Tell Me Who Your Friends Are....

Vaclav Havel opines from within on EU attitudes:

Where will it end? The release of Milosevic? Denying a visa to Russian human-rights activist Sergey Kovalyov? An apology to Saddam Hussein? The opening of peace talks with al Qaeda?

It is suicidal for the EU to draw on Europe's worst political traditions, the common denominator of which is the idea that evil must be appeased and that the best way to achieve peace is through indifference to the freedom of others.

Yes, there certainly is an intellectual tradition of appeasing dictators and justifying as much. One could even call it an industry.

Hat Tip: Babalu ("Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are.")