The 3.6 billion-euro ($4.27-billion) Galileo program, due to go into service in 2008 and eventually deploy 30 satellites, may end Europe's reliance on the GPS and offer a commercial alternative to the GPS system run by the U.S. military.

EU officials say Galileo, organized as a public-private partnership, will offer more exact positioning. They privately add Galileo would never be switched off for strategic reasons, which might be the case with the GPS.

But Europeans keep insisting that the EU, and all its initiatives are not intended to be nothing but a counter weight to the United States…. I’m sure that this, combined with the recent Internet spat, and of course Kyoto, and/or other foreign political battles (Iraq, Iran, North Korea) have nothing to do with the ultimate objective.

We could just ask former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Back in October, when he was accepting defeat, he reminded everyone of the importance of the Franco-German link, saying “it was crucial for the defense of Europe’s social model.”

Yet Liberal America still remains delusional about Europe and her motives. They remain under the spell that Europe is more enlightened, and really only has the best of intentions that we Americans repeatedly ignore... queue up the Smurf Song.