French are Alone in
Mali; Allies in Hiding Behind U.S., U.K. Inaction (Le Figaro, France)
"If America had
entered the dance, the situation would have been completely different,
especially in London. But Barack Obama doesn't want to engage the United States
in a new war. His arm had to be twisted over Libya, and it won't happen again.
The result: many countries that generally align with Washington found in its
total absence of 'leadership' one more reason to do nothing."
Prime Minister David Cameron calls for a referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union, sending a shudder through the E.U. France can expect little help from Cameron with their campaign in Mali.
It is unjust to reproach France for going it alone to fight
the jihadists in Mali. Critics alleging an ill prepared operation and
inadequate efforts to obtain international support appear to betray a
misunderstanding of the international reality. The indifference to threats we
confront and the abandonment of any will to resist them is rather disquieting.
Everyone verbally supports French intervention, which is close to being unassailable from the point of view of international
legality. That said, concrete offers of aid are being kept to a bare minimum.
For most of our allies, the war is being run by France. It is not their affair.
The height of cynicism was achieved this week, during
celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty,
the foundation of French-German reconciliation. Angela Merkel and other German
officials stressed how France is courageously defending the interests of
Europe. Sincere thanks were offered to our armed forces. But the chancellor and
other officials clearly excluded the possibility of taking any political risk
to support a military operation is considers so essential.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
This attitude is very German. It can be explained by the
past and the well anchored refusal of the population to pursuing any military
adventure. The concept of a “parliamentary army” requires that the Bundestag be
consulted before any deployment of the German Army. That was the case for
Kosovo and for Afghanistan. But Africa is a another affair.
Berlin's euro crisis ascendency in Europe incited every
country to hide behind German refusal to do nothing. One cannot both demand
that European countries tighten their belts and, at the same time, fight
jihadists ...
Do not count on Great Britain, the second military power in
Europe, which shared the direction of operations in Libya with France. The
United Kingdom of David Cameron is in full retreat, which was shown by the
speech in which the prime minister proposed a referendum on the country's
membership in the European Union. [watch in photo box].
If the United States had entered the dance, the situation
would have been completely different, especially in London. But Barack Obama
doesn't want to engage the United States in a new war. His arm had to be
twisted over Libya, and it won't happen again. The result: many countries that
generally align with Washington found in its total absence of “leadership” one
more reason to do nothing.
This is not an encouraging report. The risk is that Europe's
astonishing passivity and our own isolation will be prolonged.
