When Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev’s efforts to reform the Soviet Union led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, a young Russian harbored a resentment of what he called “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century”. He seethed with deep anger and was determined to restore the power and prestige of the old Soviet Union. It is not farfetched to imagine that he would, shirtless and shoeless, ride a saddle-less horse all the way to Ukraine to plant the Russian flag in Kyiv. It does not seem easy to soothe his psyche until Ukraine will again become a Russian vassal.
Undoubtedly, President Trump is the one American politician that Mr. Putin feels friendly and comfortable enough to talk to without requiring him to seat at the other end of a 100-foot-long table. Political hyperbole aside, any thinking that Mr. Putin will be persuaded to stop the war soon and let even half of Ukraine join the Western alliance is imprudent, especially if the thinking comes from the European Union and NATO.
Since the end of WWII, Europe has behaved like a second child in a family of Western Civilized Democracy, enjoying life to the fullest but doing almost nothing in terms of defending the territory. All responsibility rests on the shoulder of Big Sam – a brother living afar on the other side of an ocean. For all those years protected by Big Sam, the European Union has built a few, very few defense, industrial, or hardware companies, but several billion-dollar fashion and fast-fashion companies. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the American’s detachment are a wake-up call for Europe to take their destiny back into their own hands.
The European Union and NATO were not created so that Europeans could enjoy, and now is enjoying, 35 hour-work week, 14 holidays a year, and 11 official work months a year. In reality, they work fewer than 11 months a year if you count their 25 paid vacation days.
In 1990, the U.S.’s GDP was $6 Trillion versus EU.’s $6.2T. In 2000, the U.S. surpassed the RU $10.3T v. $8.7T. But in 2010, the EU’s GDP was again bigger than the U.S.’s, $16.3T v. $15T. But in 2024, the U.S. surged ahead with $28T versus $19T for the EU.
It was possible that Brother Sam told them not to play with guns, so they poured their energy and enthusiasm into fashion. But these numbers tell them that if they wanted, they could be as strong as the Americans.
Now is the time to do so.
The Russians have been smirking at the EU. Without the U.S. nuclear bombs threatening to rain down on Russian cities from above, the EU to them is a paper tiger. Now the U.S. cannot make any clearer that the EU is on its own, Russia has no reason not to swallow Ukraine and threaten other EU’s members such as the Baltic countries and Poland. Only a powerful nuclear-capable EU could deter such scenario from happening. During WWII, just one European country, Germany, could shake the Soviet Union empire in its boots. The EU is many times bigger than Germany and many times more resourceful.
One great concern is the European tradition of bickering among themselves and their habit of getting into a military duel easily, triggered by relatively unimportant events such as the death of an Archduke.
Political leaders and heads of states of the EU have paid tribute to Washington. They show respect but also the need for the support of America. Such tribute also serves to prove the maturity of European leaders overcoming their customary pride, especially the Germanic pride, one of the causes triggering the catastrophic WWII. They obviously want the American participation in their foreign affairs.
But they must resist the American Republican MAGA’s insidious effort to mess with their internal affairs. The good news is the Democracy Defenders in Europe are still strong and have the upper hand over the racists and extremists such as the follower s of AfD and Die Heimat in Germany, and the Rassemblement National in France.
Europe, England and France in particular, is the cradle of Democracy and has a long history defending it. It should not let the power of a dictatorship or the illusion of the renewal of a bygone monarchy force it to stray from the path of Democracy. It must develop its own defense forces to stay independent from foreign powers and to protect its democratic institutions and traditions. The world has admired and wholeheartedly adopted its ideals. It seems like the world needs it again to steer it through a time dominated by reactionary, selfish, and sadistic Jungian Shadow.
America Democratic force for the time being has gone underground, preferring incognito for fear of MAGA’s punishment. MAGA has for years studied and learned a few tactics to punish its opponents. They don’t kill you – too crude. They just threaten you with nightmares or in fact create nightmares for you and family.
The thought that waking up one day finding himself walking down the step of a truck into the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador is enough to sweat a Democrat into clamming shut his mouth. Or ICE swoops on campuses to arrest an alleged “illegal” who is not illegal. Oops, we make a mistake but a life as their parents have worked hard and hoped for is gone – forever. A hint of pulling the purse string literally (grants) or figuratively (strict regulations) could force a university to kowtow or persuade billionaire CEOs clasping their hands in front of their crotch meekly getting in line to be granted an audience with the king.
Thus, Europe, which has the bravery in the face of fierce and violent onslaught by the racists and extremists, and the power to marginalize the French Zealots and classify the AfD German right-sing extremists in spite of the American government’s open support for AfD.
It’s not easy to understand the Russian psychology, wanting the whole planet earth but unable to digest what they have got. They occupy one third of the landmass of Asia and Europe combined but have always been in fear of being unsecured and unsafe against its little neighbors. They need to liberate themselves by reading more of the works of Neo-Freudian psychoanalysts.
In only four years, the German Nazi built a formidable fighting machine not just enough to defend itself but so strong that it swept through Europe and reached Moscow to the East. It is not unreasonable to expect that Modern Europe does not need four years but probably two to build a defense credible enough for Moscow to think twice before moving their tanks across the border of any of its neighbors in Eastern Europe like they did in Ukraine.
After WWII, it has taken the Americans a long time to get over the thought that giving the Germans the nuclear bomb is like giving Al Capone a bazooka. But the way Putin stares at Europe from the East licking his lips, it is about time to change that. Even the Poles want the bomb too.
Time has changed. Europe must change too. It should invest less in sex, fashion lady bags, and gourmet food, and more in defense hardware to protect itself and probably the world.
JOHN P. LE PHONG
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