It takes a special kind of stupid to grin like this when you’ve just been blackmailed by one of your members.

Preamble

This week sees the NATO summit being held as Russia continues its Special Military Operation in the Ukraine, words and war happening in the same week. This article, alongside other issues, will compare the announcements that are apparently going be made in Madrid with both current events and those that could occur in the future. No official statement will be made until the end of the summit, yet very reliable sources indeed have been saying the same things over recent days, leading the author to presume their veracity.

Collapse and Cauldron

With thousands of Ukrainian soldiers already having surrendered and even more facing the possibility of being caught inside territory surrounded by Russian forces, the Donbass region is today becoming a nightmare for Kiev. After expending so much in a vain attempt to hold off Moscow’s men, even western military experts hold little hope for the future. Zelenskiy is pleading for arms, yet as mentioned, not only are weapons in short supply, so are those who can use them effectively. Quite where Russia plans on stopping its operation remains unclear, yet as things stand today, once operations in the Donbass have further exhausted Kiev’s dwindling resources, there will be little to stop Russian forces from making huge and rapid gains.

No Sum Game

This whole conflict that we see today has been engineered from the West as part of their plan to vanquish Russia. This is merely one of their ventures against the East, yet one on which so much has been staked. One could even go so far as to say it has become a game of winner-takes-all, yet with Washington now losing a game of Russian Roulette that it tried so hard to start, the White House’s foreign legion AKA NATO is now planning to bolster forces in Europe in an apparent attempt to stop Russia from invading member states. In order that we understand what could happen, we first have to look at what is to be stated in Madrid.

The Script

In the face of a Russia that simply has not done as Brussels’ member states have told it, Jens Stoltenberg will make the following points:

NATO is going to name Russia as the most significant and direct threat to the security of the alliance at the summit in Madrid.

For the first time, China will be mentioned for as one of NATO’s future challenges.

There will be an increase in the strength of the high-readiness rapid reaction force from 40,000 to 300,000 people.

Eastern Europe will see NATO bring its battle groups up to brigade level, and increase the number of reaction forces personnel from 40,000 to 100,000.

The alliance will create weapons depots along its eastern flank and create forces specifically designated for operations in this region.

NATO will adopt a program to support Ukraine, including the re-equipment of its armed service with alliance weapons.

Member states will have to spend more than 2% of their GDP to ensure defense and support for Ukraine.

Assistance will include the supply of equipment for safe communication, as well as systems to combat drones, fuel.

The Plot

We have to look at this point by point to understand what this baloney will really mean for the alliance, its members and the world at large.

The fact that NATO is going to name Russia as the world’s boogeyman is nothing new, it already having done this both in word and deed for more than a decade. No news here.

The fact that China is again in the crosshairs comes as a surprise to nobody, yet quite how an Atlantic Alliance feels challenged by a country that is just about as far away from the North Atlantic as you can get is a little harder to explain, yet it can be guaranteed that none of the tame journalists attending this summit will ask that question.

The fact that NATO is boosting manpower levels from forty to three hundred thousand is rather more interesting, especially in the light of the staffing shortages certain member states are presently experiencing. This shortfall can obviously and gladly be covered by the US, yet numbers such as these are usually only seen when the West is about to invade rather than be invaded. This is most certainly noteworthy, that possibility being the first step towards the war that a Washington-led NATO is currently so desperate for.

Further to this, the fact that up to one hundred thousand may be based in Eastern Europe also needs to be explained. If NATO really is so sure that Russian forces are going to go on the rampage, surely a far greater percentage of assets should be based in this region rather than a measly third which is being proposed by Stoltenberg. The establishment of weapons depots in this area is nothing new, these already existing as crucial logistics nodes for the armaments being shipped to the Ukraine.

These points may be chest-beating, but there is most certainly a great cause for concern, history showing that any buildup of the western military ends in eventual conflict.

