[meenie]

Two problems. Allies are getting pretty scarce unless we can buy their support. The defense of Europe was part of our strategy of keeping a wary eye on the Germans and preventing a resurgence of their militarism.

[McGavin999]

Let them get militant. We're just going to be next door, pumping our US dollars into the economy of a REAL ally

[Teacher317]

Staying there certainly didn't keep Germany as an ally. Why not leave?

[americanbychoice]

Our mission has been completed some time ago. Now let's stop pouring OUR money into countries that are certainly have no need to be developed.
Just a hypothtical, Just suppose, The US forms alliances with China, Russia, Japan, Australia, etc., would that lead to a more stable world?

[blanknoone]

resurgence of their militarism We can keep an eye on their militarism from Poland. Besides, the Brits on one end and Russians on the other will keep them in check. Remember, Germany's great advantage in the early 20th century was that its industrialization was well ahead of its neighbors, that is no longer the case.

[nathanbedford]

A resurgescence of German militarism? Please.

[witnesstothefall]

The defense of Europe was part of our strategy of keeping a wary eye on the Germans and preventing aresurgence of their militarism.

I don't want to get in a tiff here, but Versailles and the League of Nations were intended to contain German militarism. That was after WWI.

After WWII, there was no Germany left to speak of, and our defense of Europe was against Soviet tanks.

[riri]

keeping a wary eye on the Germans and preventing a resurgence of their militarism

LOL. The Germans would not do anything that might interfere with urlaub machen. (vacationing). The Germany of today is not your father's Germany.

Germany is toast. The Koran will be required reading inside of ten years and Sharia is not long after that.

[PAR35]

Two problems. Allies are getting pretty scarce unless we can buy their support. The defense of Europe was part of our strategy of keeping a wary eye on the Germans and preventing a resurgence of their militarism.

1. Allies in Europe include Britian, Spain, Poland, and Italy, with Russia leaning our direction because of a common enemy. Opposition is led primarily by France, Germany and Belgium.

2. Why should we care if Germany did decide to liberate territory occupied by France?

[montomike]

German militarism is dead. The Germans have lost their pride and their spines because they rely on their socialist government from the cradle to the grave.

They aren't going to be buying panzers and upgrading their luftwaffe with the massive social spending necessary to keep their society in line.

[FreeReign]

Allies are getting pretty scarce unless we can buy their support.

It's our enemies who are usually bought and paid for.

[Beck_isright]

"The defense of Europe was part of our strategy of keeping a wary eye on the Germans and preventing a resurgence of their militarism."

If you haven't noticed they are 0-2 in the last century. What a joke.

[arete]

Allies are getting pretty scarce unless we can buy their support.

You got that right. We have to pay big taxpayer dollars to buy "friends" today. Spain and Poland are basically whore governments who sell themselves to the highest bidder. Stop paying them and they go looking for someone who will. France, Germany and Russia are just going to sit there and watch us self-destruct in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Richard W.

[CGVet58]

we have allies. Poland, Spain, Italy to name but a few. And the list is growing.

Don't believe or let yourself be swayed by the emphasis placed on the importance of having a France, Germany or Russia on our side. That these nations currently have a stronger potential by virtue of their economies or traditional strength isn't the issue - the meat of the matter at hand is that this War on Terror is a war of wills first and foremost.

Think of it this way - we're still in the trees (of the current conflict) and have not yet had sufficient time/distance to put us more into a "forest" perspective. To continue this metaphor, we see trees that previously were thought to be healthy (ie: our relationships with FRG) that now aren't; but other trees we're not used to observing (Eastern & Mediterranean Europe) grow healthy and strong.

Metaphors or other figures of speech ultimately only have value, though, in the "soundbite" impact (and ease of ingestion in our Instant-MacDonalds multi-tasked attention span world); so here's my own soundbite:

This is War.
America has been awakened.
America fights this war humanely.
America's leader, President Bush, appeals to (what little glimmer remains of...) decency among old-europe nations to do the right thing.

But no matter what... America will defeat our enemies and if need be, utterly destroy them.

(I know, not much of a soundbite, but I've never been one for coalescing complex life-or-death issues into a smarmy, 15-word-or-less statement that's universally understood and accepted)

CGVet58

[aruanan]

Allies are getting pretty scarce unless we can buy their support.

Allies? Germany and France? Where did you ever get that idea?

[Publius6961]

Allies are getting pretty scarce unless we can buy their support.

Those kinds of "allies" we don't need. Leave them to their own devices and see what shakes out.
I am still trying to undestand the "rebuild the enemy after destroying them concept". If they must rebuild themselves, they won't have time to wage guerilla war, and we won't be there to provide targets. If they mess with us again, bomb them some more. It's not rocket science.

[Norse]

German militarism would be the best thing for Europe - meaning they only attack France.

Germany will come around, people. They are no where near as secular as the French.

[oldtimer]

What allies besides Great Britain?

The frogs detest us because we kept them from learning how to speak German, the Germans, frogs and Russians were up to their elbows selling weapons and technology to Hussain who was a barbarious murderer.

What GWB is doing is clearly playing hardball with the "former allies".