Spodaj je dober komentar Arnauda Betranda o tem, da je Evropa vstopila v “stoletje ponižanja” in da si je za to sama kriva. To ponižanje se ni začelo z ekspanzionistričnimi izjavami Donalda Trumpa, da bo prevzel Grenlandijo, ali z njegovimi izjavami, da bodo evropske države morale kupovati več ameriškega plina, sicer jim bo nabil carine, ali z njegovimi izjavami, da morajo nameniti 5 % proračuna za nakup ameriškega orožja, ali pa naj se same branijo. Ne, začelo se je leta 1945, ko so so ameriške sile pod pretenzijo, da Evropo branijo pred Sovjetsko zvezo, vojaško “okupirale” Evropo (lahko sicer najdete kak drug izraz za nastanitev ameriške vojske in raket v vojaških bazah širom Evrope). Nadaljevalo se je z iniciranjem evropske integracije, kajti ta je v prvi vrsti ameriški projekt. Države članice so v tej evropski integraciji gospodarsko naredovale (vse do ustanovitve Skupnega trga leta 1995), toda ves čas so ostale vojaško, gospodarsko, tehnološko in politično podrejene ZDA.

Edini svetli točki, ki bi lahko pomenili preokret k evropski osamosvojitvi, sta bili izgon ameriških sil iz Francije leta 1966 in umik francoske vojske izpod poveljstva Naata (pod pritiskom francoskega predsednika Charlesa de Gaullea) in nasprotovanje nekaterih držav EU ameriškemu napadu na Irak leta 2003. Praktično pa skorajda v popolnosti zunanjo politiko EU določajo v Washingtonu. V Washingtonu zahtevajo, da morajo države, preden vstopijo v EU, najprej postati članice Nata. V Washingtonu de facto potrdijo članstvo v EU.

Najbolj drastično pa se je popolna podrejenost EU ameriški zunanji politiki pokazala v primeru brezrezervnega podpiranja ameriške proxy vojne v Ukrajini, podpiranja ameriško sponzoriranega izraelskega genocida v Gazi in razkosanja Sirije ter ameriške hladne vojne proti Kitajski. Vse troje v temelju škodi interesom EU, njenega gospodarstva in blaginji Evropejcev, kljub temu sedanja vodilna politična kasta v EU brezrezervno in servilno sledi ameriškim interesom na škodo evropskim.

Evropske države so na primeru različnega obravnavanja ruske agresije na Ukrajino in izraelskega genocida v Gazi moralno bankrotirale. Vendar niso izgubile samo moralne kredibilnosti, pač pa so s svojim ravnanjem legitimizirale razpustitev pravil mednarodnega prava. S tem pa so ogrozile svojo lastno ozemeljsko celovitost. Če je izraelsko zavzetje Gaze in Zahodnega brega ter Golanske planote in turško zavzetje severa Sirije de facto sprejemljivo za evropske voditelje, je tudi ameriško zavzetje Grenlandije in Panamskega prekopa legitimno.

Zato so evropski politiki nervozno tiho, ko Trump opleta s svojimi izjavami. Vendar niso tiho samo zaradi tega. Tiho so zato, ker so evropske države nesuverene. Z ničemer ne morejo preprečiti ameriškega zavzetja Grenlandije ali denimo Nemčije (ali katere druge države), če bi se svetovalcu novega ameriškega predsednika Elonu Musku to morda v nekem trenutku zazdela dobra ideja. S čim bi države EU lahko to preprečile, če pa so okupirane s strani ameriških sil? Edina članica EU, ki ima lastno jedrsko orožje in nekaj avtonomije glede na Nato, je Francija. Vse ostale  članice EU so zgolj poligon za ameriške interese. Zato so evropski politiki zgolj poslušni cucki ameriške administracije.

Kot sem pisal decembra 2023 v Božičkovih željah, če se želi EU promovirati kot mednarodni subjekt in ne ostati objekt ameriških interesov, se mora vojaško, tehnološko in gospodarsko osamsvojiti od ZDA. Zgolj vojaška, tehnološka in gospodarska suverenost lahko EU da tudi politično suverenost.

Živimo v svetu Mearsheimerjeve realpolitike, čeprav navzven izgleda kot resničnostni šov.

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If you weren’t yet convinced that Europe is stepping into its century of humiliation, that ought to do it

Trump says that the US need Greenland “for national security purposes” and “for the free world”, and claims that “people really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it” (which is 100% false).

Would he ever dare say this with regards to Chinese or Russian territory? Not in a million years. But he sees that not only is Europe weak but also in the absolutely disastrous strategic situation where it is “defended” by him! Which means that Europe is effectively trapped in a mob-style protection racket and is about to relearn the old geopolitical adage (attributed to Thucydides): “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must“.

So many ironies here of course, starting with Trump’s claim about protecting the “free world” through territorial annexation.

Second irony is that Europe’s hysterical fixation on Russian imperialism – more phantom than reality given Russia’s demonstrated capabilities – has led it to sleepwalk into the clutches of an actual empire that now casually discusses carving it up.

Last but not least, probably the bigger irony is that no-one in the whole world is going to care because of Europe’s double-standards and hypocrisy in its own dealings with the rest of the world, and Gaza in particular. Since the very beginning of Gaza (and again yesterday) I wrote that the bigger meaning of Europe’s response would be the death of any pretense to an global order based on international law.

And that’s exactly where we are. By choosing to openly abandon even the appearance of principles Europe has essentially announced it was ok with “might makes right”. A monumentally stupid thing to do when you aren’t mighty yourself…

Europe’s leaders (if you can call them so), in their eagerness to be “good allies” by supporting the violation of international law in Gaza, have effectively signed their own continent’s permission slip for future dismemberment. They’ve forgotten that principles aren’t just moral luxuries – they’re practical shields, and once broken for others, they no longer protect you either.

Their forgetting this is especially egregious given Europe’s own history. Because we’ve we’ve seen this many times before and perhaps the most salient example is the response – or absence thereof – to Mussolini’s Italy invading Ethiopia in 1935, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian deaths.

Despite Ethiopia being a member of the League of Nations, the UN-ancestor meant to prevent exactly such aggression, major powers chose to protect their fellow European power rather than uphold international law. With the consequences we all know about: the death of the League of Nations as a credible institution and the clear message to other European powers that hunting season on weaker nations and peoples was officially open. Within a few months afterwards, Hitler started remilitarizing the Rhineland.

The century of humiliation that Europe is walking into has a uniquely self-inflicted quality to it, stemming from its own moral corruption and strategic myopia. Unlike China, which at least could claim to have been blindsided by European imperialism, Europe is actively participating in dismantling the very legal protections that could shield it from stronger powers. Which means it won’t even have the moral authority to protest.

Vir: Arnaud Bertrand via X