I can hear the words coming from that back room in Brussels now.

First I hear, "Are you in?"

There's a moment of hesitation. Then a familiar voice with a British accent answers, "Yes ... I'm in."

This may seem a little dramatic. But, from what I'm reading about British Prime Minister Tony Blair's sudden decision to support an EU military command outside NATO, it isn't. In a move that surprised both the US and the pro-American factions in the EU, Blair turned around and did what he said he wouldn't -- he threw in his support with the EU's anti-American factions. (Read about it here).

So, is Blair betraying America? And if he is, why? In order to answer that question, we need understand the situation in which Blair finds himself.

Blair assured the Bush administration Britain would not go along with the bad four's idea about creating an EU military structure outside NATO. The bad four are Germany, France, Belgium and Luxembourg. These are the anti-American EU nations who held their own mini defense summit after three pro-American EU nations -- Britain, Spain and Portugal -- held theirs to show support for the Iraqi war.

In other words, the Iraqi war dangerously divided the EU nations -- especially the 10 nations who are also members of the EU's new military wing recently established under Javier Solana. You see, all of the nations mentioned above -- including Tony Blair's Britain --  are members of Solana's military wing.

But now the Iraqi war is behind them and these same 10 nations are facing a much larger problem -- the EU's Inter-governmental Conference in Rome. Why is this a bigger problem for them than the Iraqi war? Because, soon they'll be outnumbered. The EU will have 10 new member states by May of next year. Furthermore, the outcome of this conference will decide the final shape of the EU's new defense structure for decades to come. So, unless they can work together, the 10 nations in Solana's alliance could well see their short-lived control of the EU slip from their fingers.

The bottom line: Maintaining control over this new, super EU could be more important to Blair than even friendship with American. And, that explains those words:

"Yes ... I'm in."