Quote:
Originally posted by damił
I think you are reading way to much into American "exeptionalism" - Europe is trying hard to build its own defense force and working together in the UN security council to balance their interests, sometimes teaming up with Russia and China - sometimes going completely against China's & Russia's interests - the only thing that is blocking it now is the UK, which is behaving like the 51st state and is keeping the EU from becoming a true "political" and "military" union that could re-examin the Trans-Atlantic relationship - the EU has allready established a free trade zone and is steadily surpassing the USA in economical potential - so it has gained enough institutional power and means to mend its own affaires.
While I do believe in the concept of "exeptionalism" in a "real (german) political" way - I think the US has more interests in and is focussing more on "other" problem areas to put it into practice - the EU doesn't longer need US "interference" to solve its own and other peoples problems. I actually think that a more balanced power relationship between the two transatlantic powers can be benificial to both 
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I'm not clear on what you term "exeptionalism" so I can't discuss that point. But,...
Do you want to take bets on the success of the EU defense force? Look at the level of military readiness in many of the EU forces today. They typically have not done a good job within their own borders and it will be a long time (if ever) before they can get something useful together across borders. Creating a defense force from a population with similar backgrounds, a base in nationalistic beliefs, common language, etc is far easier than trying to build a multinational force that has at its core a sense of loyalty to the entity they are trying to defend. There is German nationalism, French nationalism, Spanish nationalism, etc but there is no EU nationalism. Maybe it can be built, but that's a mighty big task.
I welcome Europe's attempt to unify their economies and emerge from under the umbrella of US "interference" as you put it. I hope it succeeds. If the current trend continues (collusion between Germany and France to impose their will on the rest of the EU) it's doubtful that it will.