Overview

On June 23rd, 2016, the United Kingdom conducted a referendum to determine the will of its people to remain in the European Union or to withdraw from it. The results were 16,141,241, or 48.11%, to remain, and 17,410,072, or 51.89% to exit. The following day Prime Minister David Cameron, who supported the Remainers in spite of his membership in the Conservative Party which supported the Brexiters , announced his intention to resign. On July 13th, Theresa May, another Conservative, became Prime Minister. On March 29th, 2017, Prime Minister May triggered Article 50 which began the two-year clock leading up to the United Kingdom's total withdrawal from the EU. On March 31st Spain announced its intention to exercise some degree of control over Gibraltar, which was inferred to include the possibility of re-annexation. On April 2nd Michael Fallon, the UK's Defense Secretary, announced that he would be prepared to go to war with Spain over Gibraltar. The UK's War Plan included the possible threat of blockading the Strait of Gibraltar using the Royal Navy's vessels stationed in Gibraltar supplemented by warships and aircraft from the British Isles. Such a closure would restrict travel from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and the key EU ports of Valencia, Piraeus, Istanbul, Genoa, and Barcelona. The only other oceanic entrance to the Mediterranean would be through the Suez Canal in Egypt. EU countries' economies could be in ruin before the war was over.

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9781546417064

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Chris Knowles was born and reared in Washington, DC. After studying Engineering at Virginia and Economics in The School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, Chris enlisted in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. He served as an analyst in Military Intelligence, focusing upon Southeast Asia, the Sino-Soviet border and the Middle East. After the war, Chris earned his Bachelor's degree from Nebraska and his Master of Public Administration degree from Drake while serving as a Graduate Fellow. After a 30-year career as a healthcare executive, he retired in 2014. Chris now lives and writes on Martha's Vineyard.

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