sphere to the juridical sphere; c) fosternin international law an ethics thatnwould legitimize Western interests.nSimilar views are shared by RobertnSteuckers, a New Rightist who in anpiece published in the November 1990nDiorama Letterario (Florence) analyzesnthe clash in the Gulf in terms ofngreat geopolitical earthquakes. Oncenagain a major maritime power is wagingnwar against a continental actor: thenBehemoth and Leviathan have lockedntheir horns in the desert, as they didnearlier in this century in the war overnEurope. By largely subscribing to thenideas elaborated by prominent politicalnthinkers such as Kari Haushofer andnJordis von Lohausen, Steuckers drawsna parallel between Kuwait and Hollandnwith their ports, on the one hand, andnland-locked, peasant-minded Germanynand Iraq on the other. In 1648 Francenand Sweden propped up the artificialnHolland in order to prevent the Germansnfrom coalescing into a singlenlarge nation-state; today, England andnAmerica are shoring up the estuarynKuwait against a continental country innquest of access to the sea. And just asnthe task of the Dutch mercantile elitesnconsisted of choking Germany’s seabornenaspirations, so is the purpose ofnKuwaiti petro-monarchs to keep thenEnglish and American economy runningnfull steam.nAccording to this theory of interdependencenlaid out by Steuckers, navalnpowers are in an eminent position tonwage wars far from home. Their insularncharacter combined with their greatnmobility, Steuckers alleges, necessitatesna messianic foreign policy imbedded inna political theology of globalism. Unfortunately,nglobal thinking results innglobal conflicts, which in turn run thenrisk of causing global wars. Steuckersnwrites that “the universalist ideology ofnthe Americans, from Roosevelt onwards,nhas lead to world wars and thenglobalization of horror, when instead,nas common sense would suggest, warnshould be limited by all means! Tonlimit deliberately one’s own action tonhis conhnental sphere of influencen(that of Europe to Europeans, that ofnAmerica to Americans) could automaticallynlocalize war and prevent itnfrom spreading to the entire world.”nBut in addition to its global dimension,nthe Gulf War has taken on ansurreal aspect. In a February 4, 1991,n50/CHRONICLESninterview in Der Spiegel, the Frenchncultural critic Jean Baudrillard, whoncould be counted as a disillusionednleftist and who is often quoted by NewnRightists, argues that American politicalnmessianism has led to the unrealitynof nonstop TV bombardment supersedingnthe objective world of bombednIraqi targets. The war against Iraq, withnits blown-up images of destroyed targets,nis “pornographic,” full of “fetalnviolence.” “There is no need, literally,nfor this war,” continues Baudrillard,nbecause “the opponents are not on thensame footing; they are not on the samenturf of the same reality.” Accordingly,nwhether America wins or loses the warnis of little importance. In a surrealnsystem unfolding itself in total medianimplosion, as Baudrillard sees it, warsncan be won any way — vicariously, atnrequest, a la carte—like in a movientheater. And even if this conflict turnsnsour, Hollywood will shortly begin toncrank out “clean” and heroic combatnscenes. Is not the Gulf War alreadynfought like in a movie, with tele-guidedndecisions and Smart weapons? Metarealitynhas swallowed reality.nAlthough European conservativencriticism has not officially reached thencenters of real power in Europe, it hasnalready made an impact on the majorncurrents of thought, dragging in itsnwake the firepower of similar leftistnattacks. A close scrutiny of the Europeannpress indicates that the Americannrole in the Middle East appears to havenalready broken up former political coteriesnand created new alliances thatnten years ago would have been considerednimpossible. In the context of thenongoing intellectual restructuring,nBenoist’s remarks do not differ muchnin flavor or in substance from thenprestigious left-leaning Le Monde Diplomatique,nwhich in a February piecensigned by Ignacio Ramonet blamesnEurope for abdicating to America, ancountry “whose demonstrated ignorancenof the Middle East is scary.”nSuch views would have certainly foundna favorable response even among thenvery nationalistic and very conservativenweekly Deutsche National Zeitung,nwhich for months now, while secondingnthe views of the leftist chorus, hasnbeen comparing the bombing of Baghdadnto the Allied fire-bombing of Berlin,nBremen, Breslau . . .nHistorical parallels are being drawnnnneverywhere, by those who see in Saddamna reincarnated Hitler, and thosenwho see the American bombing asnhigh-tech colonialism or the fifth dimensionnof political surrealism. Asnothers have suggested, the metaphor ofnthe Gulf has already become a majornideological catalyst for new alliancesnamong the traditionally frayed Europeannintelligentsia. Indeed, a painful divorcenis now under way between thenproponents of the West and the adherentsnof a Europe from “Brest to Brest”:nthose who are already eyeing the Berlin-Parisnaxis as the counterweight tonthe trilateral London-Washington-TelnAviv. With geopolitical shifts caused bynthe German reunification, the centersnof decision-making will undoubtedlynmove from Brussels to Berlin and Budapest,nreviving old alliances while creatingnnew worries for some.nThe most painful yet fully predictablensplit is occurring among the leftistnrank and file. Unlike conservatives,ntheir lines of division are clearly ethnicnand religious ones. In France, for instance,nthe famous SOS-Racisme, ansocialist-inspired antiracist movementnfounded in 1984, is torn between thosenwho support peace in the Mideast bynresolving long-standing conflicts (suchnas the Palestinian question), and thosenwho wish to punish Iraq by any means.nIts chief figure, an eloquent black leadernnamed Harlem Desir, has alreadyncollided with his intellectual superegosnMarek Halter and Bernard HenrynLevy. Former bedfellows all across Europenare parting company, and scoresnof them are quickly changing theirnMoscow-Havana itinerary for a speedyntrip to Washington via Tel Aviv.nThe perestroika of European intellectualsnwill not, however, alleviate thenplight of Arab immigrants in Europe.nAnd beyond the rhetoric and the satirenleveled at American decision-makersnand their alleged ignorance of thenMiddle East, the problem of Arabnimmigration will remain. Today therenare already ten million Muslims livingnin Europe — a sizable minority whosenpolitical weight and ability to shapenEuropean history can no longer benwished away. With their phenomenalnbirthrate, the Muslims in Europe arenshowing an old ethnic wisdom largelynforgotten by Europeans: making babiesnis a continuation of politics by othernmeans. Who needs, after all, Poitiers orn