The Times features the Atlantic Council’s open letter, signed by thirteen former Secretaries of State, Secretaries of Defense, and National Security Advisors, that makes a strong geopolitical case for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union.
Britain must not bank on its “special relationship” with the United States to compensate for losing global influence by leaving the EU, foreign and defence chiefs from every White House administration over the past 40 years have warned.
In a letter to The Times, 13 former US secretaries of state and defence and national security advisers say that the country’s “place and influence in the world would be diminished and Europe would be dangerously weakened” after a vote to leave in next month’s referendum.
Washington’s intervention will inflame the argument over whether Britain would be safer or more vulnerable outside the EU, after David Cameron said yesterday that Brexit could shatter world peace.
“In our globalised environment it is critical to have size and weight in order to be heard,” say the group of 13, which includes Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state, George Shultz; the former CIA chief and defence secretary Leon Panetta; and Madeleine Albright, the first woman secretary of state.
“The special relationship between our countries would not compensate for the loss of influence and clout that the UK would suffer if it was no longer part of the EU, a union of 28 nations with 500 million inhabitants, which is the largest economic bloc in the world,” they add. “This would be true in foreign policy, defence policy and international trade matters, and other areas where the EU is indeed a significant voice.”