Derk-Jan Eppink
| Voorbereiding van de vergadering van de Europese Raad |
| Derk Jan Eppink // vrijdag, 01 april 2011 |
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Brussel - 23 maart 2011
Mr President, Mr Schulz said that military operations were set up too hastily. On the contrary, they came too late. The West waited too long. It could have isolated Gaddafi in Tripoli and forced him either to go or to be wiped out. As it was, we were just in time to prevent a mass murder in Benghazi.
And what did we see? France and Britain – two nation states – took the lead. My congratulations! Germany, apparently, is a country of hard currency and soft power. Being Minister of Defence in Germany is the most risky job in the country. Meanwhile, Turkey opposes NATO, and the US is the power in retreat and acts like a spectator.
I am afraid that now – as in the Balkans – we cannot break the deadlock without committed American leadership: leadership that the European Union, unfortunately, is incapable of providing. The only politician who knew how to deal with Gaddafi was Ronald Reagan. Reagan was right all along.
Watch the video in English here.
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