Post A Reply
my profile
|
directory
login
|
search
|
faq
|
forum home
»
Flare Sci-Fi Forums
»
Community
»
The Flameboard
»
A proposal floated by Saudi Arabia
» Post A Reply
Post A Reply
Login Name:
Password:
Message:
HTML is enabled.
UBB Code™ is enabled.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Vogon Poet: [QB] Equipment incompatibility is not an issue. It doesn't hinder NATO. A combined military could be introduced gradually, with tough decisions to be made regarding what equipment would be used (Eurofighters, British tanks, Belgian small arms. . .). It would be a long and politically-fraught process, which would make squabbles over Maastricht, the Exchange Rate Mechanism and Monetary Union look staid by comparison. But it's do-able. Likewise, the language barrier. Right now there are two languages that get used in the day-to-day running of the EU: French and English. How do I know? Because I've worked at the EU in Brussels. The French Foreign Legion is effectively multilingual. English would likely end up as the [i]lingua franca[/i] of such a force, whether officially or not. I'm all in favour of of it because if nothing else it'll really annoy the French. 8) And to say that it's a bad idea because it interferes with NATO. . . well, bollocks to NATO quite frankly. It's served its purpose, all it does is give the US a wider field for its military adventures.We may stick with it for now out of gratitude and obligation, but that's got a very short shelf life. Sure, there are loads of obstacles, just to a stable European Union, let alone a unified defence force. But obstacles are there to be overcome. "We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard" as someone once said. And as for the steel tariff, well - it doesn't help matters. The fact is, many countries - especially European members of NATO - while they may have felt a moral obligation to support the War Against Terror, in some cases it was a less than spiritual commitment to the cause. Only such constraints as Clause 4 (I think that was the one) of the NATO charter helped ensure cooperation. We were told that this issue surpassed questions of race, nationality, religion or politics, and by and large we agreed. Now, all of a sudden it's six months later and back to business as usual. Should a trade dispute interfere in (or even be associated with) the War On Terror? Probably not. But I'm afraid it's going to be. As reported, Blair was so concerned about it he brought it up with Bush in a telephone conversation where the agenda was meant to be Iraq. And that won't be the only instance where these two issues collide. Ethics once more enters the argument as the EU slams the US for these tariffs, then is forced to levy them themselves to protect European markets. Sure there are political realities Bush has to face up to. The September 11th bubble is deflating rapidly. America's still A-OK, still Number One, you even won a land war in Asia - yet that doesn't pay the bills. Take West Virginia, a steelworking state which traditionally votes Democrat, yet went for Bush last time out. They have to be kept happy. Thirty mills closed in the past year? That's a lot of people out of work. But tariffs on imports isn't necessarily the answer. The US steel trade is notoriously inefficient. It's a simple economic fact that someone, somewhere, is always going to be able to produce the same things you do better or cheaper. You can either stop them producing, stop their products from getting to your markets (or the ones your products dominate), or, you can find some other way out. The first option - well, let's see how countries like Turkey (exempt as a military ally) or Argentina (currently bankrupt) react when they find out what price their exemption might carry; even Canada & Mexico (exempt as part of the North American free Trade Agreement) might find themselves in an awkward position. The second option, that's where we are right now. Option three, I have no idea, not being an economist. Other people have faced it with certain responses - like Dyson buggering off to Malaysia for one - but it's not an insurmountable problem. [/QB][/QUOTE]
Instant Graemlins
Instant UBB Code™
What is UBB Code™?
Options
Disable Graemlins in this post.
*** Click here to review this topic. ***
© 1999-2024 Charles Capps
Powered by UBB.classic™ 6.7.3