Europe Is Fearful Of Another 'Great War'

LIBYA BRIEFING - French Chief of the Defense Staff Adm. Edouard Guillaud, 2nd from right, begins a meeting with U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III, 4th from left, at the Ecole Militaire in Paris, June 17, 2011. Lynn, Guilland and their staffs are meeting to discuss NATO operations in Libya. DOD photo by Terry Mitchell

Europe’s Great Fear Of Another Great War -- Will Inboden, Shadow Government/Foreign Policy

In Paul Miller's excellent post below, he makes a persuasive case that much of the European reluctance to make the necessary resource commitments to NATO stems from a decades-long "rational choice" to free ride under the American security umbrella. I think Paul is largely correct, but would add that there is an additional dimension of culture and historical memory that also shapes the European mindset on defense.

Last week when Secretary Gates gave his Brussels speech, I happened to be on vacation with my wife in southern France. We spent a few days touring the French countryside and its many villages. As enchanting as each village was, with their timeless stone houses, quiet streams, and idyllic vineyards, every last town center also featured a monument to death, in the form of an obelisk listing the names of the men of the village who had died in World War I.

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My Comment: Europe has a long history of peace and war cycles. With each generation the perception of war and their experiences are different .... with those who had experience war directly being the most reluctant to pursue such an undertaking. But .... if my father is any indication (someone who experienced the Russian front from 1942-1945) .... he hated war, but while he perceived war to be evil he also knew that there were unique situations that were even more evil than the war itself.

As for the disconnect between Europe and America on conducting war .... the results do not surprise me. The U.S. experienced 9/11 and the destruction of lower Manhattan, it will take another 10- 20 years before that impact recedes from the American consciousness. If the Europeans had also experienced the same type of attack (airplanes into the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, The Kremlin, or the Bundestag in Germany) .... trust me .... Europe's pacifist feelings will go out the window within 24 hours, and heaven help those who gave support and the go-ahead for such an attack.