Europe’s 50th Anniversary I thoroughly enjoyed your articles on “Europe at 50” in the March 26 issue. It is unfortunately rare that NEWSWEEK publishes something optimistic about the Old Continent. Too many Americans find it unthinkable, but the European way of doing things actually does work. I guess you just have to live in a European nation to really understand how the system functions. Kendra Mortureux Dijon, France
Your special report on Europe was ambitious and informative. But one should keep in mind that, unlike the United States, Europe is a continent, not a nation. And most people living in this part of the world seem to want it that way. We are many very different nations. The European Union is not a melting pot like the States and is generally considered to be a paranational vehicle for international cooperation. In fact, modern nations like Iceland and Norway have wisely decided to stay outside the EU because of some uncertainty regarding its future direction, and they seem to prefer international cooperation within NATO and the United Nations to the EU. Sverre Haukeland Vasteras, Sweden
As usual, your analysis on “Europe at 50” was first-rate. Although you compared the different flaws of America and France, I can’t make out why their societies are disintegrating and why they’ve failed to make the world a better, more peaceful place. The war in Iraq, for instance, was miscalculated by George W. Bush. Why do the White House pundits continue to back the president even after we’ve reached the disastrous situation we are witnessing today? Moreover, if poverty and homelessness have never been tackled as they should be in America and France (let alone Britain), is it right for Asia to emulate the West and reproduce the same conditions and problems? Is the right and dignity of man really being defended in America? Is there liberty, equality, fraternity in France? Dan Chellumben Amboise, France
Your writers mark the signing of the Treaty of Rome 50 years ago by painting a portrait of complexity and sophistication in their attempt to diagnose the “old” continent’s status quo. Gone are your usual Euro-bashing undertones. On balance, neither the United States nor Europe should be so arrogant as to claim the crown of economic, cultural or political supremacy in the world. The jury is still out on that. Werner Radtke Paderborn, Germany
I’m not really surprised to read that some U.S. critics consider Europe to be “in terminal decline.” Europe is not a country, but rather a process, a democratic one. Its history is paved with many successes and some failures. The fact that, after 50 years, it is still expanding and prospering peacefully proves the overall success of this process. By peacefully integrating a variety of different nationalities, traditions and cultures, it is an invaluable model for the global world to come. Its economic prosperity and its respect for human values are admired the world over. Unfortunately, however, Europe is falling under the growing influence of U.S. neoconservatives whose only objective is to make quick money, whatever the cost for other people and for the environment. Tony Debest Hochheim, Germany
In your coverage of the eu’s 50th anniversary (“The Golden Moment” and “The Best of Europe,” March 26), Switzerland is mentioned several times to illustrate the European model’s success. But although it is geographically a part of Europe, Switzerland is not a full member of the European Union. It is not represented by a commissioner in the EU government and its currency continues to be the Swiss franc, not the euro. Detractors of full EU membership have twice made their objections known by a majority in the voting booth, in 1992 and 2001. These objectors vehemently insist that it is Switzerland’s role as an oasis amid EU countries that motivates so many U.S. and other non-EU corporations to set up their European headquarters here. Hilda Buehler Bremblens, Switzerland
Civilian Suffering in Iraq Anna Husarska’s excellent view of the sectarian violence in Iraq is heart-wrenching (“The Price of a Name Is Death,” March 26): ordinary, innocent civilians are suffering the consequences of the military invasion. By invading Iraq, America opened Pandora’s box and let out all the demons. Historic conflicts, decades of oppression and persecution, even regional strifes had not created ethnic and religious strife in Iraq. Now, the U.S. invasion has done that. Sadly, no light can be seen at the end of the tunnel. Bloodletting might drag on until a political solution, rather than a military one, is sought. Azzam A. El Hait Cairo, Egypt
