War starts from Europe. The European military landscape has undergone profound changes during the last 10-15 years. Europe hosts a large military intervention machinery. The bombs are not falling in Europe. They are falling several thousands of km away in Iraq and Afghanistan. But still war is waged from Europe. Europe serves as a launch pad for military interventions worldwide. The frameworks differ: NATO, EU, US coalition of the willing, UN. The targets also vary: Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Chad, etc. But the departure points don’t: military bases and civilian airports and harbours in Europe.

About every European lives in the neighbourhood of a military base from which soldiers deploy to one of the ongoing wars or near military or civil infrastructure which makes these wars possible. War starts from around the corner. Even if most people are not aware of it, Europe is at war.

Here we present a snapshot overview of military units sent to one of the war zones, of headquarters from where these wars are led and of the logistical infrastructure which makes these wars possible.
It is a snapshot, because the deployed troops rotate regularly and other units get involved. The whole of the intervention machinery is by consequence even larger than what is presented here. This overview is also far from complete, as most countries do not make information on deployed units available. With this snapshot we want to make visible Europe’s new intervention posture.