Britain's defense chief yesterday sharply criticized NATO's other European members for failing to do their part in Afghanistan, saying some of them had "limited appetites" for the operation and preferred "freeloading on the back of U.S. military security."
The assessment by British Defense Secretary John Hutton followed what one Pentagon official called a "disappointing" response this week to a request from NATO headquarters for additional troops and other resources to provide security for Afghanistan's elections this fall.
Gosh, who'd have thought that Old Europeans of all people would recoil from a fight? I guess they've built up an immunity to shame, hope, and change over the last six decades.
We can be grateful for Britain, the Dutch, the Canadians, the Danes, and even little Estonia for their willingness to man-up and fight with us in Afghanistan. Australia, too, does work befitting a great nation. France is wavering between being a real country and just being a real pain. But the rest of the European war tourists in Afghanistan are just a burden on our fragile supply lines through Pakistan.
Or maybe Secretary of State Clinton will convey President Obama's deep wishes that Europeans get a pair and prompt the non-fighting Europeans to contribute to the war.
