“The Brits should fortify Gibraltar with men and ordnance. I doubt that the lily-livered Europeans would challenge them.”
Gibraltar is extremely important. The reason we never think of it as a strategic choke point is the British have kept the Mediterranean open to all comers for a very long time. Imagine how different world trade might be if somebody closed off the Med with mines and cannons. Yes, it seems improbable, but the Brits owning Gibraltar is one reason it is improbable.
“Gibraltar is extremely important.”
Especially since Spain is developing a Muslim problem.
Yes. And if the British Navy surrounds Gibraltar, the EU will back down.
People think Gibraltar is at the entrance to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic; it isn’t. It is actually inside the Mediterranean, while Spain has territory southwest of Gibraltar which forms a gateway when paired with the Spanish cities in North Africa (that they kept when they left Spanish Morocco/Western Sahara).
The “pillars of Hercules” Spain holds on both sides of the Strait, when wrapped in a ribbon, were the basis for our dollar sign.