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| Offices in Brussels |
While there is much about which the U.S. and Europe should cooperate, there is no need for an American-dominated transatlantic military alliance.
A Russian invasion of Eastern Europe, led by the core western members of NATO, is but a paranoid fantasy.
Doug Bandow
NATO 'Anachronistic Nightmare' and should be disbanded
Dennis Kucinich
I think that NATO is itself a war criminal
I think that NATO is itself a war criminal.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/nato.html#Cz8iQdkG4u1TGI2k.99
Harold Pinter Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/nato.html#Cz8iQdkG4u1TGI2k.99
Postscript May 30 2014 - US lawmakers urge France to sell Mistral warships to NATO, not Russia. Ask yourself, which nation is using NATO as a hegemonic battering ram?
NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was founded in 1949. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay stated in 1949 that the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down." The members agreed that an armed attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The Treaty members at the time included the USA and Canada in North America plus 26 West European countries. It has since expanded to include East European countries originally members of the Warsaw pact.
It is a cost sharing organization with about 22% of the budget carried by the US, Germany 14% ,the UK and France about 12% each, and the balance divided up by agreement between the remaining member states more or less based on their respective GNP's.
Clearly the original goal of 'keeping the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down' no longer makes any sense. How then can we justify NATO? We obviously can't without reinventing the Cold War because its designed to need enemies, so after Crimeans by a popular vote overwhelmingly decided to return to Russia, eureka !! the US policy wonks found a reason to vilify Russia. Mr Vershbow, The American Director of NATO, has announced that the Cold War is now back! This is much to the relief of all those companies supplying services, weaponry and people with careers dependent on NATO's existence. With an annual budget in excess of 1.2 trillion dollars and reportedly with 9 million people in member states depending on its existence for careers and employment, it has many mouths to feed
What we have here is what was once a defensive organization having become a threatening war machine filled with a bureaucracy of well fed military personnel, strategic planners, clerks and technicians integrated like a giant football team with the controlling owner and coach selected from its largest backer, namely the United States. With the US's abysmal track record of dismal failures in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, and currently hoping to repeat their disaster in Syria (if Mr Putin would only let them) this coach is clearly incompetent and should be fired.
Yes NATO is too big to fail in its present form, but like the banks it can be broken up.
The problem is that with the revolutionary turmoil in the Ukraine it provides Cold War warriors like Nuland an opportunity to revitalize NATO as a giant cudgel to take into this deepening divide between the unelected government in Kiev supported by Washington and the obedient Brussels and the Eastern provinces where a predominately Russian speaking population have for the past 300 years shared a common heritage with Russia.
Why would Washington and Brussels support this Nazi dominated government in Kiev? Clearly because it is consistent with their anger with Vladimir Putin who has prevented their military strike in Syria, welcomed Crimea's enthusiastic return to Russia to escape the Nazi dominated misfits in Kiev, and condemned their invasion of Iraq and Libya. Such arrogance in the eyes of Washington deserves punishment. Sanctions, sanctions and more sanctions with the vassal states under leaders like Merkel and Hollande goaded by Washington weakly considering sanctions of their own despite deep conflicts with their own economic interests. Only an absurd unwieldy integrating monstrosity like NATO can produce this mindless behaviour. In the meantime Russia is being welcomed by China, forming pipeline and economic agreements and leaving the sanction obsessed West looking self destructive and ridiculous.
Looking at the future it is an absurdity to assume that nations facing the inevitable crises that will inevitably arise will be prepared to operate from a Washington led song sheet. NATO is old, its mandate outdated and is is in the way of rational decisions. It must go.
How would the process of addressing each nation's national interests look like without NATO? Certainly less automatic interference by Brussels and Washington where their intrusion is often neither welcomed nor needed. Makes more sense for states to call upon alliances with whomever when deemed necessary. World War II brought the Allies together through leaders like Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt who agreed to coordinate their efforts to achieve a common goal, and in the process rallying many nations to the cause, to defeat the axis of Germany and Japan. Certainly a rigid NATO "to keep the Americans in and the Russians out" would have been an destructive absurdity that would have lost the Wars. The reality is that the combined effort of Russia (who took far and away the greatest losses) and the Western allies won the war in Europe. There was no great love between Stalin and Western leaders but great leaders have the wisdom to come together when facing a crisis.
NATO is an absurdity forcing a mindless lockstep acceptance of a belligerent form of US leadership that is bringing back the Cold War. What is urgently needed at this time while we face a revolutionary crisis in Ukraine is for rival nations to work together as they did in WWII to hammer out solutions that will unite Ukrainians. It will take bringing to the table less involved nations like China, India, and Brazil to knock sense into the thick skulls of visionless NATO bureaucrats in Brussels and Washington. NATO is now the battering ram these dunces want to move into Ukraine and with a rhetoric itching to inflame a conflict that could lead to war.
Apropos of this NATO's Deputy Secretary General is traditionally an American, currently, Alexander Vershbow, who has recently unilaterally announced that NATO is now compelled to treat Russia “as more of an enemy". The weapons industries will no doubt be overjoyed by this announcement.
NATO is an archaic menace and not a solution. It should be dead and buried
