Now here is an interesting exchange between Wolf Blitzer and Zbigniew Brzezinski:

BLITZER: Is this about as bad as you've seen the U.S. relationship with some of these NATO allies? BRZEZINSKI: I think Henry [Kissinger] is right in saying that this is very serious, but I think we have to ask ourselves, how have we conducted ourselves? We have in effect said to them, "Line up." We have treated them as if they were the Warsaw Pact. The United States issued orders, and they have to follow.

Whoa! Nice analogy there Zbig! It would go a long way toward explaining why the Eastern European countries have been more willing to sign on. They are used to this kind of treatment from higher powers and don't have a long history of resisting it. Meanwhile, Western Europe went for 50 years resisting exactly the kind of autocratic leadership that the Bush administration is currently peddling. The only thing keeping them from going into open revolt agains us is the long history of friendly relations we have had with them. But even Bush is pushing that to its breaking point.