View from London: “America is no longer our ally but a predator and a bully”

Pic.: medium.com

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile,” warned Sir Winston Churchill, “hoping it will eat him last.”

Over the past year, European governments have sought to appease President Donald Trump: they turned a blind eye as he launched a global tariff war, threatened to annex Canada, bombed Iran, seized oil tankers and flaunted international law by kidnapping the Venezuelan president.

But now, inevitably and as Churchill warned, the crocodile President has turned its jaws on Europe, writes General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former deputy supreme allied commander of NATO in Europe.

It may have sounded like a joke when in 2019 Trump raised the prospect of acquiring Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark. But seven years on and the rubber has hit the road.

With the announcement over the weekend of further tariffs on European countries unless they give way, America has made it plain that this is no rhetorical game. It has genuine intent to seize and annex the autonomous Danish territory.

“That means being open to the prospect of European forces fighting a ground war against the US in Greenland”

When it comes to this Trump administration, we have to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And, in this instance, to show our intent – that means being open to the prospect of European forces fighting a ground war against the US in Greenland.

This would, of course, spell the end for Nato, an alliance which has kept us safe for coming on 77 years and an organisation in which I proudly served as deputy supreme allied commander in Europe for three years, after leaving the Army.

And so, as Trump continues to threaten and goad, my message to European leaders is this: America is no longer our ally but a predator and a bully. Stick together and prepare for war. Because the only way to deal with bullies is to push back.

The truth is that since Nato was formed in 1949, Britain has allowed its military arsenal to slip towards oblivion. In 1989, the British Army could count on around 156,000 soldiers. By 2010, that number had fallen towards 110,000. Today, it is closer to 70,000.

In the 1990s, Britain bought 400 Challenger 2 tanks. Today, we have just over 200 with – staggeringly – just 25 deemed battle-ready.

While other countries such as China, Russia and the US have continued to spend money on defence, fixing the roof while the sun shines, Britain and the rest of Europe have become fat and happy on welfare handouts.

We did this assuming that the post-Second World War world order would hold and that America would for ever underwrite security for the West. As Trump has made clear again and again, that is no longer the case, and Europe has been left defenceless.

So, what to do next?

If America does invade Greenland, Nato – in its current form – will cease to exist overnight. The threat is clearly existential. However, that does not mean the alliance of European countries should also fall by the wayside. Europe and Canada have to stick together like limpets.

No doubt, Trump will seek to divide and conquer. Indeed, his plan is already afoot. For by announcing fresh tariffs on Europe, Trump will hope each European leader buckles under the pressure and quietly seeks to strike a deal, thus shattering the continent’s unified front.

Until the whole of Europe appreciates the scale of the threat, there is little hope of serious action.

It is worth noting that only one country has invoked Article 5 of the Nato Treaty – which demands all members come to another’s defence. And that country was the United States following the 9/11 terror attacks.

Now Europe is the one under attack, but – in a development that has snapped the thread of history – it is the US who is the aggressor.

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