"All I can say is that we Europeans must really take our destiny in our own hands. The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over as I experienced in the past few days." Angela Merkel said these words at a campaign stop in Bavaria.
In my estimation, these are words that all sensible European leaders ought to be saying. Europe, the EU, is as big as the United States in regards to population, land area, industrial capacity, wealth. It has real threats, the Russians, financial turmoil, a flood of Muslim refugees, Brexit which could lead to disintegration of the EU, Islamic terrorism, high unemployment and sluggish growth, oppressive regulations, Greek bankruptcy, falling birthrates, and doubtless more that are not obvious to Americans like me.
We Americans will help out against Russian aggression, but the rest of the problems we see as purely internal European problems. Against most of them there is nothing we can do, even if we believed we ought to. Wealthy Europe is a tempting target to aggressors, refugees, terrorists, and others. Europe lacks America's natural defenses, lacks America's large and effective armed forces, and lacks America's political unity. Any thinking person ought to be concerned. Angela Merkel, as leader of Germany, the largest and most influential member of the EU, is speaking to Germans and EU citizens about what ought to be.
But US TV, even normally sober Fox News, is going ape over Merkel's words. I heard both Shepard Smith and Charles Krauthammer yesterday decrying Angela Merkel words as a call to break up NATO, and trash the American alliance. How do you spell "overreact"?
I read Angela Merkel's words as a call for Europe to stand on it's own two feet. Which is a perfectly reasonable thing to say.
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