An Empire in the Making (Source thetrumpet.com)

Hand in hand with calls for a European army are calls for Europe to get more involved overseas. European Union and German officials want more European military intervention in the Middle East and North Africa. They also want Europe to build stronger alliances with allies in the area, with both Germany and the EU unveiling plans to directly fund foreign militaries for the first time. “It is in the interests of our citizens to invest in the resilience of states and societies to the east, stretching into Central Asia, and south down to Central Africa,” wrote EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini in her paper “A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy.” “We want also to increase our dialogue and cooperation with third countries in North Africa, the Sahel strip, the Lake Chad Basin, West Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East,” wrote German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault in a press release June 24. Similarly, Germany’s 2016 white paper on “German Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr” advocates the German military getting more involved abroad. “Germany’s security policy horizon is global,” it states. It calls on the nation to take “early and comprehensive action” to “eradicate the causes of conflicts.”

“Northern Africa is turning into a battleground with enormously important prophetic implications,”. Warning of the spread of radical Muslim groups, supported by Iran, in the region, he added, “But Iran isn’t the only one interested in Africa. Germany is making strong inroads as well. Both of these powers are racing to get as much control of North Africa as they can. They will inevitably clash with each other.” Europe and Germany both plan to expand their relationships with certain nations in North Africa and the Middle East. With the Islamic State focused on carrying out attacks in Europe, and the EU responding by deepening its reach into Africa, this clash is building up right now.