Re: The Axis of Weasel

[Jon Gabriel]

From: "J. van Baardwijk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: The Axis of Weasel
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 21:30:49 +0100

At 14:43 4-2-2003 -0800, Gautam Mukunda wrote:

Nowhere did I say that Europe should create a military equal to that of
the US.  Clearly that's impossible - and undesirable, too, in my opinion
(for reasons, read my senior thesis :-)  But it is well within the
capacity of several European countries to create a force capable of
useful contributions beyond the borders of Western Europe, and this is
something that all (except Britain, of course) have singularly failed
to do.

So, what were all those non-British European forces doing in the Middle East during the Gulf War? Enjoying the scenery?

<snip>

Europe should still be able to develop a useful military capacity.  It
has chosen not to do so.

We *have* a useful military capacity -- for the purpose we intended it for: defending our borders. We did not build our military for the purpose of policing the world.

But you have signed a charter which just might require you to use your military as more than just your personal defense force. NATO was established as a central defense source for all it's members.

BTW, during the Cold War, there was little need for European and American forces to plan and carry out coordinated offensive and defensive actions. 9/11 showed us that this will probably be a necessity in the modern world. If Europe is incapable of acting (or unwilling to act) against an aggressor nation in order to defend its allies then what good is the treaty?

We *have* chosen to develop a useful military capacity -- you just disagree with the choice we made.

You have *chosen* to develop a military capacity that will perhaps bring you into conflict with your acknowledged obligations under NATO. If you are incapable of providing support to your allies when they are attacked, the obvious & logical conclusion we can draw is thatt you have no wish to participate in NATO.

Jon



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