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> www.wsws.org
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> WSWS : News & Analysis : Europe : After the Balkan War
>
> Who is NATO's new General Secretary George Robertson?
>
> By Chris Marsden
> 12 August 1999
>
> Back to screen version
>
> On August 4, Britain's Foreign Secretary George Robertson was
> named as the new general secretary of NATO. He is the third
> European social democrat in a row to hold the position.
>
> Unlike his predecessor, Spain's Javier Solana, whom Robertson
> formally replaces in October, he has no previous history of
> radicalism from which he must distance himself. While Solana was
> active in anti-nuclear and anti-US protests, Robertson defended
> NATO and opposed unilateral disarmament at a time when official
> Labour Party policy advocated it. Throughout his career he has
> occupied a position on the right wing of the party, for which he
> will now be rewarded by a handsome tax-free salary of
> �140,000/$200,000 per annum.
>
> Speculation had centred on German Defence Minister Rudolf
> Scharping replacing Solana�as the favoured candidate of the
> Clinton administration�but Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder insisted
> his minister was unavailable. After this Britain's Prime Minister
> Blair had private words with Bill Clinton. Robertson's elevation
> was assured, despite somewhat timid protests from Belgium,
> Luxembourg and Canada that his nomination was forced through. US
> State Department spokesman James Rubin said: "The United States
> is pleased that he has been chosen.�
>
> The support of Washington for Robertson has been won through his
> role during NATO's bombing of Serbia, throughout which he
> functioned as a hawkish ally of the US. The British were the most
> aggressive in calling for a ground war and have contributed by
> far the greatest number of land troops of all the NATO countries
> in the aftermath of the cease-fire. Robertson's briefings during
> the war consisted for the most part of bellicose charges of
> genocide and ethnic cleansing levelled against Serbian President
> Slobodan Milosevic.
>
> The Guardian newspaper in Britain recently obtained
> correspondence between Robertson and US Defence Secretary William
> Cohen, which showed a variant of the �special relationship�
> between the two countries that in this case bordered on a love
> affair. On February 22, Robertson wrote to Cohen, �As we face
> another difficult situation in the Balkans and continue to engage
> in military action in Iraq we are all profoundly grateful for the
> leadership provided, and the example set, by the US.
>
> "On a personal level, I would like you to know that your constant
> readiness to give us everything we need and your wise advice
> makes a tremendous difference. It is extremely reassuring to know
> that we stand alongside a faithful friend and ally as we face the
> challenges of these difficult times."
>
> More generally, the US is keen that Europe shoulders a greater
> portion of the burden of military spending, while remaining
> subordinate to overall US control. Robertson has long worked to
> establish closer political ties with Europe, while at the same
> time defending a strong transatlantic partnership with the US.
> Together with his insistence that Europe's military role is
> strengthened, this gave him impeccable credentials as far as the
> Clinton administration was concerned.
>
> Robertson was born in 1946 on the Isle of Islay, off the West
> Coast of Scotland, the son of a policeman. He was involved in
> Labour Party politics from the age of 15. After graduating in
> Economics from the University of Dundee in 1968, he became an
> organiser for the GMB union in the whiskey industry in 1969. He
> pursued a parallel career in the trade union and Labour Party
> bureaucracy until being elected MP for Hamilton South in 1978.
> Then his focus switched to his elevation through the party's
> ranks. He was a member of the Scottish Executive Committee
> between 1973 and 1979 and again since 1993; and chair of the
> Scottish Labour Party in 1987-88.
>
> After briefly functioning as Parliamentary Private Secretary to
> the Secretary of State for Social Services in 1979, he was
> appointed to the Opposition front bench following the 1979
> General Election and the downfall of the Callaghan government,
> first on Scottish Affairs, then on Defence and Foreign Affairs in
> 1982-83. He was made Deputy Opposition spokesman for Foreign and
> Commonwealth Affairs in 1983 and additionally Principal Spokesman
> on European Affairs in 1984. He was active in the witch-hunt of
> the left-reformist Militant Tendency mounted by then party leader
> Neil Kinnock, describing them as a �cancer� that must be cut out.
>
> He was elected to the Shadow Cabinet and appointed Shadow
> Secretary of State for Scotland in 1993. After the 1997 General
> Election he was appointed Secretary of State for Defence.
>
> Throughout his career Robertson was active in a number of
> organisations promoting Anglo-US ties, including being a founder
> of the Council of the Atlantic Conference and occupying a post on
> the Council of the British Atlantic Committee (1979-90). He is
> vice-chairman of the British/American Parliamentary Group.
>
> As well as this, he has consistently supported greater European
> integration. He is the Honorary President of the British/German
> Parliamentary Group and an Honorary Vice-President of the British
> German Association. The Federal German President awarded
> Robertson the Grand Cross of the German Order of Merit in 1991.
