THE IRAQ WAR HAS TRIGGERED "the most severe transatlantic tensions in a generation, dividing Europeans and Americans from each other and among themselves."(1) Most politicians and analysts drew the conclusion in the wake of that war that a single superpower of unparalleled strength had climbed to a domineering position, while the united west had become a non-entity. They said a crack was developing lengthwise along the Atlantic, and Russia would have to choose between an alliance with Europe and an alliance with the US.
That is a false dilemma. If Robert Kagan believes that America represents bellicose Mars and Europe embodies the peace-loving culture of Venus,(2) the place where …