Excellent analysis by Prager. His focus in the short piece was on the opposition of Europe as a geo-political entity to the US, not on the Catholic Church as a religious entity to the idea of war. That is an entirely separate issue which is not addressed here.
But his analysis is very interesting. It appears that major anti-American feeling in the recent demonstrations in Europe (though not all) came from labor unions, the communist and left wing parties, and those socialists who fear America's huge economic and military power more than they fear Islamic terrorism. To them, Islam is just a bunch of terrorists, but America is the land of the Big Mac. And they fear the Big Mac more than they do suicide bombers. What a bunch.
But his analysis is very interesting. It appears that major anti-American feeling in the recent demonstrations in Europe (though not all) came from labor unions, the communist and left wing parties, and those socialists who fear America's huge economic and military power more than they fear Islamic terrorism. To them, Islam is just a bunch of terrorists, but America is the land of the Big Mac. And they fear the Big Mac more than they do suicide bombers. What a bunch. Couldn't disagree more with Prager. I think Kagan is more perceptive when it comes to describing the increasingly divergent views between America and at least, "Old Europe." Europe has been living under the American security umbrella for so long, it has lost touch with the real world where life can be "nasty, brutish, and short." Europeans believe that treaties, alliances, and international organizations can create a peaceful world forgetting that it has been the military power of the US that has empowered these instruments.
The average age of the Belgian army is 45 compared to 27 in the US. Belgians stay in until 55 for retirement purposes. Europe no longer has the ability to project military power around the world. International and supranational organizations are the only way they can have influence. America is disliked because it is the lone superpower and can not be controlled by them. However, I don't think that Europeans fear Americans more than Islamic terrorism. They just disagree how to deal with it. Europe has been dealing with terrorism for decades, e.g., the IRA, Red Army Brigade, Spanish separatists, etc.