Article

2009-01-16 Europe

Obama must get Europe to pay up in the war on terror

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Posted by ryuge 2009-01-16 09:19|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top

#1 It is hard to figure of whom Peters has more unrealistic expectations, the EUros or The One.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2009-01-16 10:36|| 2009-01-16 10:36|| Front Page Top

#2 Bambarino was such a success in Germany, wth his big mouth and slick talk, should be no problemo.

Posted by Woozle Elmeter 2700 2009-01-16 11:09|| 2009-01-16 11:09|| Front Page Top

#3 Woozle, he was a success cause he had a free concert. Who's he gonna have for a front band to pull this one off?

Posted by AlanC 2009-01-16 12:01|| 2009-01-16 12:01|| Front Page Top

#4 Sorry, no blood in that turnip.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-01-16 12:06|| 2009-01-16 12:06|| Front Page Top

#5 I don't think Mr. Peters is starry-eyed about the incoming president, Nimble Spemble. Not only is he a retired Army colonel (Intelligence), but he's been writing useful articles about the war on terror for years. Rather, he is laying out his position on this subject for the next four years.

Posted by trailing wife">trailing wife 2009-01-16 12:15|| 2009-01-16 12:15|| Front Page Top

#6 Ditto TW. His profound logic, sense of right, and intense patriotism were threatening to the PC "chain-of-command" while he was on active duty. He is no friend of those set on destroying us. Peters is a brilliant mind, a national treasure.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-01-16 12:36|| 2009-01-16 12:36|| Front Page Top

#7 Col. Peter's thought is part of the zeitgeist, anyway. The Wall Street Journal has any op-ed today on exactly that subject.

Kudos, then, to U.K. Defense Secretary John Hutton for making the stakes clear to his fellow Europeans ahead of Mr. Obama's inauguration Tuesday. "Freeloading on the back of U.S. military security," Mr. Hutton said in a speech last night, "is not an option if we wish to be equal partners in this trans-Atlantic alliance."

Mr. Hutton was most pointed about Afghanistan, a shooting war to which NATO is nominally committed but in which U.S. troops see most of the bullets. "Contributing less doesn't reduce the risks we face," he said. "It only brings less influence." And, in a line that will have many Americans nodding their heads: "It is not right to take the benefit of the insurance cover on offer, if you aren't prepared to pay the premium that goes with it."

The British Defense Secretary's frank talk about Europe's responsibilities in Afghanistan stands in contrast to some comments from the Continent. Within days of Mr. Obama's election victory, German officials were cautioning about the "limits" to the military help they could offer. France, too, has been noncommittal about boosting troop levels significantly. We applaud Mr. Hutton's challenge to his European neighbors, but he may need to make a lot more speeches like last night's to win hearts and minds in Paris and Berlin.

This will be a useful test of President Obama's ability to change the world's view of the U.S.

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2009-01-16 16:11|| 2009-01-16 16:11|| Front Page Top

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