> He was named Joint Parliamentarian of the Year in 1993 for his
> role during the debate on ratification of the Maastricht Treaty
> on European Union, for highlighting Conservative Party divisions
> over the issue.
>
> Immediately after his nomination as NATO general secretary was
> confirmed, Robertson pledged to work to lessen Europe's military
> dependence on Washington�without of course undermining its strong
> transatlantic ties. "European countries at the moment spend about
> two-thirds of what the United States of America spends on
> defence, but we don't have anything like two-thirds of the
> capability�, he said. The figure was closer to 15 percent. �That
> is because we compete with each other, we duplicate each
> other�that era is now over."
>
> Robertson stressed that he would not let Europe drift away from
> Washington: "The alliance is the cornerstone of European defence
> and will remain so." This attempt to combine the development of
> an independent European military capability with a continued role
> for the US as the Continent's guardian reflects the fundamental
> calculation that has shaped British foreign policy since the
> Second World War. Successive governments have believed that, by
> acting as America's ally, the strength of its more powerful
> continental rivals�Germany and France�can be counteracted. But
> there is nevertheless a growing concern within Britain's ruling
> elite that Europe must be strengthened militarily if total US
> domination is to be avoided.
>
> This found its most developed expression in the Strategic Defence
> Review conducted under Robertson's leadership by the incoming
> Labour government. The review noted that Britain's economy �is
> founded on international trade. Exports form a higher proportion
> of Gross Domestic Product than for the US, Japan, Germany or
> France. We invest more of our income abroad than any major
> economy. Our closest economic partners are the EU and the US but
> our investment in the developing world amounts to the combined
> total of France, Germany and Italy. Foreign investment into the
> UK also provides nearly 20% of manufacturing jobs."
>
> The protection of these interests demanded the formation of
> strategic military and political alliances, with both the US and
> other European powers. "With the exception of national
> commitments such as Northern Ireland and the security of our
> Overseas Territories, future operations will almost always be
> multinational. Britain will usually be working as part of a NATO,
> UN or Western European Union (WEU) force, or an ad hoc �coalition
> of the willing',� But this still demands the strengthening of
> Britain's military capability. Not to be able to conduct two
> medium-sized operations would be an "unacceptable constraint on
> our ability to discharge Britain's commitments and
> responsibilities," the review notes.
>
> It called for reorienting military structures, purchasing and
> military doctrine around rapid reaction forces�capable of moving
> to any coastal area and providing a base for aerial attack and
> occupation of any area of the world. Two large aircraft carriers
> are to be built, in addition to supply ships able to transport
> troops, armoured vehicles, helicopters and supplies, and to
> sustain that force for a considerable period. The army will be
> increased in size and the reservist Territorial Army rebuilt.
>
> This is linked directly to the emerging carve-up of the oil and
> mineral rich territories of the former Soviet Union. The review
> focuses on Britain's military role in bringing about �security
> and stability in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Russia,
> but also extending as far as countries in the Trans-Caucasus and
> Central Asia, through bilateral assistance and co-operation with
> the countries concerned."
>
> Since the review was made, Robertson has been touring Europe
> advocating the rationalisation and integration of the Continent's
> armed forces and armaments industries. This has included an
> Anglo-French defence meeting at St. Malo and talks with the
> Italian government on rationalising the defence capacity of EU
> states. A key target for Britain has been to place pressure on
> Germany, where the Schroeder government's proposed budget implies
> severe cuts in defence spending.
>
> Robertson made a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in
> March outlining his concerns and warning, "Without effective
> military capability to back up European foreign policy goals, we
> are wasting our time. We risk being an economic giant, but a
> strategic midget.... Our ultimate aim, therefore, is not so much
> a European Security and Defence Identity but something altogether
> more ambitious�namely a European Defence Capability.�
>
> "The restructuring process does not block off any routes. It is
> not about creating a �fortress Europe' nor does it aim to create
> a �US-UK industrial alliance'. European and trans-Atlantic
> relationships are both important to the UK. The restructuring
> process is driven by the simple fact that at present the European
> defence industry lacks the scale to either compete or effectively
> collaborate with US industry," he concluded.
>
> Robertson's appointment reflects a certain stage in US-European
> relations. There is no doubt that someone less willing to accept
> US demands would have been vetoed by the Clinton administration.
> Yet Robertson's stress on building an independent European
> military force�now seen as a positive asset by
> Washington�heightens the possibility of future conflicts between
> Europe and America. What is now portrayed as an attempt to strike
> a less one-sided balance between the major powers can rapidly
> become a more serious contest, given the high stakes played for
> in the struggle to dominate the world's resources and markets.
>
>
>
>
>
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