The Biden Administration’s efforts to put on fast track Sweden’s accession as a NATO member petered out as Turkiye balked, exercising its prerogative to withhold approval unless its conditions regarding Stockholm’s past dalliance with Kurdish separatist elements is fully addressed.
Sweden hustled into military pact with US
Tag: Jens Stoltenberg
NATO Chief Voices Fear Of War With Russia While US Greenlights Drone Strikes On Russian Territory
In what Antiwar’s Dave DeCamp describes as “a rare acknowledgment of the dangers of backing Ukraine,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged a fear of something going “horribly wrong” and leading to a hot war between the nuclear-armed alliance and Russia.
NATO Chief Voices Fear Of War With Russia While US Greenlights Drone Strikes On Russian Territory
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You (and Almost Everyone You Know) Owe Your Life to This Man.
U.S. and NATO scramble to arm Ukraine and refill their own arsenals
Either this narrative about weapon stockpiles, being depleted, is part of the information war or Russia is demilitarizing NATO!?!
U.S. and NATO scramble to arm Ukraine and refill their own arsenals
In Ukraine, the kind of European war thought inconceivable is chewing up the modest stockpiles of artillery, ammunition and air defenses of what some in NATO call Europe’s “bonsai armies,” after the tiny Japanese trees. Even the mighty United States has only limited stocks of the weapons the Ukrainians want and need, and Washington is unwilling to divert key weapons from delicate regions like Taiwan and Korea, where China and North Korea are constantly testing the limits.
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So the West is scrambling to find increasingly scarce Soviet-era equipment and ammunition that Ukraine can use now, including S-300 air defense missiles, T-72 tanks and especially Soviet-caliber artillery shells
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There are even discussions about NATO investing in old factories in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria to restart the manufacturing of Soviet-caliber 152-mm and 122-mm shells for Ukraine’s still largely Soviet-era artillery armory.
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The European Union has approved €3.1 billion ($3.2 billion) to repay member states for what they provide to Ukraine, but that fund, the [ironically-named] European Peace Facility, is nearly 90 percent depleted.
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Smaller countries have exhausted their potential, another NATO official said, with 20 of its 30 members “pretty tapped out.” But the remaining 10 can still provide more, he suggested, especially larger allies. That would include France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
NATO’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has advised the alliance — including, pointedly, Germany — that NATO guidelines requiring members to keep stockpiles should not be a pretext to limit arms exports to Ukraine. But it is also true that Germany and France, like the United States, want to calibrate the weapons Ukraine gets, to prevent escalation and direct attacks on Russia.
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Washington is also looking at older, cheaper alternatives like giving Ukraine anti-tank TOW missiles, which are in plentiful supply, instead of Javelins, and Hawk surface-to-air missiles instead of newer versions. But officials are increasingly pushing Ukraine to be more efficient and not, for example, fire a missile that costs $150,000 at a drone that costs $20,000.
The Biden Zelensky Relationship: Who to Trust?
The Biden Zelensky Relationship: Who to Trust?
Is it destructive enough to shake Washington’s trust in Zelensky? Five days after the missile strike, former Australian ambassador to Poland and Cambodia Tony Kevin claimed that “There were unmistakeable signs this week of growing Western war-weariness and irritation with Zelensky’s endless demands for more weapons and money.” Then, echoing and amplifying Thomas Friedman’s report that “privately, U.S. officials are a lot more concerned about Ukraine’s leadership than they are letting on,” Kevin added that “There is growing speculation that Zelensky’s position as leader may be weakening. Washington may be considering replacing him, but it remains very unclear how and to what end.”
AP Fires Journalist Who Reported Russia Launched Missiles into Poland: Report
The Associated Press reportedly has fired the investigative journalist behind a story that claimed Russia was responsible for the missiles that crossed into Poland and inflicted civilian casualties.
AP Fires Journalist Who Reported Russia Launched Missiles into Poland: Report
H/T: Alex Christoforou
Ukraine’s Appetite for Weapons Is Straining Western Stockpiles
“I think everyone now is sufficiently worried,” a NATO official said.
Ukraine’s Appetite for Weapons Is Straining Western Stockpiles (Archived)
Waiting on someone to run out, first. Doubt that it will be Russia.
Who is Chrystia Freeland, Washington’s “prime candidate” for NATO Secretary-General?
The New York Times recently reported that Washington is promoting Canada’s deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, as its “prime candidate” to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as NATO secretary-general when the Norwegian’s term expires in September 2023.
Who is Chrystia Freeland, Washington’s “prime candidate” for NATO Secretary-General?
Related:
Canadian Foreign Minister Scapegoats Russian Hackers for Exposing Nazi Grandfather
Seems appropriate to me, considering that there have been Nazis in the NATO leadership, previously.
Will Biden Gamble on a Ukraine Coalition?
Nuclear High Noon in Europe
Now is the time for Biden to clarify U.S. nuclear doctrine. But he remains silent.
by Scott Ritter
On Monday, Oct. 17, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization kicked off Operation STEADFAST NOON, its annual exercise of its ability to wage nuclear conflict. Given that NATO’s nuclear umbrella extends exclusively over Europe, the indisputable fact is that STEADFAST NOON is nothing more than NATO training to wage nuclear war against Russia.
Nuclear High Noon in Europe
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Video via Judge Napolitano
EU foreign ministers pledge to train 15,000 Ukrainian troops for war with Russia
Yesterday, European Union (EU) foreign ministers met at a summit in Luxembourg and pledged a massive escalation of their participation in the NATO war on Russia in Ukraine. This decision confirms that EU countries are at war with Russia and, by the admission of top EU officials, raises the danger of direct military conflict between EU states and Russia.
EU foreign ministers pledge to train 15,000 Ukrainian troops for war with Russia
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