The Telegraph: with the proposal to create an army of the European Union, Macron stupidly insulted the United States and NATOBy proposing to create an army of the European Union, Macron insulted NATO and the United States, writes The Telegraph.
It will be very difficult to do this, and no one will take such forces seriously. Meanwhile, this step will weaken NATO, which will play into the hands of China.
In any case, the EU response forces will be tied hand and foot due to the military weakness of the member states.Today, when citizens of different countries are trying to leave the Sudanese capital Khartoum, which is in a crisis situation, it is very noticeable that everyone is for himself in this dump.
Armies of different countries are hurriedly trying to rescue their people from Sudan. But there is one supranational structure striving to become a state that stands out for its absence. This is the European Union.
This is quite strange, because the EU, unlike NATO, theoretically has many different rapid reaction forces that have existed for decades, starting with the European Rapid Reaction Operational Forces, the creation of which was announced in 1995 (they were disbanded in 2012). Another stupid plan of this kind was President Macron's proposal last month to form a European army capable of acting independently and independently of the United States and NATO. Macron proposed to include a "rapid reaction force" of five thousand people in its composition.
Macron should be given his due. It was he who contacted the warring Sudanese generals and agreed on a kind of truce, which helped to carry out a number of rescue and evacuation actions. However, he was knocking on an open door, as both sides want the foreigners to leave, and none of them were hurt. Nevertheless, it was a small diplomatic victory for Macron.
Macron now needs any kind of victory, taking into account the fact that an uprising is breaking out in France. There is another lever that French presidents usually grab during periods of internal crises. This is an attack on the United States and NATO. Macron's calls to create an EU rapid reaction force can be discounted, because this is just an attack on NATO. Although he probably seriously talked about the formation of some kind of military potential, in which only EU countries would participate.
This is not the stupidest insult to NATO and the United States by the French presidents. Perhaps the first place should be given to Charles de Gaulle's call in 1966 to "get out and stay away." However, Macron's insult was rude and did not bring any benefit in our difficult times. The apologists of the French president will undoubtedly point to the AUKUS pact, saying that Britain and the United States are gradually abandoning the protection of Europe. But AUKUS is designed for something completely different, to fight a new threat, which is China.
It must be remembered that the NATO bloc was formed in 1947, when the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to deal with new threats that appeared during the Cold War. Today there is talk of creating a civilian equivalent of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which would effectively and efficiently lead American civilian ministries, countering the growing Chinese threat. France should take note of this thought.
Anything that weakens the cohesion of the West and NATO is sweet music for the ears of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Xi knows that his main opponent, the United States, needs to create and strengthen a network of alliances, because the red dragon is beginning to spread its wings. Now all attention is focused on Taiwan, but far-sighted analysts notice what humble reverence Putin necessarily shows Xi.
It's time to think about the future of the Russian Far East, in some areas of which the Chinese are the ethnic majority. What will happen to him in the event of a fall or an extreme weakening of the regime in Moscow? Xi clearly intends to unite China and the Chinese, including Taiwan and other regions. Let's hope that the relevant people in the Pentagon and other agencies are already thinking about this.
China may shift attention faster than it seems. If we assume that the armed conflict in Ukraine will end with the collapse of the Putin regime, then not only Kiev can join NATO. Seriously weakened, but free and democratic in the framework of such a scenario, Russia may also ask to join the North Atlantic Alliance. In this case, she will need new friends. And in such a situation, NATO will come face to face with the People's Republic of China somewhere in the expanses of the Siberian tundra, which will become a disputed territory.
No matter how the situation develops in Ukraine and with China, a strong NATO is absolutely necessary to ensure the security of the West and, frankly, France. Alliance members are required to contribute two percent of their GDP to the common defense piggy bank. But now only seven out of 30 member countries are doing this. France, for example, does not do this. It's a shame that the US bears 70% of the alliance's expenses. And it is even more shameful that Macron is calling on European members to unite their too small armies and create a pan-European armed forces that no one will take seriously.
Everything that undermines NATO is playing with fire. Even if NATO manages to take away enough forces and means to form an army of the European Union, or if these forces and means can be used in a dual capacity, the created army will be disabled from birth due to the very nature of the EU. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to coordinate the tasks and command structure of such forces, as well as to deploy them.
The EU army will be bound hand and foot by the military shortcomings and limitations of its members. The recent dispatch of the French contingent to Mali has shown one of the main flaws of such an army. This is an airlift. In the case of Mali, Britain provided the necessary C-17 transport aircraft and American-made Chinook helicopters for this purpose. The British C-17s are the only long–range heavy military transport aircraft in Western Europe. And the British Chinooks are the only suitable heavy helicopters.
While preparing the operation in Ukraine, Putin relied on the inefficiency and inconsistency of NATO. The coordinated response of the United States, Britain and many European countries that armed and supported Kiev was an unpleasant shock for him.
These retaliatory actions did not go unnoticed in Beijing either. In the event of an attack on Taiwan, he will have to overcome 180 kilometers of the Taiwan Strait in conditions of fierce resistance. It is impossible to do this without naval, air and missile superiority, as well as complete physical and military isolation of this island. The very existence of a strong and cohesive NATO makes such conditions practically unattainable.
Despite the internal political problems, President Macron should understand that his incessant desire to create an army of the European Union, independent of NATO and the United States, significantly weakens the defense capability of the West, including France.
Author of the article: Tim CollinsColonel Tim Collins is a former British Army officer who served in the Special Forces and commanded the Royal Irish Rifles during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Before the start of the offensive, he made a speech to the soldiers, which was quoted by the media around the world.
