I'm as against American imperialism and militarism as anyone, but the EU simply has severe problems when taken as a self-defending military power. Namely: most EU countries are not up-to-date on their budget, equipment, and soldier contributions to the CSDP and NATO. This means that most of keeping Europe militarily stable - despite bordering Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa - falls to the American forces.

Meanwhile, Americans are kept in poverty to fund the military force that lets Europe and Japan be generous to their citizens. How just can that be?