NATO will launch major war games next week with about 90,000 troops to prepare for a potential conflict with Russia that will mark the alliance’s largest military exercises since the end of the Cold War.
“Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 will be the largest NATO exercise in decades, with participation from approximately 90,000 forces from all 31 Allies and our good partner Sweden,” Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, told reporters.
The drills will take place across Europe and will involve reinforcements coming from North America. “This reinforcement will occur during a simulated emerging conflict scenario against a near-peer adversary,” Cavoli said.
Adm. Rob Bauer, the Dutch chairman of the NATO military committee, made clear the drills were about preparing for war with Russia. “I’m not saying it is going wrong tomorrow, but we have to realize it’s not a given that we are in peace,” Bauer said, according to Stars & Stripes.
Bauer suggested last year that NATO countries should discuss shifting their economies to a “war economy,” where civilian factories would start producing military goods, similar to what the United States did during World War II, and said on Thursday that European societies need to be ready for a conflict. “It is the whole of society that will get involved (in a war) whether we like it or not,” he said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and NATO, through its weight behind the Ukrainian war effort, the Western military alliance has been preparing for the possibility of direct war with Russia despite the risk of it quickly turning nuclear.
Last summer, NATO drew up plans on how to fight a war with Russia for the first time in decades that were approved at the alliance’s Vilnius summit. “For the first time in 30 years, we have the strategy – deterrence and defense of the Euro-Atlantic area – and we have the plans to make the Alliance fit for the purpose of collective territorial defense,” Cavoli said.
Anyone remember back to 1983 NATO exercises that nearly ended in WWIII? No, I guess not. At least not remembered by our political or military leadership. Watch Braindead “sci fi” series about DC to see the truth about our leaders and the state of their minds.
I remember it ! I mean, I was 7 at the time, but I remember it as in “I’ve read about it and it is distinctly in my awareness.”
I do remember “Return of the Jedi” from that same year, so, it’s not a memory issue.
Are you OK? You DO realize the a big part of sci fi is the FICTION, right? (I know people say and write sci fi but the fi is short for FICTION.)
If I were President of the Russian Federation, I’d wait for the end of this exercise, then hold a press conference with the world, announce how impressive it was, and declare that the Russian Federation seeks to become a full member of NATO.
Let’s see NATO’s response to such a checkmate.
As we have been shown yet again in 2023, it only takes one NATO country to veto to prevent Russia becoming a member.
I’d bet most would – then find themselves asked “If we spend all this money on NATO to defend against the Russian Federation, wouldn’t them joining mean we don’t need NATO to defend against the Russian Federation ?” and the conversation would get REAL honest REAL quick after that.
‘But lucrative defense contracts in my home districts…’
‘How else can we eventually formally win the 1945-1989 Cold War ?’
‘Then how will the USA retain a foothold in EU affairs and/or keep the Russians out of superpower contention ?’
That would be a very short conversation – Greece and Turkey being in NATO sis not prevent them from going to ‘war’ so Russia in NATO would not protect any NATO country from Russia.
The US has very little power over EU and thanks to Trump EUrope (and not least the SMO) is getting much more serious about being able to defend itself.
They tried that once.
They would just say no. What brilliance did you think you were bringing to the table with that one?
Well, if NATO turned the offer down, it’d be proof-positive that NATO exists only to defend against the threats caused by the existence of NATO.
NATO’s raison-d’etre is to defend eastern EU from the Soviets i mean the Russian Federation. Hard enough they had to give up East Germany and the Warsaw Pact countries as close enemies (even if they became paying members despite assurances to the Russians “not one inch eastward”) but to incorporate the RF in as an ally (the way Lao Tzu suggested) means WITAS is NATO there to scare off ?
All the Nato countries borrow the gas money for this.
So Biden wants to be FDR after all. Vote for him because we are at war or lose by voting for the other guy.
Cameron compares Putin to Hitler, urges everyone not to appease Russian leader
https://ukrainetoday.org/cameron-compares-putin-to-hitler-urges-everyone-not-to-appease-russian-leader/
Anyone here know of a manufacturer of large, long term bomb shelters?
Just go to the basement of your apartment in Russia. You’ll be fine.
We are in a new Cold War. It began when various US administrations refused to implement the promise made by the G. H. Bush administration that NATO was not going to expand to the doors of Russia.
Such military exercises are serious. They could be the beginning of a 3rd World War to start in Europe.
When politicians are low in the polls and when their countries are in decadence, they tend to believe that a war could salvage them.
British historian Arnold Toynbee has observed that each of the last six centuries have seen a hegemonic war in the early part of each century.
