Europe diary: Looking east

Should the Israelis be allowed time to carry out the destruction of Hezbollah, or should they be told to stop now? ...The Finns, who are in the chair, and the French and the Italians argued that they should call for an immediate ceasefire. But with Britain and Germany arguing the more American line, the eventual statement only said: "It is urgent to stop violence." The distinction may not be huge but it's the sort of thing foreign ministers wrangle over for hours. The secondary question is whether the Israeli action should be condemned alongside Hezbollah. The Finns and French had already issued statements condemning "disproportionate" action but the foreign ministers diplomatically urged the Israelis "not to resort to disproportionate action", leaving open the question whether they had or not... The European Union's foreign minister in all but name, Javier Solana, is in the region, juggling with these niceties. Asked if the Israeli action was disproportionate, he said that if people thought it was, it would make it harder to win the battle against terrorists. He undiplomatically added that having being in Lebanon and seen the damage he had to say it was disproportionate... One insider told me that the EU's main role was within the quartet on the Middle East, alongside America, Russia and the UN. The EU's role was to act in concert with Russia "tugging on the Americans' sleeve", urging greater involvement or greater restraint.

The link to this story / op-ed was something like, does Europe have a role to play? My answer to that question is, yes, don't say anything except, we support Israel and the United States, and want to see Hizbollah and Hamas destroyed. If Europe can't do that, Europe needs to shut up.

2 posted on 07/20/2006 9:33:36 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Wednesday, June 21, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)

This has been an issue which has been bothering me for days. The world is practically in a death struggle against radical Islam and the US, Britain, and Israel have been doing all they can to defeat it. We have sacrificed both blood and treasure in this effort. Yet, apart from Britain, Europe at large has contributed next to NOTHING since this whole thing began!

I am mad that we are shedding blood and spending billions and billions of dollars and the rest of Europe is coasting or occasionally throwing brickbats!

3 posted on 07/20/2006 9:39:00 AM PDT by Obadiah (I wanted to play Mousetrap. You roll the dice, you move your mice. Nobody gets hurt.)

...the sort of thing foreign ministers wrangle over for hours...

Good! Keep wrangling for hours or days or weeks while Israel is destroying islamofascists.

4 posted on 07/20/2006 9:50:10 AM PDT by omega4412 (Multiculturalism kills. 9/11, Beslan, Madrid, London)

Don't forget Poland and Denmark. Poland contributed a few hundred troops to assist us in Iraq, and I think you already know what Denmark has been through.

5 posted on 07/20/2006 8:13:06 PM PDT by Berosus ("There is no beauty like Jerusalem, no wealth like Rome, no depravity like Arabia."--the Talmud)

The world is practically in a death struggle against radical Islam and the US, Britain, and Israel have been doing all they can to defeat it. We have sacrificed both blood and treasure in this effort. Yet, apart from Britain, Europe at large has contributed next to NOTHING since this whole thing began!

Not entirely true -- French citizens have sacrificed quite a few autos in this struggle. ;') Oh yeah, and whatever respect anyone anywhere ever felt for them.

6 posted on 07/20/2006 9:55:16 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Wednesday, June 21, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)

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