False. Undeniably, Europe’s governments put on a good show. They sign the Kyoto Protocol—a treaty that commits them to do little about global warming, and whose terms they then flout—while righteously deploring the United States’ refusal to join in. They call for a bold new round of trade negotiations to address the plight of the world’s poor, and then sink it with their refusal to dismantle their own agricultural subsidies. When it comes to foreign policy, they are entirely preoccupied—and most likely always will be—with their own internal, intra-European machinations. Making a hash of the “European Project” generally requires their full attention. But that is all right, because as far as external threats are concerned, the instinct of Europe’s leaders is to appease and deny, which requires little commitment of resources, multilateral or otherwise. Europe’s Iran policy is only the most recent instance: Never confront, just keep talking, and all will turn out well in the end. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for one, certainly endorses that approach.

On occasion, the maintenance of global order requires a willingness to use military power, which in turn requires a prior investment in military hardware. Europe’s good global citizens apparently have more pressing priorities (such as those farm subsidies). The entire European Union (EU) spends about half as much on defense as the United States. That’s just as well because, when it comes to projecting force, the task can be left to those deplorable, unilateralist, gun-toting...