Times Online: Afghanistan: Confronted by the Islamist threat on all sides, Europe pathetically caves in - by Gerard Baker

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Afghanistan: Confronted by the Islamist threat on all sides, Europe pathetically caves in - by Gerard Baker

"Late last year, at the invitation of Nato, and in the company of a small band of globetrotting pundits, I travelled to Afghanistan to witness first-hand the allied operation to reconstruct the benighted country.

Many of the European nations with forces in Afghanistan are operating under ludicrous political restrictions. Though their soldiers and airmen are highly capable and indeed eager to take the fight to the Taleban, their governments are desperately fearful of the public reaction should their soldiers suffer significant casualties. They don’t think that their voters will stomach it. And the tragedy is, they are probably right.

The scale of Europe’s moral crisis is larger than ever. Opposing the war in Iraq was one thing, defensible in the light of events. But opting out of a serious fight against the Taleban, sabotaging efforts to get Iran off its path towards nuclear status, pre-emptively cringing to Muslim intolerance of free speech and criticism, all suggest something quite different.

EU-Digest editorial comment: "Has it occurred to Mr. Baker that most Europeans believe there is another way than military confrontation to solve political and religious confrontations? It is called dialog. Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela are among those who have proven to the world that another way is not only possible but that it works."