Posted on 10/27/2007 7:52:17 PM PDT by george76
This is indeed true but saying it was for sure not helpful for the cause. The politicians in Germany desperately waited for a chance to leave their old servant role playing in transatlantic relations behind and such guys like Lantos and Guantanamo gave them the cause and possibility to do it. Their verbalism was used as a example that America can be no friend of Europe and Gitmo and capital punishment was used as a example that Americans are somehow a strange and fundamentalist barbarian tribe. MSM at its best. The growing gap between America and Europe is the only but at the same time quite important "merit" of the Schroeder term. He will therefore find his place in history books as the chancellor that emancipated central Europe (we do not talk about Germany only) from America.
It is indeed a fact that America lost because of Schroeder and Chirac much of its influence in Europe. I doubt that its former position as a broadly accepted "leading nation" ever can be be achieved again.
This is something most Americans are not aware of. They still believe into their influence as a Superpower. The facts in Europe are much different. Of course Lantos is correct if he tells some Dutch parlamentarians that the Netherlands probably would be under different rule if there wouldn't have been the US (which is historically incorrect - the main burden for fighting down the nazis was carried by the Russians. The US had their share but it was only a part), but WWII was 60 years ago and is for sure irrelevant to young Dutch lawmakers. Such strong words might be popular among some American conservatives but he makes a clown of himself in Europe with that. Beside of this Europeans who are pro-America need some calmness to rebuild a littlebit of what has been smashed during the past 5 years or so. Lantos is backstabbing them (us) with his self-righteous hullabaloo.
Regards from good old Europe
A.B.
Tom Lantos is a nut and a loose cannon.
One never knows what he or his family may do in the states or around the world.
Tom Lantos is from old Europe. He had some troubles in his younger days there.
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