Kyiv Post reports that Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania are definitely going to create that joint peacekeeping team that they promised to put together last year. That's all very well but are we not all supposed to be working towards the creation of a single (repeat single) EU peacekeeping or whatever keeping force? Do the Lithuanians and the Poles not want to be haring all over Africa making sure that French nuclear companies have enough uranium?
NZWeek adds:
The team will support peacekeeping and humanitarian operations under the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, or multinational coalitions in accordance with the U.N. Charter and the principles of international law.In fact, almost anything that might involve them in a scrap.
I suspect the EUphiles would approve as it's another step in the direction of their agenda. It's easier to integrate an existing multi-national Ukrainian/Polish/Lithuanian force into a future EU force. After all, it short-cuts any arguments about national sovereignty if the national forces are already highly integrated with a multi-national force.
ReplyDeleteYou will be surprised how integrated some aspects of NATO are. There is nothing wrong with integration or working together. What matters is chain of command and there this development might not be to the europhiliacs liking.
ReplyDeleteI see what you're saying. But isn't their main problem with NATO simply that the USA is part of it? If the USA quit NATO, then wouldn't it be the case that NATO would be a very convenient basis for their common EU military?
DeleteThat might be the theory but, in practice, they know they can't manage without the US and Canada. After all, the Libyan "success" could not have happened without American fire power.
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