Reply #6: NATO relies a lot on US heavy lift capacity

[tocqueville]

the problem with NATO is that it wasn't planned as a projection force but as a defensive force relying on US transport capacities.

If you count the KFOR in Kosovo, EUFOR in Bosnia, the Afghan mission, diverse missions in Congo, Ivory Coast, Haiti, participation in Enduring Freedom etc... I bet there are about 200 000 Europeans overseas or "abroad".

Some could be relieved from Iraq, but they are probably pretty pooped out...

Personally I think that it would be a bad idea to put US troops on the ground in Darfur, not because of what they could achieve, but because they automatically would become targets in a semi-muslim area, due to the US actual image.