Europe in Decline

I'm always skeptical when I see a title with the formula, "The End of _________."the end of history, the end of religion, the end of American dominance -- all those claims and more have been obviously way premature.

But here's a WP column by Robert Samuelson that cogently sums up reasons why Western Europe may be on its way out as a global power. And it succinctly relates this to European anti-Americanism:

It isn't a strong American ally, not simply because it disagrees with some U.S. policies but also because it doesn't want to make the commitments required of a strong ally. Unwilling to address their genuine problems, Europeans become more reflexively critical of America. This gives the impression that they're active on the world stage, even as they're quietly acquiescing in their own decline.

Nothing all that original here, but a concise restatement of what many others have pointed out. The article is currently tied for #5 on Blogdex.