The Romanian press, in reporting on the ongoing U.S. Army-led 30,000-troop, 27-nation war games codenamed DEFENDER-Europe 21, cited an American commander in the country characterizing them as “mutual intra-NATO defense.” A suggestion: NATO should publish a Militarese-English dictionary for the uninitiated.
To conduct a military exercise, or rather a veritable host of air, naval and land drills in a dozen countries bordering or near Russia is portrayed as protecting NATO. NATO as a unitary entity. To be recalled next time its secretary general and other Western officials try to pretend the military bloc really doesn’t exist, that it’s simply a loose coalition of democratic nations, much like the United Nations – all under siege by an aggressive barbarian at their respective (not collective) gates.
The mutual intra-NATO defense claim was made by Brigadier General Matthew Van Wagenen, deputy commander of U.S. Army V Corps, at a press conference where he was flanked by the commander of NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, Lieutenant General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne, and Romania’s Major General Tomita-Catalin Tomescu.
The Romanian general not surprisingly said the war games are designed (solely) to defend “the region and Romania.” The American general stated they were part of strategic deterrence. The word strategic has significant and can have nuclear connotations. He also stressed supposed defense of the Black Sea region. As five of the six Black Sea littoral nations are NATO members – Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey – or NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partners – Georgia and Ukraine (the West doesn’t recognize Abkhazia, except as Russian-occupied Georgian territory) – then the threat to the peace and security of NATO states there can only be Russia.
NATO’s Lieutenant General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne, a veteran British military officer, is cited asserting “there is undoubtedly a conflict in the region, and that this has been happening since 2014.” His reference was undoubtedly to Crimea rejoining Russia in that year. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is based at Sevastopol in that peninsula where it has been located for centuries. Prior to NATO countries backing the Ukrainian coup of the same year, the North Atlantic alliance and the U.S. regularly employed Crimea for its Sea Breeze naval exercises in the Black Sea. Like the current DEFENDER-Europe 21 war games, there was only one potential adversary they were practicing to confront.
Smyth-Osbourne went on to say: “We have a lasting commitment within the alliance towards all our allies and we will fulfill this commitment in order to support them, to discourage our opponents and if needed, to fight and defend ourselves alongside our allies.”
When someone of his background speaks of fighting his words have to be taken seriously, as he formerly served in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Northern Ireland (which his NATO biography calls Ulster).
The Romanian and Bulgarian components of the mammoth exercise are assisted by NATO’s Headquarters High Readiness Force and NATO’s Headquarters Multinational Corps South-East (there is also a NATO Headquarters Multinational Corps North-East in Poland), working in tandem to “achieve the Initial Operational Capability provided for by the memorandum concluded between the two commands of the NATO Force Structure.”
Rick Rozoff is a contributing editor at Antiwar.com. He has been involved in anti-war and anti-interventionist work in various capacities for forty years. He lives in Chicago, Illinois. He is the manager of Stop NATO. This originally appeared at Anti-Bellum.
These Generals don’t realize the Order of Battle here. They and their Ships are targets in a Shooting Gallery and all of them will go to the Bottom in 30 minutes or less if they try to attack Russia 🇷🇺.
With a case of death by Sunburn…??? Or has Russia bettered that system with a new generation of anti ship missiles…?????
BS artists for the military industrial complex that is 70+ years old just like this phony dinosaur. Warsaw Pact is gone nato. Gone. And they never were there for OFFENSE but DEFENSE, as they still are b https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ffc519ca3c3c05b781812f271d021ae967e1a287029415413f3b12c04504f16e.jpg ut you bs the ignirnt americans they are some ferocious bear out to devour apple pie. Idiocy, that works on morons. Mores the Pity. Beam me up scotty,62+ years here, is more than enough…
War loving idiots.
The acquisition of the Crimean peninsula by Putin was the opening shot in what has today become the primary area of the NATO-Russia power-chessgame. Except for a few strips the Baltic is already a safe NATO lake which Putin does not contest. The Arctic Ocean is not yet in big play but may become so in the near future. US-NATO is losing its chess-game in most of the South of Russia. The various “Stans” as well as Mongolia and China are unlikely to become NATO members or even openly hostile to Putin. The Pacific coast is not an attractive target for NATO-US to rattle Putin. Japan has its hands full with China. Hence there are three “borders” where NATO-US can realistically rattle Putin. The Black Sea. The Caspian Sea. The republics between Russia and Iran.
Access for NATO-US to these is the easiest for the Black Sea hence that is where the major rattling is focused today. When one considers the history of Russia that is very dangerous rattling. Peter and Catherine stand behind Putin. NATO-US has replaced the Ottoman Empire.
The acquisition of Crimea was by referendum that was watched by Amnesty International and others. It was legit.
A bit of history: for over 400 years Ukraine was part of Russia. Then, without consulting the Politburo, Khrushchev, with the stroke of a pen, cut it loose.
Henry Kissinger brought that up when we were revving up the coup, cheered on by Nuland.
We have nothing to gain by messing around in the Black Sea.
I agree with your first three statements. But Zbigniew Brzezinski argues in “The Grande Chessboard” that Eurasia is the pivot point for world dominion and seems like the War Party has been favoring, investing heavily in his doctrine for 20 years now.