New Europe is a rhetorical term used by conservative analysts in the United States to describe eastern European (and in most cases, post-Communist) nations such as Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Romania.

"New European" countries are distinguished by their governments' support of the 2003 war in Iraq, as opposed to "Old Europe" (France and Germany) which did not support the war. This distinction applies only to the governments in question, as the population in all countries belonging to "New Europe" overwhelmingly opposed the war on Iraq, just as in the rest of Europe.

The phrase originated in a comment by Donald Rumsfeld who, when asked about the fact that over 70% of the people in Europe were opposed to the Iraq invasion, replied:

"You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe."

It is widely believed that many nations in "New Europe" felt obligated to support the war effort because of their pending membership in NATO and the European Union.

External link

• Article from Slate (http://slate.msn.com/id/2078876/)