[uncbob]

This is, in short, a Henry Kissinger moment, and the great man yesterday duly obliged. The road to Iraqi disarmament, he told The Washington Post, was the most serious crisis for Nato since the alliance was born in 1949.

Good thing we bombed Belgrade into ruble to SAVE NATO otherwise they wouldn't be at our side now

[Restorer]

The present crisis is not causing the irrelevance of these institutions, it is merely exposing it.

[AmericaUnited]

I have to run out and get some champaign...

This is, in short, a Dom Periom moment

The UN becoming irrelevant

The beginning of the US stopping spending huge amounts of money protecting ingrates in Europe.

Etc, Etc.

[Billthedrill]

There is, in addition to all this, a distinct possibility of the EU itself being made unable to come to agreements on the structure of formulation of a common foreign policy. The Belgians and the French and the Germans are essentially taking the positon that l'etat, c'est moi! which might come as news to the other EU members. Certainly some eyes in Great Britain have been opened, if any more were necessary to do that. This and the fact that the plan they're offering as their own and new was in fact the U.S.'s and a year old, does not argue for any particular diplomatic dexterity on the part of Old Europe. This is simply clumsy, even incompetent, and quite unnecessary.

[45Auto]

Of course, personalities have played their part. Europe liked Clinton; he was in some ways an honorary European. Not so Messrs Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, with their blunt language and – in the case of Rumsfeld – unconcealed scorn.

A ringing endorsement if I ever heard one!

[45Auto]

France is the main butt

So what else is new?

[wimpycat]

Interesting and thoughtful article. Thanks for posting it.

[45Auto]

There is one element of discussion missing from this piece: Old Europe is rapidly being populated by Islamic migrants, legal and illegal. It is only a matter of time before the more radical elements begin causing real trouble for France, etc. "Prosperous and peaceful" Europe is living in a fool's paradise.

[rmlew]

I hope not.
The current order is destroying nation states.

[McGavin999]

The EU is not going to survive in it's present form. I think too many eyes have been opened by this French/German power grab. Between that and the ridiculous EU constituion I think the rest of europe realizes what a close call they had. I fully expect new rules to come out of this, the euro to fly out the window, and the power of the EU to be severely curtailed.

[Nick Danger]

the main multilateral institutions created since 1945 are at risk of being sidelined for good.

This judgement might be excessive.

That judgement might not be excessive. One of the many misunderstandings that most Europeans have about President Bush is their failure to see what kind of leader this is.

Bush is not a reactive person. He is a man who looks out across the landscape, sees far, recognizes patterns, decides where he wants to go, and is damned successful at getting there.

Thomas Friedman recently wrote in the New York Times of the Bush Administration's breathtakingly ambitious plans to literally re-form the Middle East... to move that whole area away from despotism and poverty toward something resembling the modern world. One can deride such an effort, or call it unrealistic, but it is an illustration of how Bush thinks. Rid the world of terrorism? We'll have to drain the whole damned swamp.

What makes Bush unusual among elected officials is that he does not stop there. He formulates a plan and sets out to get it done, knowing in advance that it might take decades. "Re-forming the Middle East" is ambitious stuff, but this is a man who sees it needs doing, and will set out to do it.

So France and Germany would like to up-end the UN, NATO, and the EU as well, so as to make room for a European super-state which they intend to lead?

Bush probably has some ideas about how Europe might be re-ordered as well. He can't help it; it is how he thinks. What France and Germany have to watch out for is that, having put the ball in play, they might find themselves with an unexpected opponent who plays a mean game of "let's re-order the world."

Bush was a busy man, and he might not have moved any time soon to replace the UN and/or NATO with new institutions, but if someone else is going to precipitate the action anyway, I predict he will turn out to be a major force in deciding what happens next.

Several commentators have characterized this latest obstructionism from France and Germany as "jumping the gun" by revealing their plans to dominate Europe before they really had their ducks lined up. I don't think they know the half of the mistake they just made.