Herbert W. Armstrong forecast for decades that European nations would form a military union. In May 1953, he wrote, “THIS time, 10 powerful European nations willCOMBINE their forces.” In 1978, he warned:
The Europeans are far more disturbed about their safety in relying on United States military power to protect them than Americans realize! The United States is not loved in Europe. European confidence in U.S. protection against their next-door Communist neighbor has been lessening and lessening.
EUROPEANS WANT THEIR OWN UNITED MILITARY POWER! They know that a political union of Europe would produce a THIRD MAJOR WORLD POWER, as strong as either the U.S. or the USSR—possibly stronger!
EUROPEANS WANT THEIR OWN UNITED MILITARY POWER! They know that a political union of Europe would produce a THIRD MAJOR WORLD POWER, as strong as either the U.S. or the USSR—possibly stronger!
We see the same forces at work in Europe today. But Mr. Armstrong also saw that this unification would not come easily. “The nations of Europe have been striving to become reunited,” he wrote in 1979. “They desire a common currency, a single combined military force, a single united GOVERNMENT. They have made a start in the Common Market. They are now working toward a common currency. Yet, on a purely political basis, they have been totally UNABLE to unite” (emphasis added).
Even now, military union will not come easily. Friedman points out, for example, that the leaked documents show no signs that the hard questions—like who will pay for a combined EU headquarters—have been addressed.
But Europeans are already under considerable pressure. The terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, the migrant crisis, and Russia’s aggression in Ukraine are all forcing this push for a combined military. That is why this push must be taken seriously, despite all the failed rhetoric in the past.
None of these pressures are going away. If Europe’s efforts stall, it will only be a matter of time before one or more of these forces begin pushing Europe again.
These crises are putting Europe under a strain that it has not faced in decades—this is why it is finally time for a European army to begin to emerge.
Every indication is that American leaders will be happy to help Europe unify its armies. But distrust of America is at the core of this push. Europe has not been able to project power outside of the Continent without U.S. help since the Suez Crisis in 1956 (if you count the United Kingdom as part of Europe; since World War II if you do not). The arrival of an independent military force would be a truly radical development. At the same time, Germany is emerging as a clear leader in this drive to form an army. For more on where this will lead and why it is dangerous, readGerald Flurry’s article “The Terrorist Attacks That United Europe.”
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