America, Germany, And The Future Of Europe
An expert on American-European relations, Treverton gives a splendidly compressed analysis of U.S. policy toward postwar Europe and especially toward Germany, the central problem and now the major power of Europe. Treverton writes authoritatively of U.S. policy and policymaking, and his view that even an America in long-range relative decline will remain a (diminished) presence in Europe seems highly plausible. A spirited summary of the past and a tour d'horizon of Europe's prospects concludes with the thought that "the international environment of the next decade or so will be relatively benign for the United States."
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The two world wars are the mountain ranges that dominate the historical landscape of the twentieth century. We still live in their shadows, in America as well as in Europe. Only with these wars did European and American history begin to coincide. The revolutions of 1820, 1830, 1848 and the wars leading to the unification of Italy and Germany marked the nineteenth century in European history, while the major events in American history were the westward movement, the Civil War and mass immigration. These events had certain transatlantic connections, yet not decisive ones. But in the twentieth century the two world wars have been the main events in the history of Europe and America as well.
In a major address on July 4, 1962, the President called for a partnership between the United States and Europe. With the passage of the Trade Bill this "great design" seems to have come a step closer. To many, the Atlantic Community beckons as the great hope of the 1960s. The possibility of establishing a vital Atlantic system is indeed one of the great opportunities of our time. It may well be that to future historians it will appear the distinctive feature of our decade, far transcending in importance the crises which form the headlines of the day.
Washington wants to hire ex-Baathists to help rebuild Iraq. The CIA's experience using ex-Nazis to run West Germany's intelligence service should give it pause.

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