NATO News and Discussion

Post Reply
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6474
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

NATO News and Discussion

Post by caltrek »

One of the few topics that was not carried over from the old forum concerned NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Yet, NATO has come front and center in the news due to the war in the Ukraine. So, it seemed logical to me to bring back that forum topic, especially after coming across the article linked and cited below.

NATO Was in Crisis. Putin’s War Made It Even More Powerful
by Jonathan Guyer
March 25, 2022

https://www.vox.com/22994826/nato-resur ... in-ukraine

Introduction:
(Vox) When President Joe Biden landed in Europe this week, it was a different continent than he had last visited in the fall of 2021.

After a month of intensive fighting in Ukraine, Russia has killed at least 1,000 civilians while an unknown number (but reportedly thousands) of Russian soldiers have died. By invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has catalyzed some major shifts. Germany, long averse to military spending, has decided to up its defense budget. European countries, skeptical of migrants, have welcomed Ukrainian refugees. And most of all, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been revived.

Long a lethargic dinosaur of an organization, NATO this week announced new battle groups would deploy to four countries on its eastern flank, and Biden announced that the alliance would respond to Russia should it use chemical weapons in Ukraine. It’s a remarkable shift for an alliance that French President Emmanuel Macron called brain dead just two and a half years ago. And it reveals a fundamental truth of the organization: It’s an alliance meant to counter a great power adversary, for good and bad.

Biden, who has long cheered the relationship between the United States and Europe, met 29 other heads of state and the secretary general of NATO for a closed-door meeting Thursday, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined by video. “Today’s establishment of four new battle groups in Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary is a strong signal that we will collectively defend and protect every inch of NATO territory,” Biden said.*

NATO summits, it might be said, are not usually very substantive. The family photo of recognizable world leaders is often the most memorable moment from these largely symbolic affairs. But NATO, an alliance forged to push back against Soviet influence in Europe during the Cold War, is designed for crisis.
*https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo ... to-summit/

Other sites of relevance:

https://www.nato.int/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/nato

Image
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6474
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by caltrek »

Kosovo, Bosnia Call for NATO Membership as War Rages in Ukraine
by Mersiha Gadzo
April 5, 2022

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/5 ... ia-leaders

Introduction:
(Al Jazeera) As Russia’s influence grows in the Western Balkans and war rages in Ukraine, the leaders of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina have said joining NATO would help preserve regional security.

Since February 24, when President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine citing Russia’s opposition to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership as a leading concern, fears have simmered that the crisis may spread to the Western Balkans.

Russia’s alleged moves in the Western Balkans have been documented over the years and include attempts at facilitating coups in Montenegro and North Macedonia before their NATO membership in 2017 and 2020, respectively.

For Bosnia and Kosovo, having experienced mass killings committed by Serb forces in the 1990s under the administration of then Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, both countries have made it a strategic goal to join the United States-led transatlantic military alliance.

The pair remain the last non-NATO members in the region, aside from Serbia which views NATO as its “enemy”.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12727
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by weatheriscool »

NATO chief says Finland, Sweden welcome to apply to join
Source: AP
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO would quickly welcome Finland and Sweden into its ranks with open arms if they decided to apply, the military alliance’s top civilian official said Wednesday, as Russia’s war on Ukraine spurs public support in the two Nordic countries for membership.

The military organization might also be ready to provide security guarantees to the countries if any potential membership bid angers Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

A poll last month by Finnish broadcaster YLE showed that, for the first time, more than 50% of Finns support joining the Western military alliance. In neighboring Sweden, a similar poll showed that those in favor of NATO membership outnumber those against.

“If they decide to apply, I expect that all allies will welcome them,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, as NATO foreign ministers met to discuss the war in Ukraine. “We know that they can easily join this alliance if they decide to apply.”
-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukrai ... 038784bd38
weatheriscool
Posts: 12727
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by weatheriscool »

NATO will deploy a permanent full-scale military force on its border with Russia to combat a future
Source: Businessinsider.com,

NATO will deploy a permanent full-scale military force on its border with Russia to defend its territory against a future Russian invasion, the alliance's chief said during an interview with The Telegraph.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the newspaper that the alliance was "in the midst of a very fundamental transformation" that will reflect "the long-term consequences" of Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions.

