Interesting point of view.

Europe would seem to have had it's share of "cowboys", countries which tried to settle everything with force. It may have moved past that.

The former Yugoslavia bombing produced exactly nothing. NATO got the same deal after it was over that it was offered before. I emailed Bob Schieffer of CBS after he interviewed Madeleine Albright who bragged about the outcome. I pointed out that she had lied and lied and lied to him, at least as reported by all the other networks and his own. He emailed back, or at least someone claiming to be him, saying that he knew she had, it was the end of the program, and at least she was on record as lying.

But, the bombing achieved a net nothing, except making life miserable for civilians.

Europeans may not be investing as much in "defense", as there is not much against which standard armies can defend. No one needs to fear a horde of tanks coming from the east, there are few fears of a missile attack. The defences needed for the foreseeable future may include a dialogue with one's opponents with an effort at understanding as well as securing borders, protecting facilities.

That dialogue takes a mature person, mature country. It is much more satisfying to follow the Israeli model. The problem with that is you get the Israeli experience.

It's amusing to see the fall of communism blamed on Star Wars. First, the Soviet Union didn't spend that much trying to keep up. Second, those people who say it was Star Wars also have been saying for 50 years communism is a rotten economic system bound to fail. If that's so, why was Star Wars necessary in their minds. Wasn't Star Wars.

America's political system demands an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, no realizing that everyone winds up blind and toothless in that system. And, we'll pursue the Israeli path, making fun of the folks who suggest that dialogue is a tool, too, along with bombs and bullets, and get the Israeli result.

Arf