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>Where was / is Europe in all this? The U.S. has not done a very good job as the world's sole remaining "superpower" (for now) but who is picking up the slack? No one. It's so much easier to just b*tch about the U.S. I do believe Europeans in general have more of a sense of responsibility for the planet than we do. But where's the action? There is a saying here -- don't just talk the talk, walk the walk.

Trouble is Europe is a continent (smaller than that of NA), of very disparate states - not one country like the USA, that has one president and parliament, that can make a collective decision on behalf of the whole commonwealth - and then most hating each other or did so in the not too distant past. Each Euro country can act unilaterally (as GB in the Gulf War II) but none has the clout of the giant USA. It's amazing that we managed to put the "Euro Fighter" together as we did (and then 2 countries dropped out of it)