Week in Review: EU Moves on Military, Pax Germanica, China’s First Aircraft Carrier, and Much More

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Week in Review: EU Moves on Military, Pax Germanica, China’s First Aircraft Carrier, and Much More

All you need to know about everything in the news this week

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Highlights:

Concrete steps toward European military

  • European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said the EU was making steps toward turning Europe into a “superpower that believes in multilateralism and cooperation.”
  • She also said that the EU can only succeed if it works together “with the full potential of a superpower in the field of security and defense.”
  • In 1978, Herbert W. Armstrong wrote, “The Europeans are far more disturbed about their safety in relying on United States military power to protect them than Americans realize! … European confidence in U.S. protection against their next-door Communist neighbor has been lessening and lessening. Europeans want their own united military power! They know that a political union of Europe would produce a thirdmajorworldpower, as strong as either the U.S. or the ussr—possibly stronger!”
  • Our free booklet He Was Right explains more about Mr. Armstrong’s forecasts regarding a rising European superpower.
  • Germany: The new world leader

  • In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, Germany is being asked to step up to replace America as the leader of the world.
  • “The phrase ‘leader of the free world’ is usually applied to the president of the United States, and rarely without irony,” wrote British historian Timothy Garton Ash on November 12. “I’m tempted to say that the leader of the free world is now Angela Merkel.”
  • Ash is one of many observers increasingly discussing “the dawn of Pax Germanica.”
  • China’s pursuit for overseas military bases

  • “China is likely to continue to seek opportunities to secure military facilities abroad, such as the one it has begun constructing in Djibouti, to facilitate a range of operations,” reported the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review.
  • The report said Beijing’s expansionist behavior is expected to increase in the years ahead.
  • Other related reports have said that the Chinese military’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, is now prepared for combat, marking advancement from its previously stated status as a vessel for training and testing.
  • Israel’s fleeting friendships

  • The Jewish state of Israel is enjoying improved relations with Egypt, Turkey and other nations. “But most of its new friendships are based on assessments of common interest—and such assessments can change overnight,” warned Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
  • “[G]iven the speed of seismic strategic shifts in both the Middle East and broader global politics in recent years, it is foolhardy for any government—especially Israel’s—to bank on the idea that “the way things are” are the way things are going to be. In its immediate neighborhood, Israel’s good fortune rests on a strengthened partnership with an increasingly authoritarian Egypt; a convergence of interests with the Sunni states of the Gulf; and an energy-based condominium with Turkey.”
  • Other news:

  • The Saudi-led coalition is waging a war against Houthi rebels and against Houthi implements of war. Since November 12, it has destroyed two boats carrying weapons for Houthi rebels, intercepted a ballistic missile headed for Saudi Arabia, and intercepted two more boats loaded with weapons and communications equipment from Iran.
  • Many evangelical Christian denominations are embracing same-sex unions, in spite of what the Bible has to say on the topic. The Republican President-elect Donald Trump affirmed that he was fine with same-sex “marriages” during a 60 Minutes interview.
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