E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Robertson: Europe Must Change Defense Plan
European countries must change their approach to defense if they expect to undertake anything more than low-level military action without the help of the United States, former NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said Sunday. Europe invests too much defense spending on heavy equipment and large troop concentrations instead of the smaller, more flexible forces needed for swift deployment to trouble spots around the world, Robertson said.
And too much money on infrastructure that doesn’t help the people in the field.
A reliance on U.S. military might could put Europe in a laughable but predictable vulnerable position, he said. ``There are some things that the British and the French and the Germans and the Italians and the Spanish could probably do collectively, but it would be low-level and until they get the right military capabilities and enough usable troops and the right equipment, they can’t do anything beyond these low-level areas,’’ Robertson told Sky News.
I thought the Brits did pretty well in Iraq — their own air and sea lift, heavy forces, special ops, intel, civil affairs, the works. Surely he means someone else.
Robertson stepped down Wednesday after a four-year term at the helm of the Atlantic alliance. ``We need more usable troops,’’ he said. ``There are plenty of troops, but they need to be usable in circumstances where they would have to go very quickly to a trouble spot with the right equipment, and be able to be supplied when they get there.’’
Robbie, there’s this concept of a thing called a "mission": first you decide what you need a military to do, then you figure out how to build that military. Tell your people what the "circumstances" are first.
Posted by: Steve White 2003-12-22
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=23156