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So the only thing the US gets is the ability to pretend (at this point) to have some control over Europe.  Isn't Europe tired of that at this point?  Isn't Europe unlikely to engage in massive early-20th century style wars again?  And can't Europe do it's own combined defense against external threats (including Russia) without needing us there?  I think so.

Go, read the comments in this diary from MarekNYC, then you know, why (eastern) Europeans need NATO and why western Europeans thereby can't tell the US to get out, even of they wanted to.

There is no reason to believe that at current levels of armorisation, even French and German military would be enough to defend Europe against Russia, not to speak of the rest of the 3 times such big EU. Eastern Europeans will go nuts, when the US dissolves NATO, independent if the EU has a stronger army than Russia.
With the history of the 20th century, would you, if you were a Pole, be happy to depend on the German military to secure your country from a Russian invasion?
OTOH, if western Europeans will throw out the US, the eastern Europeans will cease the EU to function very well. Dissolving NATO is an issue to be done by the US, not by Europeans.
And while you are right, that George Bush 41 would most likely have managed to get international support for Afghanistan without NATO, his son would not have managed. NATO thereby insures, that the US doesn't need to invest presidential brain cells in foreign policy to have a mercenary army. That's good for the US, as most recent history puts in doubt, if all US presidents always will have spare brain cells.


Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den Menschen
Volker Pispers

by Martin (weiser.mensch(at)googlemail.com) on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 06:06:52 PM EST
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