EU military

Germany and France: Fake a Military Alliance…

Posted on by Helena

Germany and France have announced joint plans to build a, as in one, fighter jet, in their ‘ambitious new defense strategy’.  This one jet may be ready within – two years… or more because first they have to create a ‘concept study for a shared air combat system’, and the study may require two years to complete.

The construction for this fighter jet is a combined effort between Germany’s Airbus and France’s Dassault although funding is an issue and the respective governments are looking for outside ante’s.   Airbus’ military chief, Fernando Alonso, has stated that simply buying a bunch of US made F35’s would be a much less expensive alternative but such a purchase would greatly impact Europe’s sovereignty.   What?

Suddenly, it would appear that Europe has decided it will adopt the anti-Trump agenda of sovereignty – they just won’t announce it to the people.  In fact, the cost of this monstrosity unmanned fighter jet has also been kept under wraps given the tenuous budgets of France and Germany are already squeezed by trade issues and immigration welfare.

What they have announced is a $75 million budget to be shared by Dassault and Airbus to develop the ‘architecture and manufacturing structure’ for the project.  Essentially, it is a committee fee that may or may not determine if the project is even feasible.  And in essence, the spending does little to nothing to advance Europe’s military, and may be a smoke screen or deflection from the fact that their NATO ante remains in the twalette. Previous collaborations have proven quite embarrassing as differing opinions created vast disparities and eventually entire projects crumbled with nothing to show for the $$$$.

Of course, this time will be different.

While Macron made the demand that the venture not include bidding from US Lockheed Martin in order to maintain ‘sovereign rule’, the fighter jet will be fitted with US Nuclear Bombs.  So I guess sovereign only means – sometimes.

But they need to do something given their defense ministers have whispered the fact that most of their current inventory is obsolete or in dire need of costly repairs.

While Trump demanded that the EU countries ante up their fair share of military spending per the NATO Agreement, they have been reluctant.

NATO was created to defend European countries from a “Russia invasion”.   Canada, Turkey and the US came on board after the fact.   Russia came aboard briefly but NATO ejected them after the Ukraine coup.   Like a good deal of the Federal government, NATO has become a nonessential burgeoning expense propped up by the US and a handful of EU countries to conduct military exercises.  While NATO has been an alliance in Afghanistan, and the first Gulf War, it is now mostly relegated to ‘protecting civilians in north Africa’.   Why?  Why is NATO protecting countries that aren’t a part of NATO?

A quick perusal of the NATO site indicates their current projects to be a handful of meetings, shaking hands, and discussing security while taking jaunts to Romania, Slovakia, Macedonia, Kosovo, London and Brussels.   Of course no organization would be complete without creating a sub-feature that addresses ‘equality for women’, as in NATO is now a sponsor for protecting women’s rights.  AH!

Of course the blatantly obvious question in all this military discussion is why are Germany and France creating their own military instead of anteing up their fair share for NATO?   Unless they too believe that NATO has become superfluous.

Time Magazine has an answer: Their justification for the fair share debacle is because the 2% of GDP is simply a ‘guideline’, not mandatory. And therefore, Germany, France and most of the EU are within their right to give NATO money – or not, in any denomination they feel like.   Therefore if a country, such as the US, decided to ante nothing, we would be within that same ‘guideline’ rule.   By George I’ve GOT IT!

It is the same rule that the Paris Climate Accord created, i.e., ‘a guideline’ that neither Germany or France have ever met, and don’t intend to meet in the near future, although a 30 year agenda sounds good because Merkel and Macron will be long gone by then sitting on a beach drinking Mai Tai’s.

I wonder if the $39 billion BREXIT bill is a ‘guideline’?  Given that contracts are not really binding, and $$$ aren’t really available, and rules aren’t really governable?  And organizations are really superfluous… conducting occasional meetings, flying hither and there… while Kosovo ‘peacekeepers’ are really volunteers, but they are multi-ethnic, lightly armed, professional and support the UN.  But Kosovo is not a member of NATO, so why is NATO even there?    I ramble.

Bottom line, France and Germany are trying to give the impression they are doing something constructive toward building a military when in fact what they have is completely unusable, would offer no protection to the people, and they don’t have the money to create a military defense – so instead, they have created a committee to evaluate the construction of a jet and held lots of photo ops to impress the media with a proposal/guideline of a jet that is way too expensive, and they can’t afford.

But it isn’t mandatory…

Macron Announces US is Major Enemy…

Posted on by Helena

To start, I am not a big fan of Emmanuel Macron of France.  I find him a bit effeminate, and wimpish, personally.   And today, after months of Trump chastising Europe for not meeting their own instituted directive to contribute 2% of GDP toward their military, after years of mooching off the US picking up everyone’s slack, after years of the French denigrating Americans for being crass and stupid, Macron has announced that NO MORE!  France is demanding that Europe build their own army to defend against the enemies; America, Russia and China!

Hysterical laughter please.

