Word: european
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...understand why, just study the diaries of the European leaders. They spend most of their time addressing Europe's domestic challenges. Years were wasted trying to get the Lisbon Treaty right. The goal was to produce strong European leadership to handle a more complex world. The result: Europe chose two nonentities as the first President and Foreign Minister. This alone speaks volumes...
...greatest strategic challenge to Europe is the Islamic one. It exists within the body politic of many European societies. And the fastest-rising Islamic demographic is on Europe's doorstep. Europe should, therefore, see it in its long-term interest to defuse Islamic anger. Instead, it has shown moral cowardice on the Israel-Palestine issue, refusing even to admit that an unbalanced American policy will hurt European interests more than American interests. No major European leader has the moral courage to speak truth to power on this issue. (Read: "Halal Burgers? Another French Brouhaha over Islam...
Europe's second error is to ignore its No. 1 strategic opportunity: Asia. A strong Asia-Europe partnership will yield positive dividends to both. A rising Asia welcomes European technology and culture and provides huge new markets for sophisticated European products. If Europe could think and act strategically, it would be busy knocking on Asian doors. Instead, it was the Asians who thought ahead. In the mid-1990s, Singapore proposed an Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM). Initially the E.U. reacted enthusiastically but then came the great Asian financial crisis of 1997. This provided Europe an opportunity to prove...
Curiously, few Asians bear any resentment towards Europe, despite centuries of colonial rule and domination. Asians are focused on the future, not the past. However, they do expect Europeans to treat them with respect, not cultural condescension. This is another thing Europeans do not get. The protests in European capitals before the Beijing Olympics, the efforts to dictate human-rights clauses in the India-E.U. cooperation agreement and the obsession with Burma show both a lack of sensitivity and of strategic thinking. If Europe does not act fast, it will miss the boat on Asia. (See 25 authentic Asian...
...third strategic error is to remain obsessed with the transatlantic relationship. It is difficult to capture in a few words the strange mix of European attitudes towards America: admiration and resentment of American hyperpower, respect and condescension towards U.S. culture, dependence on and discomfort with American leadership. At the core of this is a deep European belief that culture is destiny and that the common Judeo-Christian heritage and common Enlightenment values will ensure an eternal commonality of interests. America will always put Europe first because Europe, not Asia, exists in American hearts...