17.07.2006, 22:49
folgenden sehr interessanten artikel hab ich im forum von doppeldadler.com gefunden. der text stammt von jane's, aber eine genauere quelle war nicht angegeben. da kein link angeben ist, poste ich den ganzen artikel ...
Zitat:A weak Europe is not good for the world!großartiger artikel und ganz meine meinung :daumen: :daumen:
India and China's rise to superpower status needs to be closely managed and observed, especially by Europe, which is acting like there will never be another major war, says Renfrew Christie.
"We must celebrate the awakening of China and India. It is a flowering point in human history.
A hundred million peasant farmers are becoming industrial workers. Some are now ultra high-tech, educated producers. Literacy and numeracy are rocketing, cities are booming, the middle classes are burgeoning, people are demanding more and more sophisticated goods, as the world economy bubbles up happily.
Yet, like all arisings, this one carries dangers.
Warnings are already visible in Africa. There is competition for resources, a struggle for water, food crises and oil wars: all these lie ahead. The rise to superpower status of India and China must be meticulously managed by the whole world. In this nuclear age we must avoid major war.
Alan Milward, a professor of politics, reminded us 40 years ago that war is a tool of economic policy. Once more it will be seen the rationale to go to war for oil, coal, water, minerals and land: for lebensraum (living space) as someone once put it.
This is our past; it is certainly our future. The thousand-year peace is not yet with us.
However, Europe is behaving as if there will never be a serious war again. It has run down its force numbers. Its materiel is old. Its advanced military manufacturers are getting too few orders and those are too small. The forces are ageing. Too few young pilots, soldiers, marines and sailors are being trained.
Britain has 145 major generals, all named Gilbert or Sullivan, but the UK would struggle to field one full division fast.
The world has moved on. Germany is a civilised almost super-power but it is neglecting its military duties in a shrinking, competitive globe. It is free-riding on the other states in the defence of European interests worldwide.
Even France has lost its Napoleonic muscle. Europe is assuming Russia will remain stable, that the Balkans will be unproblematic and there will never again be a European war.
Europe seems to believe the US will manage Western interests in the Middle East with only some token European forces in Basra or Afghanistan. Similarly, Africa will need little more than a few European battalions here and there.
Europe is assuming it has no interests to defend in the Strait of Malacca or the South China Sea. It thinks the US deserves the burden of Pacific peacekeeping.
Europe is relying on others to maintain the mutual peace, without which the rise of China and India will lead to catastrophes. European defence spending and troop strengths must be increased.
European strategic reach must be increased. Long-range European aircraft, submarines, space assets, aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships and hot-climate army capabilities will all be needed if the peace is to be kept while China and India arise.
European military research and development budgets need to be doubled.
To be sure, some good things are being done. Most European navies are buying strategic projection landing platforms. Many air forces are getting long-distance heavy transports. Some armies are re-equipping, yet the scale is often too small.
In general, the European militaries are headed the other way: short-term; short-sighted; short of troops; short of advanced materiel; short of youth; short of breath; and in the end short-lived.
Europe also has a massive unresolved crisis of sovereignty. It simply failed to constitute itself. The EU is not a legitimate democracy. Its elected representatives control neither the Council of Ministers nor the officials.
The EU army speaks the foreign policies of 25 states. Each soldier obeys the contradictory orders of 25 generals who have never exercised together.
What money will pay the Pomeranian grenadier: euros, pounds or dollars? Is the UK part of the EU or not? Its monetary system says it is not but the UK may discover that its true sovereign interests lie outside.
In the end, will the Franco-Germanic alliance hold up under stress? Will Germany reform its economy in time to pay for a defence force with true strategic reach? Where is the German CVN aircraft-carrier?
Europe's identities and sovereignties are confused and undefined. Its military forces reflect this. Worse, they are being run down just at the time when they must be big enough, and have sufficient will, to mediate the rise of China and India peacefully. We ring the alarm bells, but their wires are tangled in the politics of Brussels. Militarily, the EU is a 'spaghetti western'.
Good morning, Europe. Look east, see the light!"