On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 23:50:02 +0000, Rob van Riel
wrote:

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 06:29:20 -0700, Phormer Phantom Phlyer wrote:

That will
involve the US, which will involve Europe.

Oh, I see, so the sole purpose of European armies is to serve as
auxiliaries to the great American Empire is it? I think you'll find that
European cooperation will be far from automatic for the next great
adventure the US embarks on.

Perhaps. But the whole idea behind "collective security" is that if
you have a rogue state acting in character then a collective of armed
forces can be used, if necessary, to deal with said rogue state. Of
course, this presumes that armed forces are available. If everybody
demobilizes then where will the force come from? And it's not like we
don't have lots of rogue states to choose from.

They can also be useful in humnitarian interventions,
peacekeeping/peacemaking duties, etc. I guess one way to ensure that
no state has to make tough decisions is to demobilize. That might not
be a real viable long term strategy, however.

Then there's the last question, and that's "who shall guard the
guardians?" While small nations like Denmark or the Netherlands might
not fare all that well against larger powers, the very existence of
even modest armed forces can be a very valuable deterrent.

Or, as one wag put it, those who beat their swords into plowshares
will end up plowing for those who didn't.

Mind you, if that is an expedition against Chinese or North Korean
expansion, it would be a great pity if the various European nations didn't
stand up for the victims of such aggression solely because the US does,
but that is a possibility the Iraq escapade has created.

If the Europeans are indeed that dense then may they reap what they
sow.

Bill Kambic