Congress Takes a Stand Against the EU

Paul Rosenzweig / May 11, 2011

Congress did something important yesterday: It took a stand on behalf of American security, and it did so at the risk of angering our European allies. That took some guts, but it was the right thing to do.

The European Union is a critical partner for America in maintaining our national security. Europe serves as a gateway for travel to the U.S. and a welcome trading partner for our goods. European nations have sent troops to fight in Afghanistan and—under the umbrella of NATO—to Libya. Our own security benefits from (and, indeed, requires) cooperative engagement with our European allies.

For the last 10 years, one of the hallmarks of that cooperation has been a robust system of sharing information related to terrorism. This includes detailed information about intelligence and terrorism leads. It also includes a wealth of transactional data about travel and finances that have been used to “connect the dots” of terrorism. (more…)