Over the last ten years, France’s Budget deficit has varied from a -7.2% to a -2.6%.  In fact they haven’t even managed to have a -0- Budget deficit, much less a positive one, since sometime in the 1970’s!  So exactly how does France, aka Macron, envision spending the necessary billions to create an army from scratch when they operate at a loss every single day, month, year for the last 50+ years?

Of course this is the same poo-poo France and Europe that continually chastises Trump for not understanding Globalism and economics and trade and business, and…   The US represents France’s 4thlargest export trading country, China is 7th, and Russia is 14th.   These are the countries Macron deems his enemies – three of his major trading partners.

Not only does Macron set himself up as being wholly uninformed, but a blithering boff when it comes to money and business.  If he follows through on his derision, he would eliminate roughly 13% of France’s export business, $67 billion, while demanding a $51.65 billion investment in military spending within an already 2.6% shortfall of revenues.

Hysterical laughter – please.

Standing a head shorter than Trump, I doubt Trump is even moderately amused.  It is akin to Indiana Jones being thrashed with a nail file only to pull out his AK15, and we know the rest.

Worse, who does the research and script writing, and press releases for Macron?  Obviously they should be fired.  After humiliating himself by claiming that France should honor a WWII famous Marshall for his valor, did Macron find himself eating crow as it was whispered ‘the man collaborated with the Nazi’s’.

“Oh.  Oops.”

And while Erdogan is attempting to capitalize on the death of the Muslim Brotherhood head and Washington Post contributor, Khashoggi, during the EU summit, he fails to realize – no one cares.  Including Macron.  Including Trump.  Including Merkel who likely feels she was snookered by the whole bamboozle in which no one really cares.  For all we know he is in Cyprus sipping Mai tai’s and laughing hysterically.

Given that neither France or Germany have contributed their ‘allowance, fair share’ per an agreement they initiated regarding military spending for NATO, how do they expect to find the budget surplus to create an army today?

France’s active military personnel is roughly 200,000, Germany’s is roughly 186,000.  China’s is over 2 million.   Russia is 1 million.   And US is roughly 1.3 million.   Is he daft?

While the media focus’s on Trump, the true idiocy can be found in Europe and Canada. Canada’s Trudeau is apparently following the Obama apologetics tour in saying, oops, sorry, we should have accepted the Jews fleeing from WWII, but we didn’t.  Instead we refused because they would have been aliens, immigrants, despots, and such.   All 900 of them.  Not thousands or millions, but a mere 900.   Darn.

The point is to represent a grain of Truth.  The point is to not point a finger when the log in your eye is the size of Manhattan. The point is that the entire EU global’s active military strength without excluding those countries no longer aligned with EU policies, is less than the entire US alone.

For Macron to point a finger at Russia, China and the US, he is a piss in the ocean.  Pardon my French.

UPDATE:   If Macron and Merkel decide to build a new European Army:

  1.   Will all the cache of weapons revert to US assets given we paid for them!?
  2.   Will NATO thus be dissolved – saving US billions?
  3.   Will Russia build the new weapons necessary to create a European military?
  4.   Does Macron understand how many years this will take?

Germany’s Military – A US Welfare Program

Posted on by Helena

Germany is drawing more and more Communist lines as it vilifies Trump over his refusal to pay for and/or support: the Liberal Order, Climate Change, BREXIT and a common stance on Russia.   DW.com cites, US “eminent” political scientist, G John Ikenberry, as stating that this is not just neglect, but sabotage, and a hostile revisionist power play. WOW!   No mincing words…

First, Ikenberry is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a known voice of activism and hate speech. Working on ‘several projects for the Council on Foreign Relations, Ikenberry is a well known proponent of World Order, global domination, and the squeezing out of any country who is not on board with this regime, aka Russia. To consider him ‘eminent’ is rather arrogant and pompous to say the least.

The true angst within the EU and Germany is the fact that the US under Trump will henceforth no longer prop up their economies with US taxpayer funds. Including, defense.

Germany’s defense budget accounts for about 2.5% of the total world budget, 1.2% of it’s GDP, and 6.7% of what the US spends NOT including NATO.   As a percent of GDP, Germany would need to triple it’s spending to equal that of the US – topping roughly $120 billion.   The EU is squeezing Germany for more money as a result of BREXIT, and if the US let’s NATO go by the wayside, Germany and France will be left holding an empty bag of trick-or-treats.

Climate Change? 

The Paris Agreement is about two things 1) money, and 2) pinky swear goals.   Trump pulling out of the money part will have absolutely no effect on the climate change outcome given the money is slated for countries whose economies have no impact on climate change whatsoever. It’s a Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.   As Trump refuses to fund the scheme, US businesses vow to reduce emissions… Isn’t that the goal?   Or is the true goal to create another waste committee to spend billions on infrastructure so as to take over small country’s resources in ‘land grabs’?  Because that’s what the Climate Change money is slated for!

According to National Geographic, 1400 businesses, 20 states and 110 US cities have pledged to reduce emissions. Given that the Paris Agreement is all about ‘pledges’, it would appear that the US is doing it’s part without giving billions to a ‘committee’.

