It has been said -- by Steven Jay Gould, more than once, and probably others -- that the anti-science flavor of Christian fundamentalism is a singularly American phenomenon.

Nonetheless, I believe Mr. Watson in the IHT is exaggerating the problem, at least in one aspect:

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the number of Chinese and Indians traveling to America to study has fallen by more than 50 per cent - they are going to Europe instead. There are now as many Asian PhDs being produced as U.S. ones, more and more of them familiar with Europe.

I speculate the decrease in foreign students in the US has much more to do with the increased difficulty in obtaining visas, coupled with a perception (not unrealistic, mind you) that they will be mistrusted or harassed as foreigners while here. Also, I think it's reasonable to expect more PhDs granted outside the US than in, for the simple reason that there are more people, and more universities.

By contrast, the very history of modern Europe - the scientific revolution, the Enlightenment, the modernist battles of the 19th century - may be characterized as the victory of rationalism and science over religious dogmatism.

Which conveniently omits the fact that the Enlightenment, the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, and the rest, took place simulateneously on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries... in spite of some of the original colonies (Massachusetts, for example) having been founded by rigid religious fundamentalists.

While it is true that there is a vocal "Christian Right" minority in the US, attempting to force its anti-science agenda on schools and on some lines of research, they are still very much a minority, and face strong opposition. Specifically regarding Kansas: the outcome has yet to occur, and is waiting until August when the state curriculum committee re-convenes.
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I also find it interesting, if not to say 'suspicious', that Mr. Watson chooses to use the rest of his article to make an anti-Turk point. I may well be misinformed by the lack of detailed coverage on this side of the Atlantic, but it was my impression that the EU Constitution was, and remains, a separate issue from expansion.