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| Europe |
| Sorry, Barry. The Thrill Is Gone |
| 2008-07-29 |
| That was a brief fling, even by European romantic standards. One day after his speech before an adulating Berlin crowd last week, Barack Obama said more NATO troops would allow the U.S. to cut its presence in Afghanistan. The "billions of dollars" saved, he told CNN on Friday, could "finance lower taxes for middle-class families." Ah, not so fast. On Sunday the Secretary General of the opposition German Free Democrats, Dieter Niebel, responded to Mr. Obama by telling the Bild am Sonntag that "Under no circumstances will the German taxpayer pay with more money and more troops for Afghanistan for tax cuts in the U.S." Erwin Huber, chairman of the center-right Christian Social Union of Bavaria, called Mr. Obama's statement "a disappointment for Europe and Germany." Mr. Huber, who belongs to the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, also said that "it is the opposite of solidarity and partnership when one side is to make more sacrifices and the other gains an advantage from it." Welcome to President Bush's world, Senator Obama. The myth is that Mr. Bush's "unilateralism" has so antagonized America's allies that they will rush to share more of the war burden once the Texan is back in Crawford. But Europeans have long enjoyed the free ride of U.S. military protection while enjoying even more their freedom to criticize how that protection is provided. Mr. Obama's attempt to link European security commitments to American tax cuts was the kind of "unilateral" political faux pas that won't make European defense burden-sharing any more likely. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #6 For all the guff W gets about being a "poor speaker", Obama sans teleprompter will be seen the "dumbest speaker" in a long time. |
| Posted by: Harcourt Whomosh aka Broadhead6 2008-07-29 22:35 |
| #5 apparently, irony is not an EU commodity They have a committee working on that. They should have a 1000 page document coming out soon detailing its approved parameters and acceptable uses. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2008-07-29 14:03 |
| #4 Seems Steve Jobs is not the only one with a reality distortion field. The effects seem to linger for about 24 hours and then reality slips in (to some). |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-07-29 12:13 |
| #3 Erwin Huber, chairman of the center-right Christian Social Union of Bavaria, called Mr. Obama's statement "a disappointment for Europe and Germany." Hier es uberrascht wenig. Sort of the way we see it on this side as well Herr Erwin. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-07-29 10:39 |
| #2 "political faux pas " Get used to it if the smiling empty-headed empty suit idiot Obama gets elected. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-07-29 09:56 |
| #1 Mr. Huber, who belongs to the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, also said that "it is the opposite of solidarity and partnership when one side is to make more sacrifices and the other gains an advantage from it." apparently, irony is not an EU commodity |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-07-29 09:51 |