March 15, 2004

Hill-Watcher...

Don't fail to read the blog Belmont Club. I don't quote Wretchard often, because his powerful prose makes my scribbles feel supererogatory to the Great Debate. But you should put him high on your list of bookmarks, his bitter medicine is mete for a bitter era. From his most recent:

...There's an old saying that one should be careful of wishes because they might come true. The capitulation of Spain to Al Qaeda's terrorist offensive may momentarily gladden the Eurosocialists -- but only momentarily. Eurosocialism is ironically premised on a wall of free security, traditionally provided by the United States, behind which they can pursue utopianism. But the practical effect of the Socialist victory will be to open Europe's southern borders to more terrorist infiltration...

...The appeasement which so amuses the French may not be so funny when played by the Spaniards. For Spain, in concert with America and France, shared the watch of North Africa. And since that is where many Al Qaeda have moved, as the Madrid train bombing carried out by North Africans proves, Europe will find their relative danger increased far more greatly than the Americans, who can comfortably lose the Spanish contingent in Iraq. The loss of a solid Spain, while an annoyance to America is a catastrophe for Europe. Iraq is far from America but Spain is close to France.

In the end, the very nature of the War on Terror ultimately means that Europe needs America more than America needs Europe. The global jihad means that attacks on Europe can be planned and launched from geographical locations far beyond the reach of their defense forces. That could be ignored while Europe remained convinced that it would not be targeted...

The same assumption underlies the PoMo Marxism of American Leftists and Libertarians. They can deride and sneer at and undercut America's military, and the rustic types who enlist, and the president who is staunch in our defense, because they know the soldiers will still be there to protect them.

They will sneer 'till the day the backpack gets left on their train...

Posted by John Weidner at March 15, 2004 9:26 AM
Weblog by John Weidner