Deo Gratias finds the Economist's take on America and Europe

Aesop anyone?

I never heard the fable of the Ox and the Frog. It fits. Overall, I think that the Economist gets it right. Recall what I said here about the EU and this constitution business.

Meanwhile, who's moving to Europe in droves? Muslims. How do they tend to act once they're there? Some have demonstrated a disturbing tendency to become insular and fanatical. Recall that Mohammad Atta, leader of the 9// hijackers, pursued an engineering degree in Germany before joining Al Queda. A fanatic stabbed a Dutch director to death in protest over the man's documentary style-film--because it appeared to denigrate islam.

Does the United States truly want a weak and irrelevent Europe? The economist says no:

In reality, a weak Europe is much more of a threat to America's interests than a strong one. The no vote not only guarantees several more years of Eurodithering and introspection: it also makes it much less likely that Europe will be able to absorb Turkey, let alone Ukraine, anytime soon, if ever.

It counsels a cautious interaction for the US to take:

There is a good chance that Mr Chirac will be replaced in 2007 by Nicolas Sarkozy, who claims to be more of a fan of the free market; and an even better chance that Gerhard Schröder will be replaced this September by Angela Merkel, a woman who backed the invasion of Iraq. The shake-up gives America an opportunity to find new friends and collaborators in Europe.

Yet the paradox of America's European policy is that it only has a chance of influencing Europe if it is seen to be doing nothing.

If Europe can be strengthened and reformed, this may make the War on Terror easier to fight. It may take the wind out of Eurocrats' sails, especially the ones that most antagonize America.
We should pursue the seeming-nothing policy so that Europe has a chance at revival. It may be the best way to maintain important cultural and economic ties with our oldest allies. It's more honorable than simply turning our backs on them.

That should be reason enough.