"What we see now is a new reality, a new normal for European security," Stoltenberg said, per The Telegraph. "Therefore, we have now asked our military commanders to provide options for what we call a reset, a longer-term adaptation of NATO."

The alliance currently has a small "tripwire" presence to the west of Russia. NATO troop numbers have increased tenfold to 40,000 since the invasion of Ukraine, The Daily Mail reported.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/nato-de ... erg-2022-4
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6474
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by caltrek »

weatheriscool wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:27 pm NATO chief says Finland, Sweden welcome to apply to join
Source: AP
...
-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukrai ... 038784bd38
Still more on that from Courthouse News:

Finland Leads Way to Potential NATO membership with Sweden Tapping In
by Lasse Sørensen
April 7, 2022

https://www.courthousenews.com/finland- ... apping-in/

Introduction:
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Courthouse News) — Ending over 200 years of neutrality in foreign affairs and security policy is properly a hot potato on many Swedish dinner tables these days.

As Russian soldiers continue marching through Ukraine, the Swedes’ willingness to join NATO has grown stronger with each step.

Swedish citizens have never been so keen on joining NATO as now. A recent poll by Swedish opinion and social research company Kantor-Sifo shows 59% of respondents support joining NATO if Finland also becomes a member. Another 17% are against membership and 24% are undecided.

Asked whether or not respondents would join NATO without taking Finland’s membership into account, Swedish support for joining NATO dropped to 41% with 26% against. The poll is just the latest example of public opinion in Sweden turning toward a potential NATO membership.

But the willingness to join NATO is rather fragmented among Swedish politicians. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson rejected the idea in a press conference last month.
Last edited by caltrek on Tue Apr 12, 2022 1:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12727
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by weatheriscool »

Ukraine War: Russia warns Sweden and Finland against Nato membership
Source: BBC World News
Russia has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato, arguing the move would not bring stability to Europe.
...
US officials expect the Nordic neighbours to bid for membership of the alliance, potentially as early as June.

Washington is believed to support the move which would see the Western alliance grow to 32 members. US State Department officials said last week that discussions had taken place between Nato leaders and foreign ministers from Helsinki and Stockholm.

Before it launched its invasion, Russia demanded that the alliance agree to halt any future enlargement, but the war has led to the deployment of more Nato troops on its eastern flank and a rise in public support for Swedish and Finnish membership.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61066503
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6474
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by caltrek »

Ukraine War: Russia Warns Sweden and Finland Against NATO Membership
April 11, 2022

Edit: Dang, beat me by less than a minute. :lol:
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12727
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by weatheriscool »

Russian foreign minister says war with Ukraine is meant to put an end to US world domination & NATO
Expansion
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Russia's unprovoked war with Ukraine is "meant to put an end" to US-led global domination and the expansion of NATO, according to a report.

"Our special military operation is meant to put an end to the unabashed expansion [of NATO] and the unabashed drive towards full domination by the US and its Western subjects on the world stage," Lavrov told the state-owned television news channel Rossiya 24, according to a translation from Russian state-run media outlet RT.

Additionally, Lavrov accused the United States of international law violations due to what he said were America's attempts to impose its own "rules-based international order," according to the report.

"This domination is built on gross violations of international law and under some rules, which they are now hyping so much and which they make up on a case-by-case basis," Lavrov said during the interview, RT reported.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-fore ... 22590.html

Yet it seems to be having the opposite effect Mr. Shit-for-brains.
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6474
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by caltrek »

weatheriscool wrote: Tue Apr 12, 2022 12:01 am Russian foreign minister says war with Ukraine is meant to put an end to US world domination & NATO
Expansion
...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-fore ... 22590.html

Yet it seems to be having the opposite effect Mr. Shit-for-brains.
You noticed that also, I see.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12727
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: NATO News and Discussion

Post by weatheriscool »

Ukraine War: Finland to decide on Nato membership in weeks says PM Marin
Source: BBC
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin says her country will decide whether to apply to join Nato "within weeks".
She said she saw no reason to delay the decision, at a joint news conference alongside Sweden's prime minister.
Her comments coincided with a report to the Finnish parliament that said membership of the bloc could result in "increased tensions on the border between Finland and Russia".
Moscow has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato in recent weeks.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61093302
Post Reply