not a leader doing what he thought was right for his country.  If only that uncouth Texan was smoother and more refined then Europe would have lined up behind the United States to work towards a utopian world.  Now that Barack Obama has become president, we see the lie that was foisted upon us for many years.

According to a recent article in the Financial Times about the need for Europe to “step up to the plate” supporting the “war on terror” this was said:

US hopes of securing more troops for Afghanistan from its Nato allies were disappointed on Thursday as European countries refused to offer up many more soldiers despite pleas from Robert Gates, US defence secretary.

In a tangible sign of the importance the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, is placing on Afghanistan, Washington has said it will send an additional 17,000 soldiers to boost the 38,000 troops already there.

However, other Nato allies, which have about 30,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, were prepared to offer only several hundred more to help secure the country during forthcoming elections, while Poland, host of the meeting, said it had no plans to increase its forces above the 1,600 already in theatre.

The Europeans, it seems, talked a big game about how it was the divisive polices of George W. Bush that kept them on the sidelines but now that a friendlier face is running the show they have come up with new excuses as to why they should let the U.S. pull most of the weight.  The Left, blinded by their hatred of George W. Bush, swallowed hook, line, and sinker the stories from Europe about why they didn’t want to help kill terrorists and make the world “safe” for Democracy.  But it has always been this way.

European leaders themselves may want to make a contribution towards keeping the Western world safe from terrorism (even if their populations don’t) but they simply do not have the money to do so.  A quick look at defense spending shows how little money they spend on it.  Europe can spend so little money on their military because, whether they will admit it or not, they hide under the skirts of the United States when it comes to protection and heavy lifting.

Many would say that the U.S. spends too much on defense and not enough on things like education and healthcare but the facts are we are 2nd in education spending behind Switzerland and 1st in healthcare spending as of 2004.  Europe doesn’t have the money because they pour most of it into social spending.  Europe has been allowed to develop these heavy social programs because, since the end of WWII, the U.S. has essentially paid for the defense of their lands, developing things like SDI missile defense, freeing up vast sums of money for countries like France, Italy, and Germany to spend their money on Socialist programs.  Had the U.S. not footed the defense bill for so many decades you’d surely see a very different, and less Socialist, Europe.  It has nothing to do with being more evolved and everything to do with not carrying their own water.  But the Liberals in America either don’t understand this or don’t want to admit why the U.S. and Europe are so different.

European populations remain docile and unwilling to make virtually any sacrifices towards safeguarding their way of life.  In fact, some countries, like Spain, are so cowardly that they pulled all of their troops out of Iraq after al Qaeda blew up a train in Madrid.  Perhaps because the Spanish version of “football” is “soccer” they do not know that the best defense is a good offense.  No country can be great or stand up for ideals when they run away after getting a bloody nose from the neighborhood bully.  Maybe that’s why they let the dictator Franco rule for so long?

Germany, the largest country in Europe and with the largest economy won’t even put their paltry 2,900 troops in harm’s way.  In fact:

Only one member of the German Bundestag out of 614 parliamentarians is in favor of putting the 2,900 German troops in Afghanistan in harm’s way, or at least willing to say so publicly

Hans-Ulrich Klose, a Social Democrat, vice chairman of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, says a total of six think the way he does but won’t say so publicly. That leaves 608 representatives of the German people opposed to German soldiers deserting their Salvation Army mode of operations and joining U.S., British, Canadian and Dutch soldiers now doing all the fighting against Taliban guerrillas.

It is too bad that country did not have this attitude about 70 years ago.

The amazing thing is that, somehow during George W. Bush’s time in office, the lie that it was his divisive policies that kept Europe from doing the right thing was sold and bought by the Left.  Memories are short because the Europeans did nothing as genocide swept Yugoslavia.  Countless articles in the U.S. press hammered home, over and over, that if only there could be a new tone in diplomatic relations our burden would be lessened.  Well, there is a new master in Washington, D.C. with a new “tone.”  All we hear from Europe are the same excuses but with different stories.

Will the Left realize they have been played by Socialist European leaders about how “barbaric” the U.S. is versus how “evolved” they are?  To this end, people like actress Gwyneth Paltrow hold the view that Europe is so much better:  “I love living in the UK!  Brits are far more intelligent and civilized than Americans.”  Indeed, Paltrow loves England so much she even adopted a faux British accent even though it was the United States that allowed her to become famous and rich.  And she is not alone among the “elite” of American society that became who they are because of the unique nature of the United States.

It is unlikely that Liberals will realize how foolish they are because their hatred of George W. Bush is so great that to admit they are wrong would be to force them to rethink the basis of their conclusions.

In the meantime, the U.S. will continue to provide the funding, the manpower, take the casualties and, all the while, suffer the contempt of leaders who talk a big game but make no efforts to back up their excuses with actions whether the U.S. president is George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, or Barack Obama.

It has been this way since the U.S. turned the tide in WWI, ended WWII, rebuilt Europe, defended it from the Soviet Union and, in the post-Cold War world, continues to protect the Old Country.  After all, it wasn’t a European leader who stood in front of the Berlin Wall and called for it to be torn down it was, instead, a Democrat (John F. Kennedy) and a Republican (Ronald Reagan).

How much longer will the blood from the new pay for the lifestlyes of the old?

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