It cannot be denied that what happened today is precisely that which Jacques Chirac had feared and indeed articulated in support of his decision not to get involved in Iraq: the implosion of the entire region.
The cash that the CIA gave to Poland 'for the prisons' was defrauded. The testimony extracted under torture turned out to be fairly worthless. The airport in Szymany went under despite U.S. financing. What’s left is a big stench.
The plane sat at the end of the runway but not much could be seen. People were bustling around the hatches, unloading something. Stairs were brought to the door of the plane, but no passenger got off.
Between the economic crisis and the turn of events in the U.S., a new era is dawning. We can no longer be satisfied with a half-baked Europe waging half-baked politics with half-baked institutions. The election of Barack Obama has left us facing a stark choice: to take up our proper role, or leave the stage of History.