Most leaders today have never seen a world war. Some may even believe that wars are romantic.
In this Nuclear Age, a hegemonic war could be a disaster for humanity.
And you surely remember the Budapest Memorandum, where Russia agreed to the security of Ukraine if they gave up their nukes?
“Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and NATO, through its weight behind the Ukrainian war effort, the Western military alliance has been preparing for the possibility of direct war with Russia despite the risk of it quickly turning nuclear.”
Dear Dave: through its weight?? If you send me your articles before publication, I’ll be happy to proof read them.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, NATO has not only been been throwing its weight behind Ukraine’s defense, but also preparing for the possibility of direct war with Russia–despite the risk of it quickly turning nuclear.
Moreover, since Trump told European commissioners in 2020 that “NATO is dead” and that “the US would never defend Europe if it were attacked,” EU members of NATO have to consider the possibility of war with Russia without help from the US.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/10/donald-trump-says-never-help-europe-attack
Sorry, but the comma before the word “through” makes it the correct use of that word. It’s awkwardly worded maybe, but correct. So give it a rest.
You know you’re losing the propaganda war when your propaganda trolls have to point out spelling errors as a “gotcha.”
You also know Kievvian Rush can’t see the forest for the trees when they’re quoting a section to bemoan alternate wording (i can see how “through” means “by way of” in context) and completely missing that the section they quote completely dismantled Rush’s latent “it’s all Ukraine doing this, NATO’s not involved nor at any risk of blowback” mantra.
It’s so refreshing that Cameron compared Putin to Hitler. I’ve never heard that before, such a new and inspired take. Except for everyone else they compared to Hitler.
Fun fact – I read a thing where people of our modern age asked “Hey, before Hitler was the benchmark, who did people call other people ‘worse than…’ ?”
Apparently prior to the Fuhrer, the common cliche was “(target) is worse than the Pharaoh.”
(Presumably the Moses-story Pharaoh – tho if so that’s another can of worms…)
I think some broad named Hillary did. You know, the one that cajoled Obama to f*ck up Libya. She is a pretty good poet; “we came, we say, he died, ha, ha, ha, cackle…..”
the one that Obama allowed himself to be conjoled…..
fixed.
A tactic I’ve noticed that you use. Interesting.
I used it once to point out you can’t even spell fascist let alone understand the theoretical underpinnings necessary for a definition. So yes, you got me, I used it once.
News that Ukraine could soon receive hundreds of AASM high-precision air-dropped bombs from France has spooked Russia.
https://ukrainetoday.org/ukraine-hammer-bomb-boost-from-nato-ally-spooks-russia-biggest-threat/
Perfect. I NEED TO FIND A BUILDER WHO WILL BUILD ME A LARGE, LONG TERM FALL OUT SHELTER!!!!!
Vault-Tec.
Let us remember that this was during a similar NATO naval exercise off the coast of Denmark that gave cover to Joe Biden’s order to blow up the Nord Stream I & II pipelines between Russia and Germany, in September 2022.
Now that Biden is low in the polls, he may be tempted to launch a war to run as commander-in-chief.
Nothing is too extravagant for a corrupt politician.
Excellent point !
That exercise ran from June 5-17, 2022 and so you are off by about three months.
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_196240.htm
Not to mention that it is not an open and shut case:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/23/what-we-know-about-the-nord-stream-sabotage-one-year-on
Read Seymour Hersh’s account of how the pipelines were blown up–it gives the dates of activities, etc. It’s the only detailed account we have and msm refuses to talk about it.
Seymour Hersh is just one guy with alleged source and he has been caught using figures of speech that is best described as of Russian origin.
So not the most convincing argument – try to explain why a Russian ship was seen very near to the sabotage location mere days before the explosions.
I’m not claiming that this is proof that they did it, but it does need explaining.
Your first paragraph is nonsense. I’ve read his material (AND YOU SHOULD AS WELL), not of Russian origin. Russia had no motive to blow up their own pipeline, but the U.S. did. The U.S. has opposed those pipelines for decades. Biden said we’d stop the pipelines and we did. Cui bono. Alone among countries, the U.S. benefited from the destruction of those pipelines.
There was no Russian ship near the pipeline.
There has been no complete investigation of who did it. Why????? Because those in. a position to complete an investigation are U.S. lapdogs. The U.S. did it.
Seymore Hersh’s Russian idion:
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/15btz15/russian_idiom_leaks_into_seymour_hershs_commentry/?rdt=63212&force_seo=1
https://twitter.com/BadBalticTakes/status/1684870426730577920
Russia had plenty of incentives to blow up their own pipeline:
1) Destabilizing pricing of gas and indeed other resources delivered by pipeline as their security were no longer guaranteed.
