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Defending the European Weenies

By Doug Bandow on 6.19.09 @ 5:40AM

You'd think that congressmen would worry more about American taxpayers than our European "allies," who prefer to rely on our defense subsidies while funding their generous welfare states.  But Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) would put the European weenies first.

Reports Stars & Stripes:

A congressional effort aims to halt future closures of U.S. military installations in Europe if the measure becomes law.

Dubbed the NATO First Act, House Resolution 2797 would "fortify America's trans-Atlantic security links with our European allies and partners," according to a press release from Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, a co-sponsor of the bill.

More so, the bill calls for maintaining the current basing arrangement of U.S. military installations in NATO-member countries in Europe unless a host nation requests closure or the U.S. secretary of defense determines such facilities unnecessary.

The bill has been referred to the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees. Congressmen successfully added language from the NATO First Act into the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, according to congressional staffer speaking on background Wednesday.

What European country is going to say please, please, take your defense guarantee and generous spending in support of the local economy and go home?  U.S. bases should be established to benefit the security of America, not Europe.  But from whom is Washington defending the Europeans?  And with both a population and economy bigger than that of the U.S., why shouldn't the Europeans defend themselves?

Instead of allies, the U.S. has accumulated deadbeat clients, the international equivalent of welfare queens.  Even before the financial crisis it was time to close those bases in Europe and to bring the troops home.  But with America awash in red ink, it is well past time to suggest that the Europeans take over responsibility for their own defense instead of continuing to rely on American taxpayers.