What the hell does this have to do with the U.S.?

Spanish Muslims issued a fatwa against bin Laden today. Good for them.

In addition, they thanked the Spanish government for not overreacting after the 3/11 attackes in Madrid, unlike the U.S. Now, what the hell does this have to do with the U.S?!?! Must EVERY press release posted by Muslim or European groups be self-congragulatory AND anti-U.S.? We had a hickup right after 9/11 that was a bit middle-easter xenophobic. Hard to blame us, but we're over it (seriously, I invite anyone to counter this point).

Do American Muslim groups take shots at Europeans? Do U.S. Federal agencies mock the EU? What the hell is wrong with everybody?

How about just going about your business and tending to your own affairs? This bizarre addiction to comparing your own actions to the evil U.S. reeks of Neitzche's (frequently and horribly misunderstood) "slave mentality" wherein the weak compare themselves to the (evil) strong in an attempt to establish themselves as the relative "good".

The Europeans are acting like teenagers who strive to establish their own independence by differentiating themselves from their parents.

Move out already!

I certainly understand the desire... I take pot-shots at the French like it were an Olympic event (hey, if the biathalon is an event, skeet-shooting the cheese-eaters should be).

The problem is that a unified Western front is so much more powerful than just the U.S. The unfortunate truth is that we may be witnessing the beginning of the end for the Atlantic Alliance. Fortunately, this is probably a temporary situation, as outlined brilliantly in Foreign Affairs. I would love comments about the Atlatic Divide... more to come on this...