The lack of a declaration of war from Hollande and NATO is a window into the courtyard of the EU's gingerly foreign policy posture.
In short, it can be argued the EU failed to internalize the oft-quoted comment from the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky: "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you."
Rewind to 2001. After a group of al-Qaida terrorists smashed planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 Americans, NATO triggered Article 5 to announce military support for the US in the event the US chose to wage war against the terrorists.
Article 5 states that "an armed attack'' against European and North American members, as well as Turkey, "shall be considered an attack against them all.'' As a result, NATO members are obligated to impose military force on a NATO adversary.
Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio is ahead of the Europeans, saying Sunday: "We should invoke Article 5."
However, the French-born Israeli political scientist Dr. Emmanuel Navon told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that Hollande has a "stronger case for article 5" because NATO members UK and US are already fighting Islamic State.