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yostrovs 2 hours ago

Europeans give too much value to their sympathies. Given that it's now clear to anyone that will open their eyes that there is no international law, Europe ends up looking like an old grandpa yelling at the clouds, powerless to actually do something. Sympathies are not enough.

yzydserd 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

To many fellow Europeans, the “old grandpa shouting at the clouds” is perceived to be some other entity.

refulgentis 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Sympathies translate into trade policy, arms embargoes, diplomatic recognition, and votes at international bodies. The idea that soft power is meaningless because it isn't a missile is a contradiction in terms. Europe is Israel's largest trade partner. That's not nothing.

Also, "there is no international law" is a strange argument to make in defense of a country that spends enormous resources lobbying international institutions and running influence ops in allied democracies. If none of it mattered, why bother?

bonzini 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> If none of it mattered, why bother?

Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Republicans and missiles being the best.