Old Europe

Just as I think that talking about adding troops to Iraq misses the point if we aren't using what we have effectively, so too is the ongoing debate over where to get 2,500 more NATO troops for Afghanistan rather off the mark.

We have those 2,500 NATO troops in Afghanistan right now. And many more. The problem is that France, Italy, Germany, and Spain won't let their troops in Afghanistan actually fight.

So while Poland and Romania manfully step up to join American, Canadian, British, Dutch, and Australian troops who do fight, we see that Secretary Rumsfeld was pretty accurate about his scorn for "Old Europe."

I guess we can see how a continent that has evolved beyond warfare actually fights a war. They are merely playing soldier with their nice little uniforms, and nothing more. And they have the nerve to boast of their participation in this "good" war.

In the end, most of the Old Europe troops are just burdens on the logistical system who shouldn't even be called soldiers given the restrictions placed on them.