16 février 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

L'Espagne doublera ses dépenses militaires

Par Alejandro López
9 février 2018

Les dépenses de la défense vont doubler d'ici à 2024, a déclaré la ministre de la Défense, María Dolores de Cospedal, au Comité parlementaire espagnol de la défense. Le budget de la défense passera de 0,8% du PIB (8,7 milliards d'euros) à 1,53% (18,47 milliards d'euros).

Pour limiter l'opposition populaire à la guerre et la colère contre l'augmentation des dépenses militaires, alors que l'austérité décime les services publics et rend la vie plus précaire pour des millions de travailleurs et de jeunes, Cospedal refuse de publier la lettre adressée à l'OTAN. Elle a affirmé qu'une partie du contenu était classifiée.

L'ampleur réelle des dépenses militaires actuelles est aussi gardée secrète. Selon l'organisation pacifiste Centre Delàs d'Estudis per la Pau, toute une série de dépenses militaires sont exclues du budget de la défense. Si l'on inclut la sécurité sociale, les retraites et les assurances pour les militaires, les missions à l'étranger, les aides d'État à la recherche et au développement militaires dans les entreprises privées, le budget des gardes civils militarisés et les redevances de l'OTAN, les dépenses seraient de l'ordre de 18,8 milliards d'euros. D'ici à 2024, ce sera vraiment «le chiffre invraisemblable de 28 milliards d'euros par an», a déclaré le Centre.

L'augmentation des dépenses militaires de l'Espagne répond à l'accord conclu au sommet de l'OTAN en mai dernier, sous la pression intense de l'administration Trump, pour que tous les membres de l'OTAN augmentent les dépenses de défense d'ici 2024 à 2% de leur PIB.

Cospedal a admis que l'augmentation à 1,53% était en deçà de l'objectif de l'OTAN, mais a insisté sur le fait qu'elle «faciliterait la réalisation de cet horizon dans les années à venir» et qu'elle était conforme aux objectifs fixés par d'autres pays européens.

Une idée de l'ampleur de la mise à niveau et du renouvellement de l'armée peut être faite à partir de la liste des nouveaux équipements qui seront achetés. 348 nouveaux véhicules d'infanterie blindée Piranha 5, conçus pour le combat rapproché, cinq frégates F-110, quatre sous-marins S-80, trois avions de de transport de ravitaillement en vol de carburant (MRTT), 23 hélicoptères NH-90, un véhicule aérien sans pilote Reaper (UAV) et un nouvel avion d'entraînement. En outre, l'armée va acquérir un nouveau système de Commandement et de Contrôle et rénover ses casernes, 17 hélicoptères Chinook seront modernisés, et l'Espagne financera le remplacement du chasseur F-18.

Cospedal a confirmé que les dépenses militaires dans la participation de l'Espagne à 17 missions militaires dans le monde l'année dernière étaient de 835 millions d'euros, soit 8,2% de plus que l'année précédente. L'Espagne participera à la coopération structurée permanente (PESCO) de l'Union européenne (UE) sur la sécurité et la défense et dirigera le système de commandement et de contrôle pour les missions et opérations de l'UE. Le PESCO a été accepté en novembre dernier par 23 des 28 États membres de l'UE «pour développer conjointement les capacités de défense et les mettre à la disposition des opérations militaires de l'UE».

L'engagement de l'Espagne avec PESCO reflète la tentative de l'élite dirigeante en Espagne et en Europe de défendre leurs positions économiques et militaires vis-à-vis des concurrents actuels et potentiels, dans une situation menacée par le Brexit et la politique de l'«Amérique d'abord» de l'administration Trump.

Le gouvernement espagnol tente de surmonter la contradiction entre soutenir PESCO, dirigé par l'Allemagne, et l'OTAN, dirigée par les États-Unis, deux projets militaristes incompatibles à long terme. Cela a été reflété dans une résolution proposée par le gouvernement qui sera débattue lors d'une prochaine session parlementaire, qui appelle à améliorer les relations UE-É.-U. dans le domaine de la défense, tout en concluant que «nous Européens devons assumer plus que jamais la responsabilité de notre propre sécurité».

La croissance du militarisme espagnol, comme ailleurs dans le monde, est la réponse de la classe dirigeante à l'augmentation des inégalités, à l'aggravation de la crise économique et aux conflits croissants entre les grandes puissances. Son objectif, récemment exprimé dans la nouvelle Stratégie de sécurité nationale des États-Unis, est la conquête de nouvelles sphères d'influence, de marchés et de matières premières – surtout en conflit avec la Russie et la Chine – et de détourner les tensions sociales vers l'extérieur.

