The E.U. already is and will increasingly become a powerful stabilizing force in Europe. E.U. membership is the most powerful lure for poor and developing nations in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans. These countries are dramatically changing their governments, justice systems, monetary institutions, and even cultures to meet the standards of E.U. membership. Consequently, these nations are being pulled out of their authoritarian and backwards social systems and becoming modern democracies that behave themselves, all for the E.U. carrot.

In fact, the E.U. goodie bag is just too irresistible for many European countries to resist, as popular demand for a better lifestyle and modern institutions prevail.
 

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For instance, people in the Balkans more or less know how the other half of Europe lives and they want that lifestyle.

They are increasingly more willing to change their ways and suppress some of their sovereignty for the benefits available. Interestingly, Serbia is one of these nations, now aspiring to E.U. membership after the fall of Milosevic. They haven’t resumed their violent and unproductive foreign and domestic policies. Serbia still has a long way to go to become a modern democratic nation but they are now making the trek and that is what counts.

The European Union is also going to check and contain Russia in a permanent way that will prevent another Russian empire from ever emerging. The E.U. ensures that the Soviet Union is forever dead and will never rise again even if Russia does become a full blown authoritarian regime. As long as the E.U. continues eastward expansion absorbing the former Warsaw Pact countries, Russia can never re-conquer those nations. In fact, Russia would only be able to expand into Asia and no where else.

However, the European Union is currently a military dud but it doesn’t have to be a superpower militarily to contain the Russians. I know nothing inspires confidence like the military prowess of brave French warriors; heroes of Srebrenica. The E.U. doesn’t need to conquer Russia; recent attempts suggest this is a bad idea. The E.U. only has to stop and deter offensive actions, and the Russians are very good on the attack.

If the current E.U. members fielded only one active combat division, they would have more active divisions than the U.S. and that would be enough to halt a Russian invasion. They of course have more divisions available, enough to not require U.S. assistance to slow down any invaders. Besides, the E.U. has more than enough resources to bribe the Russians out of bad behavior so that military action wouldn’t be required.

Overall, the implications of this are tremendous for the U.S. We can now leave Europe and let the Europeans manage their own security.

The fact that we really haven’t left only encourages and perpetuates their dependence on America. As long as Uncle Sam is around to provide the muscle they don’t have to spend a lot on defense. This allows them to continue supporting their lavish welfare states. If we pulled out and told the E.U. that they were now on their own in their neighborhood, they would have to make hard decisions about spending.

And it is better for the United States if the E.U. handled all the security issues in Europe, as it is their backyard and they have a very direct and personal interest in keeping it clean. We don’t ask the Europeans to pay for our counter narcotics fight in South America; we shouldn’t pay for their security. Europe has been riding the U.S. gravy train for far too long and now is the time to end it.

Some Americans fear, while many others hope that the E.U. will develop a militarily antagonistic relationship with the U.S. They fear that the E.U. could become the next Soviet Union. Of course this scenario is not entirely outside the realm of possibility (as history has shown in the past few hundred years). However, it is extremely far fetched and not even remotely likely.

The European Union may be full of socialist weasels and meddling secular progressive bureaucrats, but it is still part of Western civilization. As long as the E.U. remains a democracy and doesn’t aspire to become a world empire it will not create a security threat to the United States. Besides, socialist Europeans are composed of too many pansies and girlie men to take over the world.

In the end, the U.S. needs to withdraw from Europe and the E.U. is our ticket out.

In the economic arena the E.U. is a serious competitor although they are hampered by their own unproductive socialism. Because of our free market economy, the United States will still have the edge in competitiveness for quite some time. American attention needs to be focused on Asia and the Middle East, not on threats from the decrepit Russians who are choking on their own Vodka induced vomit.

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