Friends In Eastern Europe: Nowadays most of the United States' staunchest allies are in Eastern Europe -- Poland, Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania. It's not surprising, really. The Iron Curtain is a vivid memory for these countries. East Europeans know all too well the deadly consequences of living in a country void of freedom. And that's why they strongly support America's war on terrorist nations; they know what's at stake.
After the
New York Times ran an article on Romanian/American relations,
Opinion Journal's Best of the Web cheered the former Stalinist nation for its unblinking support of the United States:
Three Cheers for Romania
Smug and vicious anti-Americanism may be the rule in Brussels and Florence, but it's far from universal in Continental Europe. The New York Times reports from Bucharest that "Romania, burdened by its legacy of Stalinist totalitarianism, values the muscular international stance of the United States":
While Western Europeans fought for a compromise United Nations resolution on Iraq and sniff with disdain at Mr. Bush's midterm election mandate, members of the Romanian elite heartily approve of the White House's policies. "Unofficially, there is a feeling of quiet jubilation" about the American elections, said Sergiu Celac, a former Romanian foreign minister. "We're happy because Bush is happy."
Opinion polls in Romania show approval ratings of 80 percent and higher for the United States. Romania sent its own troops to Afghanistan and became the first country to support the American demand that American soldiers be exempted from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. Along with Bulgaria, another prospective member of NATO and the European Union, Romania recently granted the United States access to its military bases and flyover rights should there be a war with Iraq.
Romania and Poland will bring a "pro-American critical mass" to NATO, said Mircea Geoana, Romania's foreign minister in an interview. Indeed, whenever Mr. Geoana's French diplomatic counterparts worry about Romania's enthusiasm for the United States, he said he tells them that "after Romania enjoys several decades of prosperity like France, then we will have the luxury of taking the U.S. for granted."
