Paper presented at the Workshop Europe's military and defense poilcy, Attac Summer University, Saarbrücken, 2.8.2008

What I want to do in my presentation is to describe the most relevant developments for Europe's militarization since the year 1999. Furthermore, I wanted to say a few words about the driving factors behind this militarization. Finally, I want to outline the dramatic consequences for Europe's further militarization if the Treaty of Lisbon would enter into force and to assess the impact of the Irish NO against the treaty and the further road ahead.

“Il n’y a pas de liberte, il n’y a pas d’egalite, il n’y a pas de fraternite sans securite.” —French President Nicolas Sarkozy

In June 2007, “France’s Sarkozy Softening on Defense After Electoral Stumble” covered debate around France’s future armed forces, and apparent backtracks in his campaign position regarding future defense spending. In July 2007, President Sarkozy put together a group that was tasked it with creating a White Paper to define France’s future defense policy. The last time an exercise of this type had been conducted was in 1994.

That group has now returned with its report, and on June 17/08, President Sarkozy mad a speech outlining the key elements of that future direction.

Four decades after President de Gaulle broke with the Nato command President Sarkozy announced France’s return to the heart of the alliance — with conditions on EU defence that may unsettle Britain.

Setting out a big shift in doctrine and spending yesterday, France’s most pro-Atlanticist President said that nothing prevented a return to the integrated command from which de Gaulle withdrew in 1966 in dispute with the United States. “In Europe, nearly all our partners are members of the alliance. They do not understand why we persist in standing apart,” he said.

• Wars aren’t appearing from nowhere. Today’s wars are a requirement and a result of the capitalistic world order. There is no « Godd war ». Military Interventions – mostly named as « humanitary mission » – serve the upkeep and backup of the dominant measures of hirarchy – and exploitation. They hit the civil population, they bring flight and poverty. They are categorically to be reject – whether with or without UN mandat. Wars and Terror threats conduce as well to moisten the absolute ban on torture – NO TORTURE, NO JAILS !

The radical left in Europe has reasons to be cheerful. That was certainly the message from a 1,000 strong rally held in Paris’s Left Bank on Friday of last week organised by the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (LCR).

The LCR’s Olivier Bescancenot, who polled over 4 percent in last year’s French presidential elections, joined veterans of 1968 Alain Krivine and Daniel Bensaid, and speakers from Poland, Italy and Portugal.

We, participants from ten countries, met at the international Afghanistan-Congress in Hannover to discuss 60th NATO anniversary in May 2009, which will be celebrated with an official summit in May 2009 in Strasbourg and Kehl.
We made the following commitment regarding common protests:

Saul Landau
Progreso Weekly, 8 May 2008

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One of many relevant questions the ABC moderators neglected to ask Hillary and Obama in the mid April televised debate: Why does NATO continue to exist after the Soviet Union collapsed? Indeed, the entire media accepts NATO as one of the several military axioms that remain from Cold War days.

For those who don’t remember, in April 1949, Washington initiated a military alliance, supposedly to counter Soviet military power, which bound the United States to defend Western Europe against a supposedly imminent Soviet invasion. By the early 1950s, The North Atlantic Treaty had grown far beyond North Atlantic European nations, and included Canada, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Turkey. SAC (Strategic Air Command) bombers flew 24/7 missions with nuclear payloads, turning around when the planes reached the Soviet borders. Land-based intercontinental nuclear missiles and submarine-based ballistic missiles triangulated NATO’s atomic arsenal. The Soviets relied initially on land-based missiles.

1. state of affairs

• April 2009: NATO 60th anniversary: summit in Strasbourg (F) and Kehl (D)with festivities and probably opening for review of NATO Strategic Concept
• start action at NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Berlin, 23-25 May
• in Freiburg a local preparation meeting already took place, with people from Khel
• on 7 June an Afghanistan-conference takes place in Hannover, where some groups (Mouvement de la Paix (F), IALANA Germany and INESAP) also called for a meeting on the NATO-summit
• in the near neighbourhood of Kehl there are almost no active groups. 40 km further, an active group exists in Freiburg. In Freiburg people are motivated, also in Mannheim and Heidelberg.
• natogipfel2009.blogsport.de (regional website from Kehl)

From Berlin to Kehl and Strasbourg: Block NATO!

Rally and bicycle parade May 24, 1pm

This year’s annual NATO conference in Bucharest has taken the decision to celebrate NATO’s “60th anniversary” in France and Germany in 2009. The precise date remains unclear, but it will be held in spring 2009 in the border cities of Strasbourg and Kehl. NATO strategists have already stressed the importance of next year’s summit. They have made the proposal to ratify a new strategic concept that includes nuclear first strikes to keep or get access to resources and a civil-military approach to counter-insurgency.

Germany will host the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Spring Session in the Reichstag Building, bringing together some 340 parliamentarians from North America and Europe, from 23 to 27 May 2008 in Berlin.

The Plenary session on Tuesday 27 May will be addressed by NATO PA’s President, José LELLO, NATO Secretary General, Jaap DE HOOP SCHEFFER, Supreme Allied Commander Europe John CRADDOCK, and other high ranking officials.

NATO PA’s five committees (Political, Defence and Security, Science and Technology, Civil Dimension of Security, Economics and Security) will meet on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May to discuss reports focusing on the most important security questions of the moment. Guest speakers will address the Committees.