Can Sarkozy have his NATO cake and eat it too?

Ask the average French person what it means that France has decided to rejoin NATO and the answers might engender more questions about the reasons why former President Charles de Gaulle pulled out of the integrated command in 1966 in the first place or lead to a discussion about the futility of armed conflict and the virtues of being anti-war.

In other words, Nicolas Sarkozy’s announcement that “the time has come” for France to rejoin the military alliance as a full member caused little stir among ordinary citizens but politicians wasted no time debating the pros and cons, even before the formal announcement is made early next month during the alliance’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

At the crux of the debate is whether France can continue to maintain its military independence and make foreign policy decisions if it returns to full membership?

Former prime minister, Lionel Jospin, in a radio interview early Thursday on the station RTL, expressed his vehement opposition to Sarkozy’s plan. Jospin, a Socialist who served from 1997 to 2002, said when similar questions were being debated under former President Jacques Chirac, he contributed to the president finally abandoning the idea. At that time, questions about European defense and security were focused on the conflict in the Balkans. French forces intervened in 1999 in Serbia precisely because the government had direct control over the use of its military forces, he said.

Jospin made clear that his opposition to France fully rejoining the U.S.-led command was not based on any anti-American sentiment, but said, “we will never be a second England, a docile eldest daughter of the United States.”

He questioned whether Sarkozy’s decision would affect France’s standing in the international community, even while maintaining that he did not believe the president's decision was purposely intended to infringe upon the country’s military independence.

His overarching argument: why fix something that is not broken. 

France remains an active participant in the alliance with troops deployed in various missions, including in Afghanistan, and last year to Georgia during hostilities with Russia. 

Jospin said he found it incomprehensible why these changes were being implemented now, especially since other European nations and the United States seem to accept France’s modus operandi and current NATO status.

“They like us a little original, let’s stay that way,” he said.

Jospin also objected to the move because he said that for nearly a half-century, politicians on the left and right sides of the government have agreed on the country's national defense policy and this has been France’s “trump card.”  With the new arrangement, he said, this fundamental consensus between the two sides could be jeopardized.

Sarkozy, however, saw the move as a way to renew European cooperation in tackling 21st century security issues, such as terrorism, and as a strategy that could strengthen worn U.S.-France ties.  He maintained that France could benefit from the new bond and still assert its autonomy with regard to certain decisions, citing as an example the refusal of Germany — a full NATO member — to join the war in Iraq.

The National Assembly is expected to take up the debate early next week and notions about consensus surely will be tested.

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/france/090312/can-sarkozy-have-his-nato-cake-and-eat-it-too