I fought for Britain and I know how the EU weakens our defences. The myth that leaving the EU would harm British national security must be destroyed once and for all

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I fought for Britain and I know how the EU weakens our defences
The myth that leaving the EU would harm British national security must be destroyed once and for all
         
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/12176954/I-fought-for-Britain-and-I-know-how-the-EU-weakens-our-defences.html

By Maj Gen Julian Thomson

7:00AM GMT 29 Feb 2016

In a career in the Royal Marines spanning more than three decades, I not only experienced war at first hand, commanding and landing 3 Commando Brigade at San Carlos Water in the Falklands, but also spent years preparing and practising Nato plans for war against the Soviet Union. We now know that the Soviets watched our operations in the South Atlantic keenly and were so impressed by the British performance in that war that it strengthened deterrence for the rest of the Cold War.

Today, membership of the EU weakens our national defence in very dangerous times. Why? Clear-sighted understanding is obscured by four common myths.

Myth One is that the EU has kept the peace in Europe since 1945. Former Commission President Barosso claimed that the EU stops us going back to trench warfare. This is nonsense. Look at the facts. What brought peace to Europe after 1945? The American Marshall Plan was largely instrumental in rebuilding European economies after the Second World War and restoring prosperity to a war-torn region. Secondly, from its inception in 1949, Nato deterred the Soviet Union from attacking; and deters the likes of Mr Putin to this day. And German fascism was burned out by their experience in the Second World War. They are now a peaceful nation. The EU wasn’t there, then. It didn’t start until the mid ‘50s.

But did the EU have a hand in keeping the peace later on? No. More facts: 1959-2011's Basque Conflict – the EEC/EC/EU played no part in resolution. 1968-1998: The "Troubles" in Northern Ireland – the EU did nothing to help end the violence. 1974: The Turkish Invasion of Cyprus – the EEC/EC/EU played no part in resolution.

So what about the Balkan conflicts of 1991-2013? 1991-1995: The Croatian War of Independence was mainly resolved thanks to the Nato-manned United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). 1992-1995: The Bosnian War was resolved by Dayton Accords giving NATO authority for action. 1997: Unrest in Albania was resolved by Nato. 1998-1999:

The first Kosovo War was resolved by Nato. 2001: Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia was resolved by Nato. 2004: Further unrest in Kosovo was resolved by UN/Nato. 2008: Yet more unrest in Kosovo was resolved by Nato. 2011-2013: North Kosovo Crisis was resolved by Nato, Conversely when people of EU member states, or of future member states, or of neighbouring nations needed help the EU failed. There is a pattern here.

Myth Two is that the Americans want us to stay in the EU. Lame duck President Barack Obama and his State Department may say this; but Mr Obama is not America. I know from recent visits to the US that the message at the sharp end in the US defense and security community is that they want us strong and committed to our NATO alliance, based on deep trust of each other in the Anglosphere Five Eyes Alliance (the sharing of intelligence by the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand).

Myth Three is that if Britain takes back control of her own destiny it will help Putin. The opposite is the case. The mayhem the Euro created in southern Europe gave Putin big openings to make mischief there. The European Union’s persistent efforts, led by France, to up the profile of its own defence aspirations by criticising and downplaying Nato is a distraction and leads to wasteful duplication of missions. There is a tried and tested Nato chain of command with appropriate committed forces and headquarters. We do not need a EU copy.

This constant self-promoting chipping away by the EU weakens deterrence and wastes Nato time and resources. Worse, it was EU diplomatic recklessness that kicked off the Ukraine crisis; and the EU’s wish to spread its influence, a latter-day form of imperialism, has weakened east European support and strengthened the hand of fascists and communists in those countries. This all helps Putin.

Myth Four is that the EU helps us defeat Islamist terrorism. The European Arrest Warrant is often cited. This is nonsense: State-to-State extradition works perfectly well with no added benefit from meddling Brussels bureaucracies. Ill-considered statements by Chancellor Merkel hugely exacerbated the migration crisis. This crisis and the inability of the EU to police its external borders has allowed home-grown Da’esh terrorists to slip back into Europe to launch attacks. By remaining in the EU, we are unable to stop those with EU passports coming to Britain.

Our defence against terrorists depends above all on strategic intelligence shared by the Five Eyes Alliance. For good reasons we do not want to trust most European states, and certainly not the EU bureaucracy, with such sensitive intelligence. We do, however, share tactical intelligence with our neighbours on a case-by-case basis for reasons of mutual self-interest. This is a state-to-state function and there is no place for EU bureaucratic interference.

Finally, some say: "stay in to rescue others as the EU founders." I say we’ll do that better from a seaworthy lifeboat than shackled to a sinking deck.

I know from my lifetime’s experience in the service of my country that delusions about what actually keeps us safe, threaten us all. So let us put an end for good to these myths about the EU helping security. The facts show the very opposite.

Maj Gen Julian Thompson commanded 3 Commando Brigade during the Falklands War