MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Commander and US Ally Condemn European Force.

The Commander credited with leading British soldiers to victory in the Falklands land battle, Major General Julian Thompson, has joined in the growing condemnation of the proposed European force, along with Britain's principal United States ally in the 1982 Conflict, former Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger.

Major General Thompson, writing in the Daily Mail, says: "I am convinced that our (UK) position (in the Falklands campaign) would have been far more precarious if we had not had the support of the United States... It may well have played out very differently had we relied on dubious support from Europe rather than the generous backing of America.

"I did not know the full story at the time, but now we know that America supplied us with both crucial intelligence and logistical support, and behind the scenes aided us in every possible way, even though to do so put at risk America's diplomatic standing in much of Latin America.

"What I did not know then was the lukewarm nature of the support which the Falklands campaign was receiving from our supposed ?allies' in the European Union. My officers and the men under their command -- all of whom were risking their lives to liberate those tiny British islands from an aggressive neighbour -- were shocked when they discovered how badly Europe had let us down. It seemed that Europe had learned nothing from the 1930s.

"Spain -- which still maintains a similar, bullying territorial claim against Gibraltar by harassing the innocent civilian population of the Rock -- did nothing to help us. France, too, clearly enjoyed our discomfiture (before our victory, of course). Indeed, French-made jet aircraft and exocet missiles were responsible for the deaths of many good men in the Falklands".

Caspar Weinberger, then President Reagan's Defence Minister, mainly responsible in 1982 for vital United States military support in the Falklands, says the new European force will clearly weaken NATO and undermine America's commitment to defending Europe. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Weinberger says Britain may at some time have to choose between the two.

Using troops on peace-keeping or humanitarian missions was better suited to the Salvation Army and was "a recipe for disaster". Giving new duties and responsibilities to United Kingdom forces "already committed to NATO, will make the Alliance far less capable of responding to genuine military needs.... The proposed European Union force would exclude American troops... diluting rather than adding to NATO's total strength