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Europe's Choice
Wall Street Journal ^ | August 4, 2004 | VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

Posted on 08/04/2004 6:25:39 AM PDT by OESY

...

Europeans casually talk of the Kerry rapprochement to come, as if in their magnanimity they have given us one last chance to return to sobriety. They exude a bold confidence, even to strangers, that the brightened prospects of the Democratic challenger are proof that America has seen the European light and therefore, of course, Mr. Kerry must win. Never has Europe been so emotionally involved in an American election -- and never to their peril have they read us so wrong.

...

And few American administrations have proved as controversial in refashioning American foreign policy as have the blunt-speaking George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld. All are fat targets after radically altering America's prior relationships with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya, dividing Europe into Old and New, questioning the role of American troops in NATO and in South Korea, and parting with Yasser Arafat.

...

Despite the lectures, Americans find Europe itself a vast sea of contradictions. The French write and talk obsessively about Anglo-American adventurism in Iraq.

...

None of these paradoxes is new. Yet the European meddling in this particular presidential election is. Less talked about is that the image of an allied Europe has been shattered here at home. And all the retired NATO brass and Council on Foreign Relations grandees are finding it hard to put the pieces back together again.

...

If Europeans think it is nonsensical to connect Iraq with our own post 9/11 security, then Americans believe it is far more absurd to envision an American-led NATO patrolling their skies and roads 15 years after a nearby hostile empire collapsed....

The election of John Kerry would probably not reverse either the current policy in Iraq or the ongoing reappraisal of our foreign relations.

...

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Germany; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: antiamericanism; austria; axisofweasels; belgium; britain; bush; chirac; england; eu; europe; europeans; europeanunion; euros; eurotwits; finland; france; germany; greatbritain; holland; ireland; italy; kerry; michaelmoore; nato; netherlands; norway; scotland; spain; sweden; teresa; uk; unitedkingdom; vdh; victordavishanson; wales; westerneurope
Mr. Hanson, a military historian, is a senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.
1 posted on 08/04/2004 6:25:40 AM PDT by OESY
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To: OESY

Licorice: "What you don't know, and must never know,
is that my savior, John Kerry, was given a clear
and specific choice by the French before the DNC in Boston.
Resuscitator Kerry had to choose either Israel -- or France.
As well all know, he chose France and never mentioned Israel".

2 posted on 08/04/2004 6:33:13 AM PDT by Diogenesis (Re: Protection from up on high, Keyser Sose has nothing on Sandy Berger, the DNC Burglar)
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To: Diogenesis

This WSJ's paid site...


3 posted on 08/04/2004 6:37:22 AM PDT by nyconse
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To: OESY
Never has Europe been so emotionally involved in an American election -- and never to their peril have they read us so wrong.

Europe was pretty emotionally involved against Reagan.

4 posted on 08/04/2004 6:37:41 AM PDT by Always Right
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To: Diogenesis

We lived in Europe during the first Reagan administration and the Herald Tribune nearly ran out of ink every day trying to defeat him. Demonstations against the missiles..reruns of his..the bombing starts etc. Just a cowboy from Hollywood.
The Europeans just don't like real Americans much. They are also anti semitic to the core. The worst verbal anti semitic comments I heard in my life came out of the French and the Germans.
We shouldn't worry what they think of us.


5 posted on 08/04/2004 7:04:22 AM PDT by Oldexpat
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To: OESY

I sure wish I could read this article because I love Hanson, but the Wall Street Journal's subscription rates are a little beyond my budget just for the privilege of reading their members-only articles.


6 posted on 08/04/2004 7:23:51 AM PDT by Capriole (DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE. FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY.)
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To: Dark Wing

ping


7 posted on 08/04/2004 7:36:51 AM PDT by Thud
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To: OESY
From the Blue Collar Comedy bunch:

from their dictionary: "European"

You are peeing on my boots...

Stand by for the destruction of this Soviet Union #2

8 posted on 08/04/2004 7:40:15 AM PDT by Leo Carpathian (Vote the RATS out!!!)
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To: OESY
Never has Europe been so emotionally involved in an American election...

Not so sure about that. The Euros were very pro-McGovern too.

9 posted on 08/04/2004 7:58:18 AM PDT by Republic If You Can Keep It
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To: OESY

He is right, Kerry will change NOTHING for europe. The differnece is that kerry will be a SUCKER.


10 posted on 08/04/2004 8:48:49 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
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To: Oldexpat
The Europeans just don't like real Americans much.

It's because all the best ones left some time ago and their progeny grew up to be #1, and deep down in their hearts they know it just as well as we do.

11 posted on 08/04/2004 10:27:11 AM PDT by jpl ("Go balloons, go ballons! Confetti, confetti, where's the confetti?" - Don Mischer)
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To: OESY
You can read the whole article here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1185565/posts

12 posted on 08/05/2004 8:37:35 AM PDT by quidnunc (Omnis Gaul delenda est)
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

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