Joint Chiefs chairman suggests U.S. military might be threatened by civil unrest caused by dissent from the EU

Several times at VFR I have predicted that if European nationalists and patriots stood up to the tyrannical EU and its program for the Islamization of Europe, the United States would side with the EU and the Muslims, even bringing in military force to help suppress the dissenters. Today, in another entry, Timothy A. wrote:

For the first time since the break-up of the Soviet Union, I can see a plausible scenario for the start of a shooting war in Europe. Might some EU countries, say Britain and the Nordic countries, secede from the EU, with Merkozy using force to try to bring them back?

And yesterday, on the very day that Britain stunned the world and angered the EU by refusing to join the fiscal union, the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a strangely dehumanized-looking individual named Martin Dempsey (how many of our top government and military leaders leaders today have the same dehumanized look?), gratuitously and menacingly announced that he is concerned about “the potential for civil unrest” caused by the European financial crisis. The BCC reports:

Euro crisis: US General Martin Dempsey warns of unrest

The top US military commander, Gen Martin Dempsey, says he is concerned about “the potential for civil unrest” as Europe’s financial crisis unfolds.

Gen Dempsey fears big dangers for Europe Gen Dempsey said it was unclear the latest steps taken by EU leaders would be enough to hold the eurozone together, adding that a break-up could have consequences for the Pentagon.

Twenty-six of the 27 EU countries have agreed to forge a tighter fiscal union. Only the UK refused to sign up to a new treaty, citing national interest.

Gen Dempsey, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank: “The eurozone is at great risk.” [LA replies: Dempsey is the top officer of the United States armed forces. His job is dealing with military threats and military preparedness. What business is it of his whether the European common currency continues or not? His language (“civil unrest,” “consequences for the Pentagon”) implies—his very raising of the issue implies—that the breaking up of the eurozone would pose a security threat to the United States.]

“I know that they’ve taken some measures here with the 17 members of the eurozone to try to better align… monetary and fiscal policy. But it’s unclear, to me at least, that that will be the glue that actually holds it together.”

Gen Dempsey previously served as the Army’s Chief of Staff and as a general in Iraq.

He suggested that part of his concern was that the US military could be exposed to any unravelling of the eurozone “because of the potential for civil unrest and the break-up of the union”.

The US military has more than 80,000 troops and 20,000 civilian workers in Europe, many based in Germany.

Gen Dempsey also said he was concerned that an international project to develop the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft could be put in jeopardy if European national defence budgets were cut.

“It will clearly put [budgets] at risk if all the economic predictions about a potential collapse were to occur,” Gen Dempsey said.

At an emergency EU summit that ended in Brussels on Friday, the UK effectively used its veto to block an attempt, led by the French and Germans, to get all 27 members states to support changes to the union’s treaties.

Instead, eurozone members and others will adopt an accord with penalties for breaking deficit rules. It will be backed by a treaty between governments, not an EU treaty.

December 12

Hannon writes:

As always, I enjoyed your sizing up Gen. Dempsey by his looks and his countenance. I am beginning to wonder if the cause-and-effect mechanism here is one where the non-liberal approach to military matters has been inexorably replaced by liberal doctrine, and this has resulted in the generals who make it to the top presenting themselves the way they do. Even to appear non-liberal would violate their belief system and upset liberals everywhere.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 10, 2011 01:48 PM | Send