Two potential leaders of Britain and France, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy, used this week's anniversary of the September 11 attacks to reposition themselves, if not their countries, with regard to the US. Their very different contributions were both constructive, though Mr Cameron ensured his critique of US neo-conservatism grated by delivering it on the precise anniversary, a day Americans reserve more for memory than policy. Yet neither addressed the big allied security issue of the moment: the possibility Nato could flunk its existential challenge in fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and that such failure could take a heavy toll on transatlantic security and even relations between the Europeans themselves.

The leaders of Britain's Conservative opposition and France's ruling Gaullist party start from very different positions vis a vis President George W. Bush's America. Mr Cameron has at last seen the political damage done to Tony Blair, prime minister, in the UK by following the lead of Mr Bush and his neo-conservative advisers.