Jonah, that’s a terrific piece on Europe, but (predictably perhaps, coming from me) I think that you are too kind to Tony Blair. While you are absolutely right that he has been caving in to Islamic radicals, there’s nothing ‘recent’ about it. Caving into just about anyone, including such folk, opposed to the older, more traditional Britain, has been a hallmark of his shabby and direputable premiership since its very beginning. It’s also important to understand what Blair has been doing to the military. The combination of cuts in military force levels (including, disgracefully, of regiments that have served in Iraq) and a consistent (if, at times, stealthy) determination to integrate Britain’s armed forces within the EU’s developing military structure means that the US may well not be able to count on the UK as a reliable military ally in the future.
The thing to understand about Blair is that he is a liberal internationalist in the Gladstone/Wilson tradition. This may win him neocon plaudits, but to anyone concerned about the defense of Britain’s national interest, Blair has been a disaster, and (despite his terrific – and moving – stance after 9/11) his longer term contribution to the special relationship between the US and the UK will come to be seen as little short of catastrophic.