France ponders joining NATO

[Michael]

BERLIN: With some luck, 800 French military officers will be packing their bags this summer and heading off to NATO commands. It is all part of President Nicolas Sarkozy's bold plan to rejoin the U.S.-led alliance's integrated military command, which France left 43 years ago.
Source (http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/18/europe/letter.php)

Well this caught me by surprise.

I didn't realize there was any support in French elite circles for re-joining NATO. The advantages to France of doing so have been strong for a long time, so its not like any new events have caused any change here. If there is a change in French policy here, it is coming from inside France.

I've got to hand it to Sarkozy, this is a bold move that is good for France, good for NATO and good for the EU. Indeed, French policy here has been one of the biggest (and long running) stumbling blocks to EU policy development.

[phungus420]

Enlighten me. How exactly does France benefit from re-joining NATO? It's not like they are an Eastern European nation, if they were attacked, they'd be defended by NATO regardless of official membership, I don't see how it benefits their security. Don't get me wrong, I think they should be a member, as I think they should be pulling their weight, since at least in a defacto sense they already get all the benefits of membership. I just don't see how becoming an official member helps them.

[Donkey]

At the Model NATOs France is always represented, but never has a vote on military matters. This conference, the one that I am attending right now, is set a few months in the future and as a result France has a military vote and Albania and Croatia are members.

[Michael]

Enlighten me. How exactly does France benefit from re-joining NATO? It's not like they are an Eastern European nation, if they were attacked, they'd be defended by NATO regardless of official membership, I don't see how it benefits their security. Don't get me wrong, I think they should be a member, as I think they should be pulling their weight, since at least in a defacto sense they already get all the benefits of membership. I just don't see how becoming an official member helps them.
First of all, let me say that I think De Gaulle's principled withdrawl from NATO in 1967 was the morally correct thing to do.

That being said, the French withdrawl from NATO has not worked out as well as the French might have hoped - given that no other country followed suit. I suspect that the French wanted NATO to collapse right then and there. But it didn't.

The key point here is not that France is in danger of being invaded and needs NATO's help. That's not really an issue here. The key issue for France is French aspirations as a nation. France certainly has a long history of being a 'big player' in world diplomatic and military affairs and they obviously want to maintain that status in the 21st century.

And since France clearly wants to play a 'leading' role in world diplomacy and military affairs, the fact that France is not officially involved with NATO (they have 'observer' status) leaves France out in the cold. For example, two of the biggest 'foreign policy' issues in Europe over the last dozen years have been the Bosnia operation and the Afghanistan operation. Both were NATO and didn't involve France. Similarly, France's initiative to create an EU-based military force has gotten no where. For all intents and purposes, NATO has become the military/foreign policy wing of the EU.

On this basis, France is clearly 'outside' the box on diplomacy and military affairs in Europe and that is not where France wants/needs to be. France's withdrawl from NATO (and NATO's continued importance) has made this so.

Ergo, it is better for France's aspirations of European leadership to be involved with NATO as a full member. It is only from 'within' that France can influence policy. Standing aloof has not brought any advantage to France and indeed, has tended to sideline the French on serious military and diplomatic issues.

And that's why I say it is a good thing for France to re-join NATO. :)

Indeed, France is the primary beneficiary here and that is demonstrated by the fact that it is France that is driving the deal with NATO. France needs NATO membership more than NATO needs French membership (which is why I said De Gaulle's withdrawl was ultimately a failure of French policy).

[Daktoria]

You guys do remember about the Mediterranean Union partnership formed last year and how Sarkozy had been the center stone of it since before he ran for President, right?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7504214.stm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/13/43-nation-mediterranean-u_n_112394.html
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3083

If anything, this will further France's position as a bridge between Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans with the West especially since it'll emphasize how France is willing to commit military assets to those arenas while exhibiting humility under the guidance of NATO.

[Michael]

You guys do remember about the Mediterranean Union partnership formed last year and how Sarkozy had been the center stone of it since before he ran for President, right?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7504214.stm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/13/43-nation-mediterranean-u_n_112394.html
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3083

If anything, this will further France's position as a bridge between Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans with the West especially since it'll emphasize how France is willing to commit military assets to those arenas while exhibiting humility under the guidance of NATO.
Yes, I recall Sarkozy's Mediterranean partnership plan. It has been a bit of a dud project (suffers from Sarkozy's apparent scattershot approach), but still, France does have good diplomatic connections throughout these regions.

Clearly Sarkozy is seeking a higher profile for French diplomacy. Chirac tended to find himself isolated diplomatically while Sarkozy is obvioiusly moving France towards being in the middle of everything on the international stage. The NATO initiative is complementary to the Mediterranean initiative and both are aimed at increasing French diplomatic and regional influence.

I say more power to them - it is good to see nations trying to assert themselves and their political visions in ways that don't necessarily involve killing people or building monuments to political egos.

[Donkey]

I'm not wild about Sarkozy's politic, but I have been rather impressed with his abilities as a statesman.