With NATO adopting a program specific to arming the Ukraine, this is de facto obliging all member states to fill the bottomless financial pit that the Ukrainian war has become. With Brussels making arms resupply an integral part of the alliance as a whole, not only does this ease the financial burden for Washington, but it ensures that the American MIC can make a fortune from the monies taken from fellow members. One ought to remember that with the Ukraine having lost what it has, the costs to re-equip are enormous, yet with what remains of Kiev’s Armed Forces also needing to be familiarized with this new kit, the budgets for training will be considerable.

The final point is also interesting insofar as the defense from drones as well as fuel are paramount. Drones have for years been used by the West and most notably the US, with some very worrying results. Perhaps western military commanders are now fearing that the horrors that they have wrought over the Middle East may now return to haunt them, Russia now having a good number of very effective aircraft. The question of fuel however is risible. At the same time as nations are paying through the nose to fill up their cars as a result of western warmongering, is it really credible to be shipping the quantities necessary to fight a losing battle when people may lose their jobs as a consequence of an energy war?

What Else is Happening?

High-Flying Sales

CNN has reported that Washington is ready to supply medium and long range missile systems along with other military hardware to the Ukraine. The US attending the NATO summit makes an ideal opportunity for such an announcement, yet this is evidently a very serious escalation of the current conflict. It is not yet known which missile systems are in question here, yet should Moscow feel threatened, above all if these weapons can be equipped with NBC warheads, it can be taken as read that instant and decisive action will be taken.

Munitions Misery

In light of the continuing supplies of weapons and munitions to the Ukraine, it is becoming painfully obvious that not only does Russia possess very precise weaponry, but also has a very good idea of where Ukrainian forces keep their stocks. Time and again we see precision strikes against enemy armories. The attack yesterday by Russian missiles against the Kredmash installation in Kremenchug not only pays testament to the accuracy of both Russian weapons and intelligence, yet shows that the Ukrainian government has no qualms whatsoever about storing immense quantities of ordnance in the midst of thousands of civilians.

High-Flying Hype

The US is apparently increasing the activity of its F-35 fighter jets in Eastern Europe, yet in spite of a flurry of interest from the German media, there is little chance of it engaging in any activities related to the Ukraine. It only remains the darling of the American MIC until the Russians shoot one down, and with the other issues that have already plagued the project, showboating is infinitely better for Uncle Sam than getting his showpiece torpedoed.

Turkey playing Chicken

An agreement has been reached between the governments of Turkey, Sweden and Finland regarding protests made by Ankara regarding Stockholm and Helsinki joining the Atlantic Alliance. It appears that Turkey, (or Türkiye, or whatever NATO chooses to call it these days) apart from requesting that the PKK be considered a terrorist organization in both Scandinavian nations, made demands of NATO, these including re-admission to the F-35 program as well as the removal of restrictions concerning Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system. This is now seen as a triumph on the part of Stoltenberg et al, yet there’s no getting away from the fact that whilst NATO is pointing its guns at Russia, Ankara did the same to Brussels.

Massacre in Morocco

As a closing matter, and most certainly not a trivial footnote, is the killing of dozens of migrants as they attempted to cross the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa. As they attempted to move into Spain from Morocco, they were beaten so savagely by border guards that different reports state that between twenty three and thirty seven were killed in the attack. A full enquiry is being launched from the Spanish side with the Moroccans being accused of attempting to conceal the true circumstances of the event.

Summary

For all the chest-beating that the NATO summit is, the Atlantic Alliance is becoming increasingly desperate in its quest to find a pretext to beat Russia. The path it is following is wily at best, yet with NATO member states not being able to agree amongst themselves, one has to ask how they could every come together to wage the war that Washington wants.

Those who look for problems invariably find them, and a glance at global affairs, both in and out of Eastern Europe shows that the western world already has enough of its own issues without seeking more with Russia or the collective East. At the same time that NATO wants to play Russian Roulette with Moscow, for all the bravado from Brussels, Turkey has managed to play chicken with Stoltenberg…