A newly released WikiLeaks cable describing a late 2009 meeting with European Union President Van Rompuy had the EU chief warning that “no one believes in Afghanistan any more.”
Van Rompuy, whose comments came in the wake of President Obama’s December escalation announcement, said the European nations in NATO were only going along with the war out of deference to the United States and added that by the end of 2010 he thought nations would start to bail out.
Though the comments point to a general pessimism about the Afghan War (even ahead of the record 2010 death toll) Van Rompuy’s prognostication leaves something to be desired, as a Lisbon Summit last month secured the continuation of the war in Afghanistan through at least 2014, though again, comments suggested few actually believe the war will be won even then.
Van Rompuy also predicted his native Belgium would leave if they had a single combat death. So far there have been no Belgian combat deaths, with the only Belgian soldier who died in Afghanistan having died of meningitis.
Maybe Europe should stop "deferring" to the United States and stand on its own two feet.
Andy, so long as the US pays most of the bills they're happy to play the game. You're right though.
True enough. As long as the U.S. is going to play the fool, why shouldn't Europe enjoy itself on America's dime.
These are some really, really smart chaps. Imagine, 9 years of having their asses kicked and they now arrive at the conclusion that, duh! Afghanistan is not winnable. I wonder what gave that secret away?
How is it that the US seems to have such power over other nations, in particular, over Europe? Why can't they just say "no" or "go take a hike"? There must be some other lever that the US is using, beyond personal, one-on-one pressure. Is it the thousands of US soldiers in their respective countries? Is it some historical respect for the US that is now misplaced? When are they going to wake up?