[Old Teufel Hunden]

"Both NATO and the European Union have to be preserved but we have to understand why."

I wholeheartedly agree with your whole post except for this one point. I don't understand why the European Union is a sacred cow. People talk about it as if it has been one of the institutions that helped combat the USSR during the cold war like NATO. In point of fact, it came into being after the Soviet Union fell. It has not been around forever and is not and was not ever a pillar institution of Europe.

My own opinion is that I would not like to live under the EU with unelected bureaucrats making laws and regulations that effect my country. However, I personally believe that the U.S. needs to take a stance of neutrality on this. Our position should be that we will trade and work with whomever in Europe. Whatever they decide for their destination we should support. It's in America's interest to do business with Europe no matter what form it may be in.

[nathanbedford]

Full disclosure: I am in ex-pat living in European Union whose existence here would be adversely affected if the union were to dissolve.

I think the coherence of Western and middle Europe must be preserved as a counterpoint to Russia and as a United entity against aggressive Islam.

If the union breaks up then Vladimir Putin will be in a position to pick off nationstates much like China has evidently just picked off the Philippines. Please do not mistake me, the European Union is in desperate need of political reform but so long as it speaks, at least ostensibly, in one voice concerning foreign affairs the influence of an aggressive Russia can more easily be fended off.

As to the reform of the European Union, the socialist mentality here makes it difficult to expect either political or economic reform which I define mostly to mean a restructuring of the architecture of the European Union. The problem is, it is run by leftists who love bureaucracies, who themselves are bureaucrats, who rule Europe according to the bureaucratic fashion. This will be a tough nut to crack.

I agree with your position that American should be neutral concerning the makeup of the European Union and trade opportunistically which is, after all, the policy of the founders and framers. We should not, however, be neutral respecting Islam or Russia. We should co-opt Russia if possible.