Le principal obstacle pour la classe dirigeante espagnole est l'hostilité traditionnelle de la population envers l'armée. Cela a été récemment révélé dans la tentative d'ouvrir un débat pour réimposer la conscription, à l'instar de la France sous le président Emmanuel Macron. Tous les principaux quotidiens ont publié des articles et des commentaires déplorant l'hostilité de la population à une telle mesure.

Le principal chercheur promilitariste du Real Instituto Elcano, Félix Arteaga, s'est plaint à El Mundo: «Soulever ici la conscription serait un suicide politique, d'abord parce qu'il n'y a pas de besoin militaire pour le justifier, et ensuite parce que le concept d'obligation n'est pas aimé par la société espagnole. Il n'y a pas de mentalité ou de culture d'identité nationale et, bien sûr, personne ne croit qu'on devrait donner sa vie pour défendre le pays.»

La capacité de l'élite dirigeante espagnole à poursuivre ses ambitions militaires est en grande partie due au rôle de Podemos, le parti de la pseudo-gauche, qui a été pratiquement silencieux sur ces développements ou bien les a ouvertement approuvés. Le mois dernier, Podemos a dissimulé une intervention espagnole accrue au Mali, où une «mission de formation» de l'UE se poursuit encore cinq ans après que des groupes djihadistes ont envahi le nord du pays en 2012, provoquant une vague de réfugiés, dont des milliers ont tenté de traverser la Méditerranée vers l'Europe, et beaucoup d'entre eux se sont noyés.

Le 24 janvier, Cospedal a comparu devant la Commission de défense pour obtenir l'autorisation tardive d'approuver la prise de contrôle de la mission par l'Espagne et l'envoi de plus de troupes le 9 janvier. Elle a averti la commission qu'une participation accrue à l'intervention de l'UE était «fondamentale» et que l'Afrique du Nord était «un endroit stratégique» pour l'Espagne.

Juan Antonio Delgado, le porte-parole de Podemos pour les affaires militaires, s'est plaint du fait que Cospedal eût «enfreint la loi» en envoyant les troupes avant l'approbation parlementaire. Il a révélé: «J'étais au Mali il y a trois mois et j'ai appris que l'Espagne reprendrait l'opération», avant de demander à Cospedal: «Durant tout ce temps, n'a-t-on pas eu le temps de demander une autorisation?»

La question évidente est pourquoi Delgado lui-même n'a pas insisté sur la question... et quand est venu le vote [sur l'autorisation] à la commission il s'est simplement abstenu.

Le secrétaire général de Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, a été plus explicite: il a attaqué Cospedal de la droite après la mort d'un pilote tué dans un accident d'avion en octobre dernier. Il lui a dit: «Le patriotisme est la défense des droits des professionnels de nos forces armées. Il est honteux que dans ce pays, certains qui parlent de notre patrie ne respectent pas les droits des travailleurs qui sont là pour nous protéger tous et dont la vie ne peut être mise en danger.»

De telles déclarations prouvent que Podemos est un parti proguerre, se proposant comme une plate-forme politique fiable pour le militarisme espagnol. Depuis sa fondation, Podemos a créé des cellules dans l'armée et a fait un effort explicite pour articuler ses principales revendications. L'ancien chef d'état-major de la Défense, Julio Rodríguez Fernández, a été candidat de Podemos lors des récentes élections législatives et est le secrétaire général de Podemos dans la municipalité de Madrid, où il sera le principal candidat du parti aux élections de l'année prochaine.

https://www.wsws.org/fr/articles/2018/02/09/spml-f09.html

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Air New Zealand Gas Turbines, Auckland, New Zealand (N64498-19-D-4028); and MTU Maintenance Brandenburg-Berlin, Ludwigsburg, Germany (N64498-19-D-4029), were both awarded a $70,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity, firm-fixed-priced contract for the commercial depot-level overhaul of up to 24 L0M2500 paired blade turbine gas generators. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, requires the commercial depot level overhaul of Navy, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command and Foreign Military Navy LM2500 paired blade turbine gas generators, National Stock Number 2S 2835-01-032-9125. The two contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Work under the Air New Zealand Gas Turbines contract will be completed at the contractor's facilities in Auckland, New Zealand, and is expected to be completed by June 2023. 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