Basically, Germany and other co-dependent countries are whining because they have been given a free ride for so long and haven’t the wherewithal to actually provide for themselves as independent. They have been ‘welfare’ countries for so long that being weaned is making them angry as they cry for entitlement.

Sound familiar? It should, because that is ‘Socialist Communism’.

In addition to NATO, 25 member states of the EU formed PESCO in 2017.   PESCO is a joint effort to create a European military outside of the US welfare budget. Countries have already begun complaining that these funds will stress their other welfare programs and tax government spending.   While a formal budget has yet to even be declared, a goal of 2% has been defined.   But it isn’t just spending – it is about the size of the military itself.

Germany has a land force of just over 60,000 personnel.   Conscription may become a compulsory future for German males, or they may require conscription in order for immigrants to obtain citizenship…   France’s military is considerably larger with a manpower of over 365,000. Sweden has an active personnel log of 22,500, The Netherlands is roughly 59,000 and Norway boasts about 23,000 active.

As a comparison, the US has an active duty personnel of roughly 1.3 million.

Germany’s equipment is in worse disrepair. The Ninth Tank Brigade, which is scheduled to take over NATO’s Very High Readiness Task Force in 2019, has exactly 9 tanks and 3 armoured personal carriers.   It is an embarrassment for Germany and a complete failure of Merkel to compose a ready military.

Germany’s notion that the US is “ambivalent” because Trump is refusing to support the EU while they continue to vilify, demean, and reap the benefits of US taxpayer dollars, is incredibly morally, ethically, insanely hypocritical at best. The real problem is the fact that despite decades of US demands that the EU ramp up their military, they shrugged. There were no consequences, and now they are facing a Trump who is refusing to bow to their grumbling querulous snipes.

EU Commission, Claude Junker – Running out of gas

Posted on by Helena

EU Commission president, Juncker, is showing fear. He wants to know what a Trump presidency will do with respect to the failed NATO and EU Commission? He is making demands before Trump even takes office. He is making defamatory statements about Trump and even ridiculing his knowledge of Europe. Not a good start in making ‘friends’.

His most recent rant was to tell students that it will take him two years to explain to Trump what Europe is and how it is run… WOW – how to ingratiate yourself without really trying!

What’s his beef? Fear. He is attempting to create an offensive attack thinking that somehow this will make Trump cave. Stupidity. He obviously has not studied either psychology or military tactics, and has not read The Art of War. I imagine Trump will not take his remarks lightly.

What is he afraid of?

  1. If the US were to pull out of NATO, they would lose 23% of their income. A fair cause for concern given NATO is the primary military agency for many EU countries. Including Junker’s own Luxembourg which is a Socialist Monarchy.
  1. Junker is an EU stayer, Trump supported BREXIT. The EU Commission is funded by EU members, when they leave, they take their money with them.
  1. With a population of just about ½ a million, Luxembourg has over 40,000 registered conglomerates using their tax haven status to pay sometimes less than 1% in taxes. With over $1 trillion under management, banking is their only real asset supporting the economy. If that rug were pulled – they’d go under fast.
  1. Despite Luxembourg boasting one of the world’s highest standard of living and the second highest income to gdp, their net contribution to the EU is rather small…they need the EU to help prop them up and anything or anyone who proposes to untangle their structure is – the enemy.

Recently, those havens have come under scrutiny as not being in compliance with EU Rules, and questionable clients such as North Korea.   These irregularities make Junker look bad given this all came to be under his tutorial. And a cornered critter is likely to bite!

Disrespecting Trump isn’t exactly the best game plan. Perhaps Trump could give him a lesson in ‘diplomacy’…

Quickly attempting to hedge his bets, Juncker is calling for Europe to form their own military. Luxembourgs own military is comprised of 800. That would require quite a bit of fresh new taxes on the people who otherwise have a relatively $-0- defense budget.

The NATO numbers are a bit convoluted given they have three distinct budgets; defense, civil and investment. While the US ante’s just over 22% of the defense budget, that would be in addition to our own military. Most of the NATO countries have NATO because like Luxembourg they have no military. So basically the US is paying for ‘two’ separate and distinct militaries.

While the NATO budget is significantly less, the US has been propping up the budget for decades as other countries simply refuse to ante their share. Many countries in the EU feel NATO has over-extended it’s main function, and is a political swamp of overinflated budgets. The US – is not alone.

The only way Europe will approve an EU military would be if it were a combined effort instead of an added military for say France, Germany, and Italy who ante the bulk on behalf of EU countries as well as maintain their individual militaries.

So Junker has a rather rocky uphill battle in his attempt to keep failed agencies from falling away – including his own EU Commission. Alienating the US via Trump was a stupid move. Biting the hand that feeds you – is a stupid move.

Not recognizing what The People want and what The People are sick of – will earn him the same fate as Hillary/Soros. He would be wise to be humble and to learn.