The Lebanon War has served as a harsh reminder to the European Union that it has “strategic interests” – security interests first and foremost – and that, should it choose to ignore them, the price will be high. Moreover, the division of labor between the US and Europe isn’t functioning in the time-tested manner of old: the ongoing war in Iraq is gnawing at America’s military capabilities and resulted in a crisis of moral and political legitimacy of the US across the Arabic/Islamic world.
黎巴嫩战争严厉地提醒欧盟，它具有“战略利益”，首先而且最重要的是安全利益，而且，如果它有意回避这些利益，代价将是巨大的。而且，美国和欧洲之间的分工在久经考验的方式下并不奏效。伊拉克目前的战争正在侵蚀美国的军事能力，造成美国的道义和政治合法性在整个阿拉伯伊斯兰地区的危机。