Posted on 11/30/2003 6:50:54 AM PST by SJackson
Britain has taken a dramatic step towards a full-fledged European army, signing up to Franco-German proposals for a planning headquarters outside NATO.
The deal, reached by British, German and French officials in secret talks in Berlin last week, establishes an operational command in Brussels, allowing the European Union to run day-to-day battlefield missions for the first time.
Risking a major clash with Washington, it points to a definitive break with British defence doctrine of the past half century. But British officials hinted that the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, would rewrite the agreement if the US was adamantly opposed.
The British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said on Saturday that discussions were continuing with "partners and allies" - code for Washington.
It is believed that Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, phoned two European foreign ministers on Friday seeking urgent clarification of the deal after news of it was leaked in the French press before Washington's approval was sought.
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The plan will be discussed by NATO defence and foreign ministers at meetings in Brussels this week, where critics are expected to include Mr Powell and the hawkish US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.
One NATO diplomat had already warned that the proposal - broadly welcomed by other EU foreign ministers meeting in Naples - was a Trojan horse that could undermine the trans-Atlantic alliance.
US officials are concerned that the EU taking on an independent defence role will weaken NATO, the cornerstone of Western defence for more than 50 years. Last month Mr Bush said he trusted Mr Blair to "make the right decision" on EU defence.
Mr Straw insisted on Saturday that the plan would not weaken NATO.
"The conclusion that we reached last night was one in which NATO is accepted as the alliance par excellence of all participating member states, the prime means by which we guarantee each other's mutual defence," he said. Any EU defence activities would be "complementary" to the alliance.
Michael Ancram, the Conservative shadow foreign secretary, said: "This is a sell-out by Tony Blair. I think George Bush will be very angry and upset by this deal. They promised the Americans there would be no planning capability outside NATO. But that is what they have agreed."
EU diplomats said that under the defence plan, described by France's Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, as a breakthrough, a skeleton staff of about 30 "operational planners" would be established alongside an existing strategic planning unit in Brussels. They would be put to work whenever the EU decided to deploy its military force.
NATO officials are keenly awaiting further details of the plan, which was agreed to during the Berlin talks on Wednesday and put to EU ministers over dinner by the Germany Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, on Friday.
The officials will scrutinise the proposals for any signs of duplication of effort. One said: "We do not have a formal paper yet. We are anxious to see what they have agreed."
A NATO diplomat added: "You start with 30 people in a planning cell and end up with 300. It's a bridgehead to something much bigger."
The Telegraph, London; Reuters; Agence France-Presse
Maybe I missed something, but the Conservatives have kicked away their opportunity to support Bush and the United States on Iraq and the war against Islamism. That makes this sound like a childish temper tantrum to me. They haven't had any credibility since they kicked Margaret Thatcher out of office.
Too bad, because what he says is true. It was obvious that Tony Blair intended to play both sides of the game, and that his earlier pretence at disagreement with Chirac was only a charade.
Seems to me that's what they're doing.
The British are in a soul tug-of-war between traditional Anglo-Americanism and Europeanism, and it's reflected not just in voting patterns, but in church attendance. The future of Europe is not a bright one; Continentals have rejected God and and even much of Judeo-Christian values. I pray hard that Britain will not follow in their footsteps.
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