This is not the first time this is out in the news, but:
http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/nyt225.html
What do you guys think about this?
Personally I support strong EUropean defence and less dependance on US military, but the sad fact is that Europe is military midget and laggs behind US military in many important fields. We may have comparable state of the art projects and equipment, but they are not fielded in large scale and we are absolutely behind in some fields.
So, I see it logical that USA offers those missiles to her allies, and it shouldn´t be a surprse that many nations are willing to accept the offer. I see this as a win-win situation for both, but in the long run it could contribute to the continuing trend of neglecting the essential military capabilities. More we count on US, more dependent we become and harder it will be to defend and maintain our military industries.
But what are the consequenses?
Does France et all start their own game and blame Czech/Poland because of their close ties to USA? Does this divide us, or can we act together?
How independent this will be? All American crew or combination? Are Europeans going to get all the information that is relevant to the defence and is this going to be all European/US joint project or just another example of random decisions that make European military so lacking of cohesion.
What about Russia? 10 interceptors have no meaning in strategic scale, but can they swallow their pride for these are probably going to be sent somewhere in their old satellites.
I say bring them on if Europeans can lay their hands on those systems and learn something useful [not in the Chinese way]. Russians complain just as long as they think it´useful, and French should be made to understand that Paris is on the top when Iran [or any other] considers targetting Europe... But honestly speaking, I got no idea what the French may think about this, so please inform us. |