Europhiles will hate this week's column by VDH. He says that it's time to throw our sixty-year-old kid out of the house and make him grow up:

In contrast, the withdrawal of Americans throughout Old Europe — sober analysts can adjudicate a remnant figure of about 30,000 or so, down from our present numbers in Spain, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Greece — will encourage Europe to rearm or face the consequences of institutionalized appeasement. That radical step — despite popular misconceptions that it is either impossible or unwise — is more a good thing than a bad one.

That way we will not be dealing with a spiteful teenager any longer, but a mature adult partner. And if — after we leave — Germany invades France or Poland a third time, then there is simply no answer to the European problem anyway. Instead we must trust in our confidence that Europeans are wise enough to settle their own affairs peacefully. Perhaps socialists who won't fight much abroad at least won't be likely to fight among themselves either.

So we must be farsighted and confident enough to encourage the emergence of an associate rather than a dependent. Parents are happy when their sixty-year-old sons move out and get apartments — not angry that they have lost the opportunity to feed and launder balding and perpetual adolescents.

What price stability? An argument can be made that American forces in Europe are preventing Europeans from having (another) go at each other.

Does the cost of deployed forces (economic and politcal) outweigh the theoretical costs (human, economic and political) of yet another European war - this time with NBC capable opponents?

On the other hand .. yah, it's tempting to tell those snotty nosed socialists (grin) to go to hell in their own way.

I doubt it but if they actually would have another go at each other it could be a great source of amusement. We could have TV specials and employ a whole new generation of pundants. The potential entertainment value alone is staggering. We are talking the ultimate in reality shows.

And maybe even make a killing selling them guns and stuff. Good for employment.

I do not care what their cost is in terms of humanity and economics.

You say it will impact us. Possibly. Probably.

I do not care. I would find the impact ascceptable.

Am I crass?

My heart is a block of ice.

But they won't.

Michael
"But they won't."

Why say you that?

Germany can have France, and Belgium and the Netherlands for that matter, and any violence that occurs is actually a good thing. However, Poland is different.

I'm not sure about the Scandanavian countries, Italy, the Baltics, or the random principalities.

I find it quite disturbing to consider Europe physically warring with itself considering the last two times. Getting past that, my question is, what is the result of two NATO countries going to war? Is there a provision for them to lose status as a NATO member?