A Spanish general criticizes the defense strategy in the face of the “Moroccan threat”

Salvador Fontenla Ballesta, retired brigadier general of the Spanish army, strongly criticized the defense plan recently unveiled by the Spanish government. This plan, which provides an envelope of 72 million euros for the cities of Ceuta and Melilla on a total budget of 10.4 billion euros, does not respond, according to him, to the strategic needs of the two enclaves.

In an interview with El Independiente, Fontenla stressed that the priority for Ceuta and Melilla is to strengthen their “deterrence capacity”. He explained that this implies “the political determination to defend them and the preparation to use military force to preserve territorial integrity and national sovereignty”.

He insisted on the need for these cities to have “at least three infantry battalions specializing in urban war, as well as a support force capable of intervening quickly from the continent”.

Fontenla pointed to Morocco as the main threat weighing on Ceuta and Melilla, evoking the “official and public” claims of Rabat on these territories, which he considers as “a direct threat to Spanish territorial integrity”. He recalled that Morocco “does not launch threats in the air” and has already demonstrated its desire to use the military force to claim territories, citing the examples of Ifni and the Sahara.

Asked about the impact of the change of position of the Spanish government concerning the Sahara on the security of Ceuta and Melilla, Fontenla replied that these concessions, “are only a sign of weakness, which Morocco interprets perfectly”.

He expressed his conviction that “neither NATO nor the European Union will defend us in the event of an attack on Ceuta and Melilla. We must be able to defend ourselves. And if Morocco considers that the conditions are met to recover these two cities, its traditional allies, namely the United States and France, will support it ”.