Real Men Want To Go To Moscow | 96 comments (96 topical, editorial, 5 hidden)

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (none / 0)

What is it that holds Europe's leading politicians hostage to Pentagon interests?

by vladimir on Sat Dec 22nd, 2007 at 10:10:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (none / 0)

I have no idea.

In countries that are already NATO members, opposition to NATO is considered "unserious". In countries which are not NATO members, opposition to NATO is sold on a "tradition of neutrality" because even there all "serious" people are Atlanticist.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Dec 22nd, 2007 at 10:20:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (none / 0)

Individually they are all too dependent on US investment. Collectively the EU doesn't amount to a whole can of beans in terms of international relations. Hopefully the reform treaty will make some contribution to changing this situation for he better.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sat Dec 22nd, 2007 at 10:20:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (4.00 / 2)

The investment is actually going the other way. The US is a "predator economy" consuming much more than it produces. Just look at the US current account deficit.

by vladimir on Sat Dec 22nd, 2007 at 11:28:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (4.00 / 5)

Damned if I know. But I can guess:

Gratitude. This is very much the official line. We should all be thankful to the US for having preserved democracy (a.k.a. capitalist democracy) in the face of Nazism and Communism (nevermind the fact that it was the USSR who broke the back of Germany during the War). While I think many of the people who toe this line know perfectly well that it's bullshit, I'm sure that there are a few committed ideologues that truly believe it.
Cultural affinity. The US is our chief supplier of cultural products. Try leaving a TV on in Europe for an evening. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts (or the other way around, if you prefer hard currency :-P) that you'll be watching at least one American movie. Hell, I'm about as committed to a European future as you get, and I'm still almost half-way American.
The US is the chief exponent of the neo-liberalism (a.k.a. unrestricted gangster capitalism) that many 'serious' - to use Migeru's term - European opinion-shapers are so beholden to. It is not entirely unlikely that much of our upper class simply find that their spiritual home is on the other side of the Pond - after all, it's a deal more fun to be rich in a neo-lib society.
Cold-war tradition.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Dec 23rd, 2007 at 09:05:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (none / 1)

You mention the soft reasons, which are fine.
There's also a hard reason which is probably as important if not more - and that's BIG US contracts for military hardware - with or without kickbacks to the key politicians. If Merkel is weighing friction with Russia against a couple of thousand jobs in her constituency, she's likely to choose the latter.

by vladimir on Sun Dec 23rd, 2007 at 01:31:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (none / 1)

I deliberately did not include kickbacks because I don't believe that they're sufficiently common in (Northwestern) European political culture to seriously influence decisions. As for the economic dependency that seems absurd on the face of it - the rest of the world - including Europe - is subsidising the US to the tune of several billion (trillion?) € a year. No, I think it has to be psychological, because in terms of hard incentives, it makes no sense at all.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Dec 23rd, 2007 at 01:47:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (none / 1)

I wouldn't call it economic dependency. Economic sweetener seems more appropriate. While indeed the US economy is subsidized to the tune of $1.3 trillion per year (roughly twice the Pentagon's annual budget), it's important to note that the lion's share of capital flowing into the US economy is private. So whereas Merkel can't say "I'm not going to support US deficits" in order to keep the money in Germany, she can say "I do want the Pentagon to sign a € 2 billion contract with Siemens".
Also, if you take a look at how the negotiations unfolded (see Migeru's post), Merkel was initially against deployment of the sites in Poland & CzRep. only to be swayed in favor later, after negotiations... or arm twisting. You wouldn't expect that from someone who believed in the Atlantic partnership.
To conclude, I think that large contracts are definitely in the play.

by vladimir on Sun Dec 23rd, 2007 at 03:05:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (none / 1)

Of course Merkel could deploy measures to keep private German money out of the US. But I think you've identified another reason for our little list: Dogmatic free-tradeism. There is a decided unwillingness to use restrictions in free trade and free flow of capital for political ends (at least as long as we're talking about restricting trade for white, English-speaking people). That puts Europe at a disadvantage, because it negates the objective economic advantage we have over the US.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Dec 23rd, 2007 at 10:18:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The ABMs are a cover, totally (none / 1)

Well, after seeing both Aznar and Blair make big bucks on the US lecture circuit I'm not sure there isn't a lot of cold interested calculation and selling out for personal gain on the part of right-wing European leaders, of late. And Schröder got a job at Gazprom, where he may soon be joined by Putin.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Dec 25th, 2007 at 02:55:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Real Men Want To Go To Moscow | 96 comments (96 topical, 0 editorial, 5 hidden)

Top Diaries

Shock Election Loss Rutte IV In Senate Race

Honduras Establishes Close Ties with China

A Return to Normalcy?

A Grand Slam for Ireland?

NI Protocol: It's all over bar the shouting?

Chinese peace principles for the war in Ukraine

The Windsor Framework

Twenty years of war in Iraq

Recent Diaries

Settler Extremism Blessed by Jerusalem Leaders

US Interference In Lebanon-Syria-Ira
q

City Agriculture - March 17, 2023

Shock Election Loss Rutte IV In Senate Race

Stalemate Endures, Pessimism Grows, Deaths Mount

Honduras Establishes Close Ties with China

A Grand Slam for Ireland?

Living In Spain and Social-Democracy

USA Censorship Act to Kill Disinformation

Flying Fortresses and Nuclear Threat

Universal Criticism Asylum Threshold EU Fortress

China Trade and Relations

SBU As a Terror Network

A Return to Normalcy?

Georgia and Foreign Agents or Spy Law

Nord Stream Blasts Timeline of Denial

Crimea As Endgame Before Going M.A.D.

Scourge of Joint Alliance USA, KSA and Jihadists

Israel's Fascists Call for Genocide on Palestinians

NI Protocol: It's all over bar the shouting?

Occasional Series