The Mighty EU Shuffles into Action

Deutsche Welle - The European Union's foreign ministers gave the order to launch the EU's security mission to Chad and the Central African Republic, putting an end to months of wrangling. France is slated to contribute the most troops. At their regular monthly meeting, the union's 27 foreign ministers on Monday, Jan. 28, authorized the force's commander, Lt. Gen. Patrick Nash, to order the deployment of his troops. "In conducting this operation the EU is stepping up its long-standing action in support of efforts to tackle the crisis in Darfur and to address its regional ramifications," the foreign ministers said in a statement.

The force, which is to provide security for locals and UN aid teams in eastern Chad and the north-eastern Central African Republic along the border with the war-torn Sudanese province of Darfur, was proposed by France and approved in concept by EU leaders on Oct. 15. However, arguments then broke out over the resources which each member state should commit to the operation, with the EU's 27 nations initially unable to scrape together the helicopters and transport planes needed to support the 3,700-man mission. That obstacle was finally overcome in early January, when Russia and Ukraine -- neither of which is an EU member -- offered to provide the missing hardware.

So this is soft-power, a grand coalition of 27 nations, can you believe it? Twenty seven nations, the European Union, the empire that could not even scrape together a few choppers and planes to get their mighty force of 3700 men and their guns off to Africa. I think it was Mark Steyn who said that the greater the coalition the lesser it achieves, it's true, they squabbled for months over who will chip in until some one from the outside threw them some scraps. Stop and think what will happen if they are fired upon or some sort of insurgency starts over in Africa, what happens if a few hundred of them are killed. Imagine the finger pointing and squabbling like small girls over who'll send more troops, who'll pay for that, at what point will the white flag be raised, should they walk, if not, why not. What happens if Al-Qaeda, still bleeding from their tangles with the Great Satan, decide to pick battles they can win and the IEDs and homicide bombs start going off. What if Europeans take to their streets chanting - troops out, healthcare, coexist and kumbaya?

Can you see this rabble of 27 nations holding firm, can you see them saying, failure is not an option, stay the course as long as it takes? In my opinion the EU will become a complete and utter joke, a bit like a bunch of old fools blabbering and postulating but are just tolerated by the young and strong. Sure, they'll be good at muzzling and hindering the average, subdued and aging European until he is dead, but this is the real jungle. Out there on the globe, it's wild dogs running the show, they are young, strong, organized and ruthless. If you ever get a chance, watch how wild dogs hunt in Africa, they single you out if they perceive weakness and then you're as good as dead, if they don't kill you by ripping your guts out, they'll chase you down. You may be faster and more agile, but they have stamina & numbers, they'll run you down for miles until you can't run anymore. Wake up EU, it ain't just a couple of bloggers noticing this, the wild dogs aren't stupid, they're taking note of who looks weak and slow. Image thanks to Flickr.

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