2) Make the US and Germany get into conflict i.e. dividing the coalition against them.
3) Get out of the financial obligations to compensate for the deliveries they were holding back.
Nothing was being delivered through the pipeline at the time and Germany had already contracted for LNG so though the US benefitted they were already benefitting and needed not blow up the pipeline anymore.
Yes there were reported by the Danish authorities – as stated in the Aljazerra article and in the Danish press.
There has been no less that three investigations – one by Denmark one by Sweden and one by Germany – read the Aljazerra article
If you rule out any evidence other than the one you like then why even debate the issue.
“
SeymoreSeymour Hersh’s Russianidionidiom:”. . .
“Sounds like Hersh is getting duped by a Russian source pretending to be American”
It’s actually surprising that both you and your redditor source are so bloody ignorant that you believe Hersh could be duped in that way. We’re looking at world-class ignorance here.
No we are looking at an US citizen using language of a Russian origin so either the source is highly suspect of Seymour is himself.
“Russia had no motive to blow up their own pipeline”
It’s not that hard to figure out a plausible motive — but that’s not the same thing as saying that they did it.
Plausible motive: The pipeline getting blown up allowed it to invoke force majeure to free it from its obligations under the existing contracts. That entailed two benefits:
1) If the war ended, it could renegotiate those contracts upward instead of having to deliver at the previously contracted prices; and
2) Since the European boycott was causing it to turn to other markets, some of those new customers presumably had reasonable worries about Russia potentially having supply issues if the war and the boycott ended and Russia was obligated to fulfill those prior obligations.
Mr. Biden said that we had the resources to take it out. Nuland cheered its success.
DRINK!
“Seymour Hersh is just one guy with alleged source and he has been caught
using figures of speech that is best described as of Russian origin.”
Would you like to tell us what you (think) you mean by that?
And after all your silly and pointless “Why would the US . . .?” you toss out a Danish media report about a Russian vessel. It’s difficult to imagine what would be less likely than the Russians destroying their own pipeline, when they have absolute control over the input to the system. Sheesh.
Explained further down this thread.
Again explained further down this thread.
You should know, if you had read famous Journalist Seymour Hersh’s article that the explosives were set up by divers with the help of the Norway navy in June 2022.
They were detonated by remote control only in September 2022.
That would raise the question of why the delay – why blow it up only after it was no longer in use and after the Germans had already contracted for LNG infrastructure effectively guaranteeing the US the future sales, while blowing up the pipeline guaranteed the Russians much higher profits through the higher prices for the rest of 2022 though the sales they were making though the other pipelines?
And why did they not blow up the pipeline while the Russian ship was there shortly before the sabotage but only days later?
Hersh may be right, but that’s not precisely what he said. He said that sources told him that’s what happened.
Aliens. It was aliens.
There is nothing—NOTHING Biden can do that would cause me to vote for him. Not that there is a good alternative. Listening carefully to the Pyatt-Nuland phone conversation, it’s clear Biden was involved in the Ukraine debacle from the get-go. And his position on Israel-Gaza is completely wrong.
I voted for him in 2020. What I got was Trump with aviator sunglasses.
You didn’t vote for anyone. You vote in Russia for the only option, Putin.
The Maidan Revolution of Dignity was a grass-roots uprising. McCain had more to do with it than the Obama admin, including Biden. Pyatt and Nuland’s conversation was all about which Ukrainian politicians the US should support after Yanukovych fled to Russia. Mainly, they helped Obama keep Yarosh and Tyahnybok out of power and rolled out the red carpet for Putin.
Nonsense. And you know it. I followed it as it was going on. Your revolution put a bunch of neo-Nazis in power, when you weren’t putting Americans in positions of power in Ukraine. And because of all this, Ukraine is being destroyed. So much for your “Slava Ukraine.” When people like you engage in disastrous behavior and try to put a happy face on it, all always goes badly
Amazing that these neo-Nazis went straight for a democratic election and then repeated that show just one term later and in each election the sitting governments lost.
Special kind of neo-Nazis who are willing to repeatedly hold elections that lose them progressively more seats in parliament.
Almost as if it looks more like they were not neo-Nazis or not actually in power.
Z then shut down elections, began having opponents arrested, hut down news stations so that only one remains. Very democratic./s
Don’t forget that he’s banned all the opposition parties.
No he only banned a few – the party of the guy he beat for president is not banned – so the credible threats are still there.
You are confusing that with what your emperor Putin does in Russia.
