Article

2005-09-15 Europe

Euros in NATO: we will not fight Taliban in Afghanistan - you're on your own

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by too true 2005-09-15 08:55|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 As expected. Ask Germany again if Merkel takes over. If she says no, then write them off.

Someone once posted a bit here about people being in one of three categories: assholes, pussies, and dicks. Using that as a guide, NATO doesn't mean dick, anymore - the majority are aren't.

Posted by .com 2005-09-15 09:06|| 2005-09-15 09:06|| Front Page Top

#2 Nice to know all their Kyoto talk about "developing nations" is just that - talk.

Posted by Chris W. 2005-09-15 09:24|| 2005-09-15 09:24|| Front Page Top

#3 Can someone please explain again why we defend these parasites with bases in europe?

Posted by CrazyFool 2005-09-15 09:30|| 2005-09-15 09:30|| Front Page Top

#4 NATO is dead. The UN is dead. Get out of both of those organizations and make our own new alliance with Japan, Taiwan, England (if they stay out of the damn EU), Australia, India and Iraq.

Posted by mmurray821 2005-09-15 09:37|| 2005-09-15 09:37|| Front Page Top

#5 this was disapointment, and not a good sign about the Euros. But they still have 11,000 troops in the "safer" parts of Afghanistan, doing things that would otherwise take US troops.

Posted by liberalhawk 2005-09-15 09:39|| 2005-09-15 09:39|| Front Page Top

#6 "doing things that would otherwise take US troops."

Naturally, they won't be fighting....

Posted by Mark E. 2005-09-15 10:22|| 2005-09-15 10:22|| Front Page Top

#7 Just being in Afghanistan is a lot. The US is probably subsidizing a hell of a lot of their operations, just so that there will be boots on the ground in the tamer areas.

Another big question mark is the Afghan army itself, and why there is so little obvious attention given to it, compared to the Iraqi army.

However, in that situation, my best recommendation would be a massive, one-shot influx of carefully managed small business creation money. The Afghan economy, more than anything else, will keep out those who prey on poverty and despair. At their level of development, which is minimal, we could easily turn them into a sustainable breakbasket, which would satisfy 98% of the population.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-09-15 10:48|| 2005-09-15 10:48|| Front Page Top

#8 took the words right out of my mouth mcmurray

Posted by Uninetle Hupating2229 2005-09-15 11:01|| 2005-09-15 11:01|| Front Page Top

#9 I'm thinkin' it's time to move all personel out of Eurabia. I know I'm wrong. But, FOAD.

Posted by macofromoc 2005-09-15 11:05|| 2005-09-15 11:05|| Front Page Top

#10 But they still have 11,000 troops in the "safer" parts of Afghanistan, doing things that would otherwise take US troops.

So Europe's military is the modern equivalent to the WAC.

Sounds about right.

(And, again, they went into Afghanistan because we invoked the NATO common defense provisions. That they now refuse to fight is repudiation of the NATO treaty.)

Posted by Robert Crawford">Robert Crawford 2005-09-15 11:31|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2005-09-15 11:31|| Front Page Top

#11 those who prey on poverty and despair

Oh no, the root causes that led 19 Saudis to crash airplanes into building.

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2005-09-15 12:02|| 2005-09-15 12:02|| Front Page Top

#12 What do you call a peacekeeper who's afraid to keep the peace? Perhaps we can just sell Nato to the UN and go it alone.

Posted by Greating Omater1112 2005-09-15 13:46|| 2005-09-15 13:46|| Front Page Top

#13 Time for the US to create a US Foreign Legion along the French model. Offer US citizenship to anyone who serves and we'd have an endless supply of recruits. Close bases and stop subsidizing the Europeans and use the money saved to pay for the whole thing.

Light infantry and peacekeepers designed to work independantly but under the US command structure.

Posted by rjschwarz 2005-09-15 14:11|| 2005-09-15 14:11|| Front Page Top

#14 I think your onto something there with that legion. It would be nice to grow a big unit that has teh only job to fight and none of the other bullshit. But if they created this unit the LLL would go nuts and call them the SS or something like that.

Posted by Cyber Sarge">Cyber Sarge 2005-09-15 14:45|| 2005-09-15 14:45|| Front Page Top

#15 Sounds fair. They stay out of US ops and the US stays out of Europe's Caliphate War. 2 World Wars and 400,000 dead American is more than enough.

Posted by ed 2005-09-15 15:15|| 2005-09-15 15:15|| Front Page Top

#16 2 World Wars and 400,000 dead American is more than enough.

Yeah, like two world wars and 400,000 American lives more than enough.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-09-15 15:49|| 2005-09-15 15:49|| Front Page Top

#17 Sad. I don't know who said it, but "The only time Europe tends to notice danger is when they are peeking out of the rubble at their new flag".

Posted by SteveS 2005-09-15 20:52|| 2005-09-15 20:52|| Front Page Top

#18 I pity Europe. They are a pathetic lot. It's sad that after all we have done they are still a basket case going down further. On the other hand, their problems are their problems. If they don't want to take a stand to make the world a better place it's their loss. Farewell Europe.

Posted by Spomoque Cralet6289 2005-09-15 21:50|| 2005-09-15 21:50|| Front Page Top

#19 The EU is also dead - its intent was at best a confederatist alliance whose only manifest destiny is to be either a glorified, larger Belgium or larger Switzerland. Cut back on international aid, and give every American citizen one helluva tax- or personal rebate - iff Americans and American warriors are gonnas save the Euros from themselves, Western DemoSocialism from itself, and from Osama's Global Islamist/Jihadist State, i.e Faith=God-based Communism and Totalitarianism, then we "Amis" should get the money, besides it being [mostly]our monies to begin with.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2005-09-16 00:00|| 2005-09-16 00:00|| Front Page Top

00:01 LC FOTSGreg
00:00 JosephMendiola
23:54 Fred
23:48 SC88
23:41 Ebbugum Shise2165
23:40 Igster
23:31 Jackal
23:23 Frank G
23:23 Sock Puppet OÂ´ Doom
23:22 trailing wife
23:17 sludge
23:13 trailing wife
23:11 trailing wife
23:08 trailing wife
23:03 49 pan
23:02 trailing wife
22:59 trailing wife
22:57 .com
22:47 .com
22:44 .com
22:43 trailing wife
22:34 DMFD
22:33 Alaska Paul
22:28 DMFD