Trump puts Europe at risk

With the assassination of Iranian General Soleimani and the threat of attacking 52 other targets, US President Trump is provoking a new, albeit undeclared, war. It is also directed against the EU, which wanted to pacify Iran by civil means.

The murder of Soleimani is tantamount to a declaration of war on Iran – most observers agree on this, even in the USA (see e.g. here in the “New Yorker”). It also seems clear that Trump did not coordinate his actions with the EU; only Israel was privy to his actions in advance.

The European “allies” were caught cold – and that for the second time. It was only in November that the American withdrawal from northern Syria led to massive tensions within NATO – and paved the way for Turkey’s invasion in violation of international law.

All this shows: Trump is becoming a security risk. He is not only undermining the international order, which is based on international law. It also destroys the Middle East policy of the EU, which had backed a two-state solution in Israel and the nuclear agreement with Iran.

If open war were to break out (an asymmetric conflict has long been raging), this would also pose a threat to Europe. The EU’s strategic interests are already being violated – just think of the US sanctions against Iran and the tense situation in Iraq.

Against this background, the official reaction from Brussels appears extremely weak. EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Borrell is pushing for a “political solution”. Germany, France and Great Britain want to coordinate their efforts and continue to seek dialogue with Iran.

But a strategy is being sought in vain. No wonder: So far, the EU has not even come to the realization that the US has become a security risk under Trump. Britain is even beginning to justify Trump’s actions again.

This brings back bad memories of the Iraq war. At that time, Germany and France were, after all, holding out against it. But those were different times. Chancellor Merkel and Commission President von der Leyen are hardly likely to offer any resistance – despite all the talk of the “geopolitical commission”…

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version). The original post (in German) is here