Fred emails:
I had an epiphany this year.
For the last 90 years, the U.S. has been protecting Europe from the consequences of its endless folly. This started in 1917 when the U.S. (for reasons I don’t comprehend) entered the First World War and prevented France, Belgium Italy and Britain from being steam-rollered by Germany and its allies.
It happened again in 1941 when the U.S. entered the Second World War, prevented Britain from being steam-rollered by Germany, and reversed the conquest of France, Belgium Luxembourg, Holland, Denmark, Norway and Greece.
From 1945 to the late 1980s the U.S. prevented Western Europe from being steam-rollered by Stalin and his successors.
Because of this, Europe has not had to attend to its defense for well more than half a century. Europe has essentially pulled the plug on its own military. They have taken no responsibility for security in this world–not in Rwanda, Sudan, Kosovo, Somalia, anywhere. At most, they toss in a symbolic presence in Bosnia, but it’s not more than that. Their support for the U.S. in Afghanistan barely rises to the level of anemic.
Since defense is a giant freebee for them, and they don’t have to maintain a military, they grow contemptuous of anything military.
Canada’s left wing drift is similar. The theory behind Canadian demilitarization is that there is no military problem they could face that would not draw us into the fray. Therefore, they spend the absolute minimum on their military.
People do not appreciate things that are free. It is easy to have contempt for the military when your security is a freebie. Europeans do not have any appreciation for the things that military personnel must face and do.
It is for this reason that I am now convinced that NATO should be terminated. The U.S. should be extremely selective about who its allies are.
Because of Geography, we have no choise but to indulge Canada’s neglect of defense. This is not true for anyone else.
By shouldering responsibility for security of Europe, we subsidies its left wing tendencies. That should end.
