US to Europe: shut up already

Steven Denbeste, the warblogging captain of the USS Clueless, pulls the camouflage off the biggest secret of the last 60 years in By george, I think he’s got it: After WWII, America occupied Western Europe. We did it in the guise of keeping the Soviets from invading but Steven points out that our million troops stationed there also kept the French, Germans, and British from attacking each other (and drawing us in) a third time; note that the Soviets have been gone for years and there is no more threat of invasion but American troops are still there. I think I’m a fiarly well read person but I’ve never read this rationale for NATO before.

Until late last year, we tried to play nice with the Europeans in world affairs (ref. the Marshall Plan, the Gulf War, Yugoslavia) but all they did was give us bad advice and hinder/prevent the optimal outcome. After the Al Quaeda attacks in September we responded on our own, ignoring the advice proferred unasked by various European politicians and pundits and succeeded faster and with less collateral damage than anyone foresaw. So, as Steven implies, isn’t it time for the Europeans to shut up and listen to us for a change?