![]() ![]() ![]() His conclusions make one wonder not just whether “Atlanticism” is a thing of the past, but also how it has managed to survive so long. In a series of essays that are as witty and charming as they are realistic and candid, the distinguished Italian journalist asks why the major countries of the Alliance (including the United States) are acting so recklessly. ![]() This sorry state of affairs is the subject of Luigi Barzini’s new book, The Europeans. Yet the United States and its NATO allies, instead of organizing a common resistance as they did then, have responded by quarreling with one another-sometimes over nothing more important than the composition of mayonnaise (the Germans use a synthetic, the French do not). Not since the years right after World War II has the Soviet Union posed so great a threat to the independence of Western Europe. Similar conflicts have always plagued Alliance politics, but now is a time when the need for unity seems especially great. ![]() Outside the Atlantic region proper, in crucial areas such as the Middle East and Central America, the supposed allies often find themselves working at cross-purposes. Protectionism is again on the rise, and monetary affairs are a continuing source of dispute. American efforts to restrict trade with the Soviet bloc meet with public rebuff from the European allies. Is the Atlantic Alliance breaking up? The signs are certainly ominous. ![]()
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