by Oui
Fri Oct 22nd, 2021 at 06:34:51 PM EST
Making promises one cannot keep ...
NATO allies be ready for Article 5 in defense of the United States in IndoPacific ...
[links added below are mine - Oui]
Stoltenberg and the NATO doctrine ...
NATO's success over the decades has rested on our ability to change when the world around us changed.
After the Cold War, we ended ethnic wars in the Western Balkans, and helped spread democracy by welcoming the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to NATO.
Since 9/11, we have been on the front line in the battle against international terrorism.
And we adapted again in 2014, after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, by implementing the biggest boost to our collective defense in a generation.
President Dwight Eisenhower spoke to the nation in a farewell address on January 17, 1961. The address, sometimes referred to as the "Military-Industrial Complex Speech", is considered by some to be one of the most significant speeches of the Eisenhower presidency.
War will shape the future of the US industrial base | FT Opinion - John Dizard | (Aug. 2021)
At the time, US society was demoralised and politically cynical, threatened by inflation and just emerging from the bottom of a severe recession. Schlesinger's defence research, development and equipment procurement budget was down by almost half from its Vietnam war peak.
Yet in my interview, Schlesinger emphasised that he was tilting the department's spending towards long-term R&D and procurement of long lead time parts, such as reactor housings for as-yet unfunded submarines, rather than immediately rebuilding the shabby state of the forces' "readiness".
That edge they helped create may now have been permanently blunted. The modern military industrial complex is a wasteful and sometimes corrupt oligarchy, which -- as recent events show -- is in need of a rethink.
Today's economists and politicians should be asking questions about where money and resources are allocated now and in the future, and how far spending priorities have shifted. The future of the US is tied to the future of the wars it involves itself in.
Decision to treat the Federal Republic of Russia as a Pariah State ... pure evil for the sake of creating the image of our enemy ...
Bucharest Summit Declaration
Issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Bucharest on 3 April 2008
We, the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, met today to enlarge our Alliance and further strengthen our ability to confront the existing and emerging 21st century security threats. We reviewed the significant progress we have made in recent years to transform NATO, agreeing that this is a process that must continue. Recognising the enduring value of the transatlantic link and of NATO as the essential forum for security consultations between Europe and North America, we reaffirmed our solidarity and cohesion and our commitment to the common vision and shared democratic values embodied in the Washington Treaty. The principle of the indivisibility of Allied security is fundamental. A strong collective defence of our populations, territory and forces is the core purpose of our Alliance and remains our most important security task. We reiterate our faith in the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
Today, we have decided to invite Albania and Croatia to begin accession talks to join our Alliance. We congratulate these countries on this historic achievement, earned through years of hard work and a demonstrated commitment to our common security and NATO's shared values. The accession of these new members will strengthen security for all in the Euro-Atlantic area, and bring us closer to our goal of a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer: 'NATO should not have committed to membership of Ukraine and Georgia'
Smart Defense and the Future of NATO | Chicago 2012 |
The most pressing issue will be the war in Afghanistan. Following the May 1 signing in Kabul of the U.S.-Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement by Presidents Obama and Karzai, alliance leaders will give consid- erable attention in Chicago to shaping the contours of a wider NATO-Afghan partnership post-2014.
Beyond Afghanistan, leaders will no doubt have many notable items for discussion: defense spend- ing in an age of austerity, NATO's Smart Defense initiative, the alliance's expanding global network of strategic partnerships, missile defense--the list goes on. How will NATO choose to invest in collective security? How can the Chicago summit promote a more capable alliance? How will the alliance integrate new partners into operations without diluting its potency and flexibility? How can NATO devise a strategy in line with its ambitions? Where should the alliance place its focus in light of America's strategic pivot toward the Asia Pacific?
The EU, Russia and the Quest for a New European Security Bargain | Clingendael Report - Nov. 2015 |
In Cold War Echo, Obama Strategy Writes Off Putin | NY Times - Apr. 19, 2014 |
Kerry Preaching Policy Contra Russia @Atlantic Council | Apr. 30, 2014 |
Kerry should experience a warm bath here as I have referred to the right-wing Atlantic Council and its harsh statements of containment for Putin's Russia in a New Cold War. The US wants to reduce its military presence in Europe and has set policy for NATO members to increase investments in its military: Navy, Air Force and Army. The Ukraine is an ideal nation to illustrate the "Imperial Danger" of the Russian Bear. A dangerous path to create division between new and old Europe, when did we take this path before? Rumsfeld in the lead-up to the Iraq War ...
Remarks at the Atlantic Council's "Toward a Europe Whole and Free" Conference
Meet the Americans Who Put Together the Coup in Kiev | March 25, 2014 |
Trump's Revival of anti-EU Sentiment in Warsaw | July 6, 2017 |
US Sanctions on the International Criminal Court | HRW - Dec. 2020 |
US economic sanctions against top International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and another senior official are "coercive acts" that attack the "international criminal justice, and the rule of law more generally," the ICC said.
The ICC, a special multilateral court set up to try genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity cases, has become the latest issue to split Europe and United States under President Donald Trump.
How long can Europe withstand the craziness and high risk of hostilities from our overseas old friends?
The ICC welcomes the decision by the US Government ending sanctions and visa restrictions against ICC personnel | Apr. 3, 2021 |
Many leading nations do not abide by International Law, do not walk the talk ...
Book Launch: Standing up for Justice by Judge Theodor Meron | Leiden University |
Reality today in 2021 ...
ICIJ: Pandora Papers Treasure for EU Politicians
What the future brings?
Majority of countries oppose interference in China's internal affairs in name of human rights
My diary ...
Biden Reset of Diplomacy Solely with Allies
