"Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms under our own possesion and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?" -- Patrick Henry

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News about NATO

NATO Members Continue Trading with Russia Despite Sanctions MikeRivero Fri, 06/09/2023 - 09:11

Two recent reports have uncovered billions in trade between members of the North Atlantic alliance and Russia since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine last year. 

The Wall Street Journal of March 31, 2023 (page A20, if you must know) featured this headline: “Turkey’s Parliament Ratifies NATO bid.” Here is the first paragraph of this entry:

“The Turkish parliament ratified Finland’s entrance into the NATO on Thursday, removing the last obstacle to a historic expansion of the alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” [Emphasis Added]

Former NATO Head: Some NATO Countries Are Considering Sending Troops To Ukraine MikeRivero Fri, 06/09/2023 - 07:53

The former civilian head of the NATO alliance is warning that some Eastern European states are prepared to send their soldiers to Ukraine if the bloc does not make significant pledges to Kiev during an upcoming summit. 

Former NATO Head: Some NATO Countries Are Considering Sending Troops to Ukraine MikeRivero Thu, 06/08/2023 - 08:49

The former civilian head of the NATO alliance is warning that some Eastern European states are prepared to send their soldiers to Ukraine if the bloc does not make significant pledges to Kiev during an upcoming summit. 

President Joe Biden on Monday thanked the Danish prime minister for her country's role in the alliance helping Ukraine resist Russia, as speculation grows that Mette Frederiksen is in line to be N.A.T.O. secretary general.

'There's a shared commitment to the core values and that gives us our strength — at least that's what I believe,' Biden said as they met in the Oval Office. 

Ukrainian soldiers trained by NATO and armed with Western weapons will serve as the “tip of the spear” during the upcoming counteroffensive against Russian forces, according to the Washington Post. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said this support represents the “next level” of security assistance. 

The Russian fighters aligned against Moscow who launched a cross-border raid from Ukraine into the Belgorod region of Russia last week used at least four tactical vehicles originally given to Ukraine by the United States and Poland, U.S. officials said, raising questions about the unintended use of NATO-provided equipment and Kyiv’s commitments to secure materiel supplied by its supporters.

Statistics provided by the US Department of Defense, in 2003, outlined that there were around 725 American military bases positioned that year overseas in 38 countries, including the presence of 100,000 American soldiers in Europe. 

NATO has prepared a secret action plan in case of a military confrontation with Russia, Responsible Statecraft columnist Ian Davis wrote.

Thousands of pages of secret military plans are to be offered for approval at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Davis said.

The documents were developed behind closed doors by permanent military representatives at NATO headquarters in Brussels. No preliminary coordination works were conducted.

The world finds itself at a critical juncture as tensions escalate in Ukraine, claiming the lives of thousands on both sides. Meanwhile, Israel’s potential strike on Iranian nuclear development sites using US-built F-35 bomber aircraft looms, threatens to ignite a chain reaction of destabilization in the entire Middle East and risks a nuclear conflict with Russia.