NATO is a Toy Soldier

The NY Times tells us that NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) seems both unwilling and unable to do anything about Russia’s gambit [gam’bit: any maneuver by which one seeks to gain an advantage] in the Ukraine.
by Charlie Leck

“We need to train and exercise more together, for instance the NATO Response Force
and the EU Battlegroups, so that we stand ready for whatever the future may bring.”
[NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 15 April 2014]

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [Organisation du traité de l’Atlantique Nord] was created on 4 April 1949 by a treaty agreement of 28 member states across Europe and North America. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70 percent of the worldwide total. NATO conducted its first military operations and intervention in Bosnia (1992-1995) and then again in Yugoslvia (1999). Most recently (2011), you’ll probably remember, NATO led the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya in response to a United Nations resolution.

If NATO has a rival, it would be the Warsaw Pact (formed in 1955); yet a few of the members of that pact have also joined NATO.

Article 5
The central article of the alliance calls for member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack.

If it had universal resolve, NATO would be a mighty powerful operation and would be able to shake a very big stick at Russia over its meddling with independent states in Crimea and the Ukraine.

It has generally been thought, and it is probably true, that NATO was created to counter the extraordinary military power that, at first, the Soviet Union had in the area and that the Russian nation now wields there.

Crimea and the Ukraine are not member states.

Is the Soviet Union really kaput?
Russia has plenty of bordering neighbors who are wondering if they might be in line to follow Crimea and the Ukraine. Examined carefully, Putin’s efforts to date do not look dissimilar to the actions of Hitler prior to the Second World War. Mr. Putin defends his incursions into those two nations as part of his responsibility to defend and protect Russian citizens. Article 61 of the Russian constitution assures that the “the Russian Federation shall guarantee its citizens defense and patronage beyond its boundaries.” It is that clause to which Mr. Putin now points to defend his military actions.

Jaak Treiman, writing in the LA Times, makes this quite astonishing observation…

“Article 61 invites reduction in absurdity. But, in the real world, Russia’s attack on Georgia and its annexation of Crimea have, with an Alice in Wonderland logic, turned the absurdity of Article 61 in the reality of Russian tanks and soldiers invading a neighboring country.

“Emulating Hitler and Stalin, Putin justifies his aggression in Georgia and the Ukraine by asserting Article 61’s mandate…”

I think what we are currently finding out is that NATO is a toy soldier and I believe Vladimir Putin knows that.

The American people are slowly coming to that opinion as well. We worked hard (post World War II) to create an alliance that would prevent the U.S. from having to roll troops in greater Europe every time a territorial or political question was in dispute.

It is time for Americans of all stripes and rank to stand united in demanding that NATO act to protect the integrity of this important alliance (and this is in the full knowledge that we are, ourselves, a member nation of that great alliance).

If Russia will not bend to the logic of diplomacy, Canada, England, France, Germany, the United States, and all the other member nations of NATO must act to stop Russia from swallowing up territory because one leader (think Hitler here) believes he must grow his power and size while giants sleep.

God, I hate war; and I hate the threat of war! I hate shaking big sticks at one another because, today, those big sticks can have nuclear power and repercussions. It is, however, time for NATO authorities to stare Mr. Putin in the eye and demand that he stop his aggression.

The President and Mr. Kerry must make diplomacy work. If they cannot, NATO must act forcefully before Mr. Putin gains too much momentum.

  

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Dealing with Russia Harshly

Growth in the Russian economy in the first quarter of the year has taken a major hit and experts blame it on international pressure over Croatia and the Ukraine.
by Charlie Leck

There are ways besides war or military confrontation.
Senator McCain, take note!

The Russian Economic Minister, Alexei Ulyukayev, addressed the Russian parliament with the news that growth in the economy of the nation fell below one percent, which is less than a third of his earlier predictions of growth. He made it clear what caused the shortage – “the acute international situation of the past two months.”

Ulyukayev told the ministers that the situation had caused a “serious capital flight.” The ruble has lost 9 percent of its value against the dollar in the first three months of 2014.

There is growing fear in Russia that America and the European Union might escalate sanctions against President Vladimir Putin and the Russian nation and that might instigate an even more serious economic downturn.

Let’s hope all the major columnists in America and Europe keep calling for the screws to be tightened against the Russian bear until it removes the military units it has put on the Ukrainian border.

UPDATE 17 April 2014
Talks are due to open in Geneva today (Thursday, 17 April 2014) between European and American interests about further actions against Russia. Secretary of State, John Kerry, will be involved in the talks, as will Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and the top foreign ministers from the European Union. One EU official predicted what would happen if Russia doesn't begin to relent in Ukraine: "The costs are going to go up for Russia!"

Update: 18 April 2014 (Geneva)
It appears that conversations and negotiations yesterday, yielded some results. Russia claims it will cooperate in getting pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine to return government sites to their “rightful owners.” A signed agreement actually came out of the day’s negotiating work and, as a result, if there is compliance, further planned sanctions against Russia will be postponed. Frankly, those of you who read this will be skeptical, but so are the U.S. and European negotiators. Secretary of State John Kerry indicated that no one left the Geneva sessions “with a sense that the job is done because of words on a paper.” We need now to see if Russia will comply. The last several days have actually produced some incidents of gunfire between Russian military forces and Ukrainian troops.

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The Real Russia

We may get an opportunity in the next week or so to see the real “new face of Russia” as developments in the Crimea and, particularly, in Ukraine take place.
by Charlie Leck

President Obama has warned Russia against interfering in political developments in the Ukraine. Russia faces world condemnation, our President warned, if it involves itself there. Well, really! I’m sure that has the Great Bear trembling. Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin is feeling particularly good and powerful after the successful Olympic Games in his nation.

As usual the United States and the rest of the generally civilized, western world will have to sit back as observers and passively take whatever it is that Russia does in this situation. This is a big bad bully with whom no nation particularly wants to deal right now. We’ve got enough on our plates and we are still licking our wounds from our military activities in the Middle East.

The President has warned Russia that there will be “costs” if they do interfere. What costs? I can’t imagine it will go very far beyond restricting trade with Russia and some kind of attempts to influence Russia’s monetary values. What else can we do? Start another war!

There’s no question that Russia is a far different place from the old, communistic Soviet Union, but we’ll need to remember that this is a nation with shaky psychological balance and it is difficult to estimate or predict what it might do.

It seems to me that we are all going to get to know Mr. Putin a lot better in the coming weeks and he may not look quite so rosey as he did in Souchi!

Russia has not been a favored nation in America during my entire life-time; and I think America’s distrust of Russia goes all the way back to 1917 (the Russian Revolution that saw a communist regime take over with such violence).

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