Western Europe

Europe’s Crumple Zone

By Julian Lindley-French

On Wednesday I had the privilege of providing evidence to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee at its first meeting to consider the 2015 British Strategic Security and Defence Review alongside Lord Hennessy and Major-General Mungo Melvin.  Perhaps the most important contribution I made was to suggest to collected British politicians of all shades that […]

Is part-time national defense good enough for Europe?

By Martin Hurt, International Center for Defense Studies

EU says 500 Europeans fighting in Syria

By BBC

From BBC:  The EU’s anti-terror chief has told the BBC that hundreds of Europeans are now fighting with rebel forces in Syria against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Syria Used Chemical Arms, Israel Says

By Adam Entous, Joshua Mitnick, and Stephen Fidler, Wall Street Journal

From Adam Entous, Joshua Mitnick, and Stephen Fidler, Wall Street Journal:  The Syrian army has used lethal chemical weapons during the country’s civil war, Israel’s top military intelligence analyst said Tuesday

De Maiziere: Germany does not want an EU army

By Nick Hopkins, Guardian

From Nick Hopkins, Guardian:  In defence, the German role is to make France more Nato-minded, and to make Great Britain more European-minded. I have made it quite clear. My first priority in defence is Nato. In all other political aspects, economy and currency, my first priority is the EU.

Germany’s Minister of Defense warns that if Britain left the EU, ‘it would weaken NATO’

By Nick Hopkins, Guardian

From Nick Hopkins, Guardian:  Britain’s standing as a leading military power with the ability to influence events beyond its own borders will be jeopardised if the country leaves the European Union, the German minister of defence has warned.

Exercise Joint Warrior: At the Tip of the Spear

By Julian Lindley-French

Exercise Joint Warrior 2013 is certainly Europe’s, and possibly the world’s biggest maritime amphibious military exercise this year, and I am having the pleasure to observe and be sea-sick all over it.

Attack on NATO base shows how Taliban exploit security cutbacks

By Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post

From Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post:  The Taliban fighters who blew up a half-dozen U.S. Marine fighter jets on a sprawling NATO base last fall were able to walk easily onto the encampment because patrols of the perimeter had been scaled back and watchtowers left unmanned, according to senior military officials.

Britain, France claim Syria used chemical weapons

By Colum Lynch and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post

From Colum Lynch and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post:  Britain and France have informed the United Nations that there is credible evidence that Syria has used chemical weapons on more than one occasion since December, according to senior diplomats and officials briefed on the accounts.