Secretary of State John
Kerry at NATO Headquarters in Brussels
pledges to boost NATO military
support for Eastern Europe: Does this
show Russia is worse off now
than it was before it annexed Crimea?
How Does a NATO Buildup Amount to Victory for Russia? (YezhednevniyZhurnal, Russia)
"For many years, Putin and others argued that the central
threat to the security of our country came from the expansion of NATO and the
deployment of bases to the Russian border. All these years there was no
deployment. Now though, Russia will receive the full treatment: military bases on
the border, a buildup of NATO forces, and the inclusion of new countries into
the bloc. All as a result of Russia's wonderful victory in Crimea."
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia at the NATO Summit in Brussels, Apr. 1. By annexing Crimea, has the Kremlin brought on precisely what it said it was trying to prevent?
Only
yesterday, Russian politicians and political analysts confidently predicted
that the West had digested the annexation of Crimea. Putin has supposedly led
another flawless military and diplomatic operation: trading a troop withdrawal from
the Ukrainian border for the acquiescence of Western states to the annexation
of the peninsula. Well played and let’s move on.
Well,
it has turned out to be nothing like that. A meeting of NATO foreign ministers ended
with the adoption
of a statement that refers to the suspension of both civil and military
cooperation between Russia and the alliance. By cutting off all communications,
NATO intends to preserve the possibility of dialogue within the Russia-NATO Council at the
level of ambassadors and higher. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen explained that the alliance would like to maintain
cooperation on Afghanistan, including the transit of goods through Russian
territory and Russia's supply of helicopters to the country.
If
we keep in mind that the rest of the partnership has been declining from one
year to the next, then NATO’s punishment of Russia could be called symbolic. If
not for one important fact: NATO remains a military alliance, and by branding
Russia a country that violates international law, a country that poses a threat
to European security, NATO is naturally turning to a discussion about
militarily deterring Russia. This, above all, means helping Kiev organize its
own defense. It is intended to intensify Ukrainian participation in joint
military exercises. NATO countries have taken measures to offer all necessary
support in the modernization of its military. NATO's secretary general isn't even
excluding the deployment of mobile units of military advisers to Ukraine.
Finally,
the most important item. The North Atlantic Alliance intends to return to what
it was doing over the course of the "Cold War." Namely, building up
the military potential of alliance countries in Europe. This is clearly not limited
to sending a dozen fighters to the Baltic countries or conducting reconnaissance
flights along the border. Ministers have instructed the military to prepare for
the next NATO summit to be held in Wales, and to prepare specific proposals to
strengthen the military power of the alliance. And this is serious: after 20
years of military cuts, the alliance will once again boost its military forces
in Europe.
NATO
is ready to abandon the once-existing obligation not to place “substantial”
military contingent on the territory of countries that joined the alliance after
the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and USSR. Poland's defense minister has already
proposed the deployment of a contingent of Americans in his country. The
usually quite liberal American columnist
Leslie Gelb demands Obama deploy no more and no less than 50 or 60 of the
latest F-22 fighters, air defense systems, and ground troops to the Baltic
States. Not only that, he recommends the U.S. begin preparing volunteer Ukrainian
guerillas for a partisan war against Russian troops in the event of intervention!
I would like to believe that NATO won't go that far, but that such
recommendations are even being discussed shows the degree of public irritation.
Here's
the curious thing. For many years, Putin and others argued that the central
threat to the security of our country came from the expansion of NATO and the
deployment of bases to the Russian border. All these years there was no
deployment. Now though, Russia will receive the full treatment: military bases on
the border, a buildup of NATO forces, and the inclusion of new countries into
the bloc. All as a result of Russia's wonderful victory in Crimea ...
