France, Britain Unveil Nuclear Weapons Cooperation To Counter Threat To Europe | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Reuters.

    NORTHWOOD (Reuters)     France and Britain on Thursday agreed to reinforce cooperation over their respective nuclear arsenals as the two European powerhouses seek to respond to growing threats to the continent and uncertainty over their U.S. ally.

    The announcement came after French President Emmanuel Macron concluded a three-day state visit to Britain, where the two allies sought to turn the page on years of turbulence following Britain's decision to withdraw from the European Union.

    "This morning, we signed the Northward declaration, confirming for the first time that we are coordinating our independent nuclear deterrence," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a news conference alongside Macron.

    "From today, our adversaries will know that any extreme threat to this continent would prompt a response from our two nations. There is no greater demonstration of the importance of this relationship."

    U.S. President Donald Trump's questioning of burden-sharing in NATO and his overtures to Russia have led to existential questions in Europe about the trans-Atlantic relationship and Washington's commitment to helping defend its European allies.

    Europe's primary nuclear deterrence comes from the United States and is a decades-old symbol of trans-Atlantic solidarity.

    Macron said the two countries had created an oversight committee to coordinate their cooperation, a task he said was vital.

    "The decision is that we don't exclude the coordination of our respective deterrents. It's a message that our partners and adversaries must hear," Macron said.

    The closer cooperation had nothing to do with their efforts to create a coalition of the willing to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, he added.

    While both sides will keep their own decision-making processes and strategic ambiguity, the move does suggest further protection for the continent at a time when the United States' commitment to Europe is under scrutiny.

    Macron has previously said he will launch a strategic dialogue on extending the protection offered by France's nuclear arsenal to its European partners.

    The U.S. has nuclear arms in Europe and tens of thousands of troops deployed in bases across the continent with military capabilities that Europe cannot match.

    France spends about 5.6 billion euros ($6.04 billion) annually on maintaining its stockpile of 290 submarine- and air-launched nuclear weapons, the world's fourth largest.


    Britain describes its nuclear programme as "operationally independent," but sources missile technology from the U.S. and depends on the U.S. for acquisition and maintenance support.

    "On the nuclear agreement that we've reached today ... it is truly historic," Starmer said.

    (Additional reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

poll#220

Regarding the recent Israel /Iran Conflict (the "12 Day War"), culminating in the United States Air Force employing seven B2 Bombers to complete a 33 hour flight, dropping 14 fifteen ton bunker busting bombs on three Iranian nuclear facilities buried deep under mountain rock, which destroyed Iran's nuclear ambitions against Israel and the United States: Should President Trump have unilaterally made the decision to make such a bold decision to conduct this operation, without first running this prospective operation before the US Congress for their approval?

  No, The War Powers Act prohibitions, which requires NO presidential military action without congressional approval.

  Yes, the President has Article 2 Constitutional authority to take unilateral military action to protect the American People, providing he does not break congressional codes, which he did not.

  Don't care, never have.

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