COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE BY NATALIE NOUGAYREDE IN THE
GUARDIAN
I have rarely seen such an unperceptive and truly
meaningless piece of writing. It is a very good example of words used just to
hear yourself.
"Once more,
America will have to step in to save us..."
What an incredibly patronizing statement, loaded with unwarranted
assumptions, the smugness of a David Cameron, and the insouciance of a would-be
Paris salon hostess.
How can a country which cannot run its own affairs help
anyone? America is in bad shape on almost every front, yet it insists on a new monomaniacal
drive to re-make the face of the earth.
And how is that drive financed in a country which cannot
balance its books, its trade balances, or any other measure of self-regulation you
care to cite? By abusing its fortunate position as world reserve currency,
pumping out endless dollars for all the world’s suckers to hold.
In fact, America is the source of many of Europe's greatest problems.
It was America's irresponsible, greed-based financial crisis
in 2008 that tipped the world into dangerous economic territory from which it
has not recovered.
It is American aggressive policies which are pushing Europe
into untenable positions vis-a-vis Russia, a natural partner for Europe in
everything from energy supplies to a market for consumer goods and farm products.
Aggressive American policies have pushed Europeans towards
greater military spending at a time when realistically it is completely
unnecessary.
NATO itself is today nothing but a mechanism to keep America
at the center of European affairs, a very costly mechanism both in terms of
military spending and in terms of divisiveness with Europe’s natural partners.
It is American aggressive policies concerning the Mideast
which have caused all the misery of Syria and Libya and Iraq, resulting in all
the terrible migration of refugees.
It is American influence, especially through its unceasing facilitator,
Ms. Merkel, that has transported these woes into Europe.
Look at the madman, Erdogan, an unbalanced and genuinely
dangerous man, and the risky games Europe is driven to play with him.
Europe, left to itself, might end many of its relations with
him, but it is American insistence on the geo-political importance of Turkey
that keeps Europe from responding as it should.
Good God, what could be more insane than a member of NATO
shooting down a Russian plane and then running behind NATO’s skirts? It
reflects the same insanity which drives Erdogan to slaughter Kurds, imprison
journalists, and assassinate opponents.
The sum total of American policies is effectively crushing
Europe almost like a glacier rolling over the continent, and here is this silly
salon-voice saying you need more.
_____________________________
Response to another reader’s
comment:
American policy has generated the refugee crisis which is
the cause of most xenophobic reactions in Europe.
Any country would be hard pressed to accommodate what is
happening today.
Every population has its share of nasty people who will
react badly to such huge new stresses.
Every population has a natural distribution of everything
from plug-uglies to mental cases. You can't make that fact go away. Wise
governments don't create situations which stress them and bring them to the
fore.
But Europe under American influence has done just that.
