Nations in (Quiet) Conflict

At dinner this evening (we went to the Out Back) my wife and I were talking about what led up to World War One.  I mentioned the 1911 Agadir Crisis, where the Germans sent a "gun boat," the PANTER, to make a diplomatic point that eventually resulted in them obtaining colonial concessions in Africa.  I don't know why that event has stuck in my mind.

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose"—"the more things change, the more they stay the same."  Today we have the Spanish and the British in a small dustup over who is in charge in Gibraltar—Gib, for short.

Gibraltar has been British since the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, given to the British in perpetuity.  And, the 30,000 residents prefer British status to Spanish. But, if the apes (Barbary Macaques) crawling around the rock ever leave, then so will the British.  In the RAF members of the RAF Regiment, responsible for Air Base Defense, are known as Rock Apes.

Per the (London) Daily Mail, "Navy warships dispatched as Spain invades seas around Gibraltar."

This seems to be an on and off again sort of jockeying for position.

In citing the following from the article it is NOT because I don't trust the European Union (EU), but I don't.

The latest incident followed a day after Gibraltar's government vowed to block EU moves to give responsibility for the environment around the Rock to Spain.

There we have some bureaucrat in Brussels who thinks he knows better what is good for the mere mortals than they do themselves.  We are SO lucky to have the degree of Federalism we do.  No bureaucrat in DC can really issue a single ruling that covers the needs in each of the States and Commonwealths and Territories that make up the United States.  The same goes for Brussels and the EU.

Let us hope this goes quiet again.

Regards  —  Cliff