U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has warned of a “not implausible” possibility that European nuclear powers, such as France or the United Kingdom, could come under the influence of leaders “close to political Islam” within approximately the next fifteen years.
In an interview with the British website UnHerd, Vance described this scenario as “catastrophic” but not implausible over the next fifteen years. He noted that the cultural, religious, and economic ties between the United States and Europe are stronger than anywhere else in the world, saying: “We have a shared history and shared cultural values, and therefore we will have moral debates with Europe that we may not have with other countries.”
He added, “From the point of view of direct American interest, France and the United Kingdom have nuclear weapons, and if they allow themselves to drift behind very destructive moral ideas, this means allowing these weapons to fall into the hands of people capable of causing serious harm to the United States.”
In response to a question about the nature of these “ideas,” Vance explained that there are currently people “loyal to Islamists or with Islamist leanings” holding positions in European countries, even at lower levels, such as mayoralties or local positions. He continued, “It is not implausible to imagine a scenario in which someone with views close to Islam has significant influence in a European nuclear state. Not in the next five years, but after 15 years, yes, and this poses a direct threat to the United States.”
Vance emphasized that the moral debate is closely linked to U.S. national security interests, noting that Washington wants Europe to remain strong, vibrant, and capable of maintaining cultural, educational, and military exchange with the United States, considering this “impossible without a common cultural foundation,” and warning of the risk of losing it in the long run.
It is worth noting that Vance previously stated that “Britain is a nuclear-armed Islamic country,” while U.S. President Donald Trump accused the Mayor of London of seeking to “impose Islamic Sharia law.”
In the same context, the Director of U.S. National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, warned days ago of attempts by political Islamic groups to exploit the legal and political systems in the United States to push for the implementation of their ideology’s laws in American cities, considering that “Islamist ideology” poses a near and long-term threat to freedom and security, and seeks, according to her, to establish a global caliphate and threaten Western civilization.
