How would that make any sense while Iran is being bombed by USA and Israel?
Also I never heard about that, so I guess you are misrepresenting what really happened.
What I heard was that Europe was seeking a diplomatic solution. And we are in no position to pressure Iran with sanctions in the current situation. It would be more sensible to lift sanctions to allow the strait to be opened.

Why do you think de Gaulle had the opinion?

I think because after WW2 he was allergic to any kind dependency on anyone. If I remember correctly De Gaulle also pulled France out of NATO, and France developed their own nukes under him and started their own space program.
De Gaulle was hell bent on making France independent and a dominant power in Europe.
Still he favored cooperation, and was part in forming the EEC, and France was also a NATO ally.
France received about 20% of the total Marshall aid provided by USA, did that make France a vassal to USA? No of course it didn’t. I just think de Gaulle was hurt that France failed completely against the German invasion, much like Putin is hurt about the Soviet Union failed. De Gaulle wanted France to rise to its former level of prestige and international respect. And maybe he thought that Germany working closely with UK and USA, would mean that France would take a back seat?

When Germany started WW2, France was seen as nearly impossible for Germany to take, France was the shield that should prevent Germany from controlling Europe. That shield failed miserably.
France used to be considered a global power, after WW2 France was diminished to just a significant European power.

I think you may be right that the bonds are not an original part of the Bazooka, they were an addition.
I suspect the bonds owned by EU countries are placed as part of a normal economic spread of funds. I am not aware they should have been bought for the purpose of pressuring USA.
I have zero worries that the EU central bank is managed responsibly, it’s being monitored by all Euro countries which is about 20 countries, so I doubt they would get away with anything that doesn’t serve the Euro countries.

What you describe is a symptom. Symptoms are the consequences of a disease, and what you describe are consequences of a sociopathic system.

Yes, because Americans don’t understand what freedom is anymore, it’s just been an almost religious mantra they’ve chanted for decades, without contemplating what it means.
So yes they give freedom to the rich, because they think regulations are contrary to freedom, and without regulation the rich have the power to oppress workers and the poor.

If there is a war that NATO is engaged in as an official NATO engagement then yes. But that is never gonna happen under Trump. Hence NATO is dead.

Yes

I don’t understand how you can claim that American pursuit of freedom is an incorrect assumption, and then in the very next sentence, you also claim it’s an identity marker.
Freedom is an indoctrinated core value for many Americans, but only as a mantra they don’t really understand the meaning of.
I agree that Americans in general have no real understanding of what freedom really is, and are confused on the issue to a degree that they actually undermine their own freedom.

The same people who harp on religious freedom often want to declare America a Christian nation.

Good example, and yes the double standard is maddening, and Americans fail to understand that the right to oppress others is not freedom for the people, but will always end as only freedom for the most powerful to oppress the people.

their perception of freedom includes duties to enable others to actually engage in it.

That sounds very interesting, kind of like the tolerance of intolerance paradox, that teach we shouldn’t allow intolerance, we also need to enable the freedom of others, to have real freedom in society.

When many Americans talk about freedom these days it’s just a virtue signal,

I think there is much truth in that, but it is more than just virtue signalling, because it seems also like a religious mantra, so it is the strongest possible kind of virtue signalling.
And when something becomes religious, rationality about the issue goes out the Window.

Yes, Putin will use any misinformation and manipulation he can, including making a terrorist attack and blame it on others to promote his agenda. That is how he came to power!

No I’m not French, I’m from Denmark.

Ditto for the US.
FWIW their system is so much worse than the French one

Yes in USA it’s worse, because the president of USA has even more extensive powers, and congress isn’t entirely democratic either.

On this we are 100% in agreement.

I have no doubt they are no good, and undermine the societies they make their money on, but there are degrees of evil and there are degrees of insanity.
And by comparison American billionaires are the worst, and decidedly undermine democracy heavily using their money for greater influence, probably mostly because they are allowed, not because Europeans are better people. But the system in USA celebrating money and sociopathy make Americans worse.

That’s exactly how it works.

Unfortunately despite there are a lot of good Americans, there are more that either don’t give a shit or even support the current regime.

No it was nothing of the kind. He claimed Ukrainians were basically Russian, that is not about Russian minorities.

China’s leader Xi Jinping declared people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese and want peace.

Isn’t that pretty much what Putin said about Ukraine before invading?

Even in France there’s a huge difference between the extreme right there and in USA. Le Penn is of course a traitor that support Russia, but she is not for instance advocating against healthcare for all. She is also not trying to undermine ordinary workers. But she hates foreigners and think Russia should be allowed to take Ukraine. But she is also not a war monger like Trump, and as far as we know she is not a pedophile.

Yes she is bad, and I have no idea why she is popular in France? But she is not nearly as dangerous to our democracy even just in France, as Trump is in USA. Also they do not have 40-50% support, she only got 23% of the vote, only because France has the stupid system that ends op pitting 2 candidates did she get 41% of the vote, when there was only one other candidate to compete against.

So you are wildly exaggerating the popularity of the far right in France and in Europe. Only the undemocratic presidential system in France makes her and “Rassemblement National” a danger of getting actual power.

if the US got the boot the Institution would than collapse

Yes which is why in reality NATO has already collapsed, it’s just not been dissolved yet.
But we can’t trust USA to lead NATO anymore. Are you aware that if a NATO operation were to happen in the middle east, USA would have control of the British nukes?
Obviously we can’t allow that.

as doing so means the US has more assets to bomb Iran and such.

That is pure fantasy, USA has not redirected anything from the arctic or Greenland to be used against Iran.

You write:

We Europeans don’t see you as a threat,

That is not true. It’s simply factually wrong, and the chart very clearly shows how wrong it is.
If you write “we here at our business”, that would be a different matter. But you are making a decidedly false claim on behalf of Europeans in general.

Yes both Republicans and Democrats agree on sharing the power, except maybe Republicans don’t want to share anymore.

Unless you are from Poland, that is blatantly false, see the chart. Europeans CLEARLY see USA as a danger and for good reason.
For some countries the “close ally” segment is in 1 digit percentage!!!

USA is absolutely a threat, they have threatened to invade Greenland, which caused several NATO allies to send troops to defend an American invasion.
And they currently wage an unprovoked illegal war against Iran, that threaten the economy of the entire globe including Europe.

No it’s not just the Orange turd, He is just a symptom, he was elected by a majority vote, and no checks and balances has been effective in removing the madman. USA is a rogue state and is absolutely dangerous for the entire world.

USA is not just a potential danger to Europe, they are a current active danger. There can be no ifs or buts about it, it has already happened that they have acted very clearly dangerously towards Europe.

That’s strange because China threatened to invade Greenland and started a war in the middle east that damage the global economy…

Oh wait.
That’s USA.
Maybe there’s a reason we see USA as a bigger threat?