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2022-09-29 Europe
'Move the front to the east.' NATO reveals plans for Europe
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[RIA Novosti] The European Union and NATO are strengthening cooperation in the defense sphere. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it was time to sign a new declaration of the two friendly organizations. According to him, this will secure the Western world from Russia and China. Further militarization of Europe and an increase in military spending are expected.

NEW APPROACH
After a meeting with the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, Stoltenberg recalled that the EU-NATO declaration was going to be signed back in 2021, but was postponed. Now, he is sure, it is impossible to delay.

The new European defense plan "Strategic Compass" and the NATO concept, adopted at the Madrid summit in June, involve the creation of an EU rapid reaction force that can operate autonomously.

According to European sources, the joint declaration will take into account the current "geopolitical context", as well as all areas of cooperation: cybersecurity, space security, harmful technologies, the impact of climate change on the environment, the fight against disinformation and interference in internal affairs, defense planning. However, many experts do not expect major changes.

US CREATURE
“The creation of the EU rapid reaction forces, operating independently from NATO, is directly directed against Russia,” explains military expert Alexei Leonkov. squadrons and 30 warships, fully ready for battle. The task is to slow down the advance of Russian troops as much as possible while NATO countries are mobilizing."

According to Leonkov, one of the main opponents of the West in the military campaigns of the past decades has become an impenetrable army bureaucracy. It was not easy to bring together the motley troops of different states in Iraq and Afghanistan, establish interaction between them, set up logistics and overcome the language barrier. The EU Rapid Response Force is a turnkey solution. The interethnic contingent will be formed and armed in advance in order to be activated instantly, without looking back at the overseas patron.

“It’s easier from the new NATO declaration - the EU will definitely not be for us,” adds Leonkov. “The West sees our partial mobilization, they understand that we will go to the end. And they react. NATO combat units are already deployed near the borders of Russia. They will be supported by EU troops, which can be quickly transferred to the most vulnerable areas. However, I have big doubts that it will be a European army. I am sure that the most combat-ready units will be led by American officers."

Other experts have no doubt that the United States is behind the European rapid reaction forces. Thus, Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, believes that the new structure will not have a significant impact on the geopolitical alignment in Europe, since, in fact, it will be the same NATO.

“The EU Rapid Response Force is a nesting doll inserted into a larger nesting doll - NATO,” he argues. “Militarily, Europe today is absolutely not self-sufficient. Its guaranteed protection against external aggression is provided only by American tactical nuclear weapons deployed in allied countries. And also the impressive contingents of the US military. The Ramstein base in Germany, for example, is run by the Pentagon. The US does not like competition and is unlikely to allow anyone to challenge its military dominance in the EU."

"FEED" THE DEFENSE
They tried to create a "European army" before. Since 2015, the idea of ​​a continental armed forces has been actively discussed. However, the matter did not go further than conversations. Only Germany and the Netherlands were able to form the 414th tank battalion in 2019 under a single command. However, language and cultural differences are too strong in the EU.

We returned to this project after the start of the Russian military special operation in Ukraine. And on March 25, it was actually approved. A set of agreed measures was formulated in a document called the EU Strategic Compass.

“Europe must be able to protect its citizens and promote international peace and security,” it says. “This is all the more important at a time when war has returned to the continent because of Russia. It is necessary to increase the strategic autonomy of the EU and the ability to cooperate to protect our values ​​and interests.

Thus, Russia is openly called the main enemy of the continental troops. But even on paper it doesn't look very impressive. Mention is made of a unit of up to 5,000 people to deal with "crises of various types." In addition, a task force of 200 specialists is expected, which can be sent to a hot spot within 30 days to act in "difficult conditions." What kind of specialists - is not specified.

The plan "Strategic compass of the EU" is calculated until 2030. It is unlikely that in such a period of time Europe will get rid of obsessive guardianship from across the ocean. The document was adopted even before large-scale arms supplies to Ukraine. The United States actively encouraged the European allies in this, promising to replace what was transferred to Kyiv with American counterparts.

As a result, many EU countries have already given away old Soviet weapons, but have not yet received new ones. And it is not known when it will arrive. According to analysts, the defense capability of Europe has seriously dipped. What plays into the hands of Washington is that it is possible to continue to control the allies. And the military-industrial complex is guaranteed orders for years to come and tens of billions of dollars.

In general, the European rapid reaction forces will become just another US tool to contain Russia and a source of income for the American defense industry. This concept does not take into account the interests of Europe itself.

Posted by badanov 2022-09-29 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ]  Top

#1 US should have dropped out when the Soviet Union disassembled in the 90s.
Posted by ruprecht 2022-09-29 10:41||   2022-09-29 10:41|| Front Page Top

#2 ...where would all those general officer billets be if they did that?
Posted by Procopius2k 2022-09-29 15:32||   2022-09-29 15:32|| Front Page Top

#3 
Posted by ruprecht 2022-09-29 15:46||   2022-09-29 15:46|| Front Page Top

#4 Agree with #1 and #2... I also feel that all of that 'Jointness' required by the Goldwater-Nichols Act caused rank inflation because the other services got in a race to see who had the most gold braid...
Posted by magpie 2022-09-29 17:11||   2022-09-29 17:11|| Front Page Top

#5 Goldwater Nichols put SOF on the Klingon money and mission tit. Big Army keeps the roads and FOBs open. The Klingons handle the rest.
Posted by Besoeker 2022-09-29 18:17||   2022-09-29 18:17|| Front Page Top

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