Information Related to "European Rapid Reaction Force - Rival to NATO?"

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When I telephoned one of my brothers in England early in December, he asked me what I thought of the "big debate." Assuming he referred to the election impasse in Florida that was dominating the nightly news, I began to express my opinion, only to be interrupted by his saying: "No, not that. The big debate."

I hesitated, trying to think of what he might be talking about. Having been cut off from the rest of the world by the American media, which seem incapable of focusing on more than one major issue at a time, I wasn't sure. I had to ask.

"The European Rapid Reaction Force!" he explained. "That's the big debate over here!"

Sure enough, a few days later my weekly Spectator magazine arrived from London and carried its own article on "The Big Debate" that had started thousands of people talking about something that could, in time, fundamentally alter the postwar balance of power and change the direction of the United Kingdom for decades to come. Not just the United Kingdom, either, but all of Europe and North America could be in for some big changes.

Read the full article at www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn34/superpower_nato.htm