Any issues with that?
Nah, Putin can do whatever he wants.
Churchill did the same in a less dire situation – so until Zelenskyy refuses to hold elections when not invaded by the Russians this is meaningless.
What, do you fantasize that Churchill was some kind of exemplary democrat or something?
No – you are perhaps jumping at conclusions – what I do imply is that Churchill did all the same things as Zelenskyy yet he did not persist in his undemocratic ways, but allowed himself to be voted out of office in 1945.
So more democratic than Trump – just to mention one guy that apparently many in the US (and here?) thinks should be allowed to run for office.
During the war, the UK was not much of a “democracy.”
During the war, Ukraine is even less a “democracy” than the UK was.
Whether Ukraine will return to something resembling a “democracy” after the war remains to be seen, but there’s no plausible argument that it’s a not garrison state under a de facto dictatorship at the moment.
There is no plausible argument that Ukraine will not return to being every bit as democratic as it was before the war either.
There’s no argument either way on that. It’s something that remains to be seen.
Oh there are plenty of arguments, but probably none that you find convincing.
1) Zelensky has been working fairly hard to get Ukraine on a path to EU membership – a thing that will collapse if he does not allow for elections.
2) Ukraine is in a much better position to get faster rebuilt if becoming a NATO member – also requires them to be democratic.
3) being in both EU and NATO is the best way to secure the investments needed to rebuild. ‘
There is plenty of reasons to believe that should Zelenskyy want to piss away what he has been working for (EU and NATO membership) he would not be able to hold on to power.
The number of people who stand to gain from these plans being implemented is far bigger and often in higher ‘power’ positions than the few who could be bribed to piss it all away.
I’ll be surprised if Zelenskyy remains in power after the war is over — and not very surprised if his removal from power comes in the form of a bullet rather than a ballot. And it’s not obvious that his replacements will be pro-EU. As for de jure NATO membership, the chances of that were somewhere between slim and none before the Russian invasion and have lessened since it.
Given your view on how this will end, I would say that your view of their NATO membership chances is rational and accurate – as I believe that the Russians will be forced completely out of Ukraine and very eager to accept much to get the sanctions lifted I think that the prospects are somewhat better (but still by no means guaranteed).
What matters however is that it is not impossible but tied to democracy as EU membership – because given this just about any power in Ukraine will want to qualify as doing so equals much larger funds – and in the eyes of anyone even corrupt people that equates more money to be ‘harvested’.
If you mean during the current war, then you’re correct. (NATO wouldn’t allow a country in an active war admission because it would immediately cause NATO to go to war.) Immediately after the current war? I think the answer is yes.
NATOhas been reinvigorated since the Russian invasion and is probably impressed with the Ukrainian defense. They’ll admit a freedom fighting people into the EU and NATO pretty quickly and remain vigilant against (Putin-less?) Russia.
I mean ever.
Before the Russian invasion, there was virtually no chance that at least one NATO member regime wouldn’t veto Ukrainian admission, especially with offered inducements from Russia.
After this war wraps up, and however it does wrap up, the chances are even lower. In fact, Slovakia’s PM said so yesterday.
We shall see.
The Ukrainian constitution prohibits elections during wartime. You tankies should stop getting all lathered-up about it.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/11/ukraine-democracy-wartime-elections-russia-zelensky/
Even the mighty Klitschsco is in the administration and he is a Banderite.
You are so dishonest.
Fcking sick.
You “followed” it on what media source? (I bet I can guess which one.)
Y’all really need those conspiracy theories to get that hit of Dopamine, don’t you?
Keep poking the bear and he will rip your head off, which is no surprise!
Great news.
Need to send a strong message to dipsh!t Putin.
Invading and annexing land from neighboring countries will not go unanswered.
“It’s not a given that we are in peace”
Does any of you or them see missiles in the sky, tanks firing at cities, planes dropping bombs? Unless I have to seen otherwise, I’m damn happy to keep the peace myself and not from those Peacekeepers.
America and it`s NATO LACKEYS go to war with Russia they better get plenty of body bags ready , Russia isn`t Iraq , Libya , Afghanistan or any of the 33 other countries invaded by the US and it`s LACKEYS , Russia has 11 time zones , there isn`t enough infantry in the world to take and occupy it .
“Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024″
gonna defender the sh*t out of those Russkies. even though they have not advanced any farther into Ukraine than they originally said they would.
Geez, let’s do some more of that shit that got us into the position to do some more of that shit.
Russia already thinks there are French mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. No idea if true.
Well they’re already being invaded and taken over pretty much so maybe this will help them to get their ship together