The editorial reproduced below, entitled "Europe, Thy Name Is Cowardice," was written by Mathias Döpfner, CEO of the large German publishing firm Axel Springer, and published in the German periodical Die Welt on 20 November 2004.

A few days ago, Henryk M. Broder wrote in the Welt am Sonntag, "Europe — thy name is appeasement." It's a phrase you can't get out of your head because it's so painfully true.

"Appeasement cost millions of Jews and Gentiles their lives as England and France, allies at the time, negotiated and hesitated far too long before realizing that Hitler had to be fought, not bound to agreements. Appeasement stabilized the Communist Soviet Union and the former East Germany, those parts of Eastern Europe where inhuman, suppressive governments were glorified as the ideological alternative. Appeasement crippled Europe when genocide ran rampant in Kosovo, and we debated and debated and were still debating when the Americans finally came in and did our work for us. Rather than protecting the only democracy in the Middle East, European appeasement, camouflaged behind the fuzzy word "equidistance," relativizes the fundamentalist Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel. Appeasement generates a mentality that allows Europe to condone the 300,000 victims of Saddam's torture and murder machinery in Iraq and condemn the actions of George Bush in the self-righteousness of the peace movement. And in the end it is also appeasement at its most grotesque when Germany reacts to the escalating violence of Islamic fundamentalists in Holland and elsewhere by proposing a national Muslim holiday.

What else has to happen before the European public and its political leadership realize that there is a form of crusade underway, an especially perfidious one of systematic attacks by fanatic Muslims targeting civilians, directed against our free, open Western societies. This is a conflict that will likely last longer than any of the great military conflicts of the last century, waged by an adversary who cannot be tamed by tolerance and accommodation but is instead spurred on by such gestures, mistaking them as signs of weakness.

Two recent American presidents had the courage needed for staunch anti-appeasement: Reagan and Bush. Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, and Bush — supported only by the persuasive Social Democrat politician Tony Blair — recognized the danger in the Islamic war against democracy. His place in history will need to be evaluated a number of years down the road.

In the meantime, Europe snuggles into its multicultural niche instead of defending the values of a liberal society with charismatic certitude and acting as a positive center of power in a delicate balance between the true global powers, America and China. We instead present ourselves as the world champions of tolerance against the intolerants, which even Otto Schily [Germany's former Federal Minister of the Interior] justifiably criticizes. And why, actually? Because we're so moral? I fear it's more because we're so materialistic.

For his policies, Bush risks the devaluation of the dollar, huge amounts of added national debt, and a massive and lasting strain on the American economy — because everything is at stake.

Yet while America's so allegedly materialistic robber baron capitalists know their priorities, we timidly defend the benefice of our social affluence. Just stay out of it; it could get expensive. We'd rather discuss our 35-hour workweek or our dental coverage or listen to televangelists preach about the need to "Reach out to murderers." These days, it sometimes seems that Europe is like a little old lady who cups her shaking hands around her last pieces of jewelry as a thief breaks in right next door. Europe, thy name is Cowardice."

AUGUST 2006

DO WE REALLY NEED THE UN?

The United Nations cannot stop their own peacekeepers from raping children in Africa in exchange for food to keep them alive. They cannot agree to stop the genocide in Sudan. They cannot deal with corruption within their own ranks -- correct the problems which were evident from the Oil-for-Food program. They cannot seem to come up with a Human Rights Committee, Commission or whatever they want to call it, that is not populated by other than Human Rights abusers. They waste our money hand-over-fist living the high life in New York and then insult us by saying we don't give enough. I could go on and on, but you all know about that.

However, the UN has taken the time to go after Americans recently.

On July 10, 2006, David Eggert, an Associated Press reporter noted that a UN Human Rights Committee panel will start reviewing whether life-without-parole sentences for juveniles in Michigan and 41 other states violate an international treaty on human rights. A study by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International states that with just over 300 Michigan inmates convicted of crimes before 18, Michigan has the second-highest rate of imposing life sentences without parole on juveniles.

Democratic-sponsored bills in the state Legislature would bar juveniles from being sentenced to life without parole and give those already in prison a chance for parole, but they are opposed by Republicans.

Rep. William Van Regenmorter, an Ottawa County Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said the state's juvenile sentencing law is appropriate, arguing that crimes committed by youth are becoming more violent.

On July 11, 2006, David Keene, wrote in THE HILL, about the final session of the "United Nations Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects."

Originally billed as a plan to address the easy availability of military hardware to terrorists and the like, the group -- which has been meeting for 5 years -- soon became a battleground pitting anti-gun groups against nations and organizations that believe in the private ownership of sporting, collectible and hunting firearms.

Fortunately, John Bolton began in 2001 to let the delegates know that the United States would not tolerate interference with this nation's constitutionally protected right to "keep and bear arms."

He held fast over the 5 years -- letting not only the other nations but our own State Department -- that the U.S. would not budge.

Such steadfastness of purpose was perplexing to many of those in attendance, and the conference ultimately adjourned without doing anything at all.

Mr. Keene commented: "As a private-sector representative for the NRA, I knew that but for the commitment of the Bush administration things could have turned out differently, and for that the president deserves credit."