Gibraltar is a name that resonates in major geopolitical debates, although many people are unaware of some of the unique features of this tiny British territory in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. It happens even among the proud Britons of Albion: many of them were unaware of it until a recent Anglo-Saxon newspaper published it recently.
But the latest broad brush analysis on Gibraltar comes from the other side of the Atlantic, from the US. The debater Michael Rubindirector of Political Analysis at the think tank conservative Middle East Forumpublished a few days ago a analysis in which he slipped a very striking idea to the Trump Administration. In retaliation for the attitude of the Sánchez Government during the Iran war, close the Rota base and take it to the Rock.
What Rubin ignores is that something of this nature would be unfeasible and impossible. The reason: a small spatiotemporal technicality. The Rota naval base alone does not fit into the entire Gibraltar territory. The naval base that has been erected for decades in the Cadiz town has more than 2,400 hectares, of which about 2,000 are operated directly by the US military. They are about 24 square kilometers in area.
The territory of Gibraltar is only 6.4 square kilometers (the United Kingdom recognized 5.8 kilometers while Spain recognized one less, but in practice the Rock has been gaining ground from the sea in various works).
“Spain seeks to profit from the murder of Americans”
In his article, Rubin explains that “Trump should not forgive Spain” while acknowledging that US military experts have argued that the Rota base is “essential and irreplaceable.” “They are half right: Rota is important, it represents an essential node in US logistics and personnel use the airfield to embark and disembark aircraft carriers and other ships that will cross the Strait of Gibraltar.”
But “there is a great alternative,” he hints. “Gibraltar, a British territory located just 105 kilometers away. Like Rota, Gibraltar has a deep-water port and an airfield. In fact, Gibraltar is used regularly by the British Navy.”
Rubin is known for having been writing for several weeks about the Moroccan culture of Ceuta and Melilla. That is why he abounds in saying that Spain has “animosity towards the British presence in Gibraltar” which is “hypocritical if you take into account the Spanish colonization of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast”.
“As the British Navy reduces its operations and the future of its two aircraft carriers becomes increasingly uncertain, leasing the British base in Gibraltar could be beneficial and much more suitable for US military and diplomatic needs.” “By moving to Gibraltar, the US will remember politicians from small states and more committed to the display of ideological virtues than to a serious defense that hosting American forces is a privilegenot a tool for your own diplomatic fantasies.”
And it goes further: “As Spain becomes an increasingly staunch diplomatic adversary and openly seeks profit from the murder of Americans“Trump would do well to set an example to prevent other European countries from following Madrid’s example.”
The plans are the plans
Talking about an airfield in Gibraltar is generous: it is a commercial airport that has effectively been and is regularly used by the British Air Force. But more than a normal airport, it is a take-off and landing strip that crosses the border and its location has already been a source of diplomatic conflicts in the past (Spain understands that it was on sovereign soil).
This airport has a step with a barrieras if it were a crossing of a train track: every time a ship is going to take off or land the barrier lowers, preventing traffic from pedestrians and vehicles. Because yes: to enter or leave Gibraltar to Spain you have to cross a landing strip.
As for docks, it is true, the Gibraltar port is one of the hub de bunkering (ship provisioning) largest in the Mediterranean. But in recent years the Rock has placed emphasis on expanding its docks to moor luxury yachts, developments that also strained diplomatic relations due to the unresolved dilemma surrounding the
However, the numbers are consistent: the Rota naval base would mean a loss for the US that the shared use of Gibraltar would not solve, no matter what a Middle East specialist on the other side of the Atlantic says. These “analyses” also arrive at the moment in which Work to remove the famous Gibraltar fence has begunafter years of intense negotiations to agree on the overseas territory.
