Not a year passes but the end of our neutrality is predicted. Dr. Johnson spoke of a nation coming to ruin; similarly, our neutrality keeps miraculously recovering so that it can be irredeemably lost yet again in the next debate. The European model neutrals were no model for us when we decided to join them in the Partnership for Peace or to ratify the Nice treaty. Our geographical situation is quite different from theirs. We are not a participant in the war or a member of a coalition, but I accept none the less that the decision to allow the use of our facilities, which is the right one under the circumstances, does stretch our military neutrality close to breaking point. I am not happy about it, but it was the only responsible decision to take.