Mil Spec: NATO

by anderson

At first, I thought it was a joke.

Reading Rick Rozcoff's latest tour de force investigation of the recent activities of NATO and the US military in their expansionist agenda, a phrase jumped off the page during the discussion of NATO's Joint Warrior war games, held in May of this year:

Regarding American participation in last month's drills, "USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), USS Porter (DDG 78), USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), USNS Kanawha (T-AO 193), and COMDESRON 24 took part in the scenario-driven engagement, along with vessels from nine other members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO). [The Joint warrior] exercise [is] expected to increase fleet efficiency and battle readiness for U.S. and allied navies alike."

Was Roscoff just slipping in a little dig? Is there another NATO I don't know about? Doubtful.  At least, I sure as hell hope it's doubtful.  Because that quote comes from the US military's own Navy Newsstand, directly referencing the NATO war games in the North Atlantic.

I guess that gives us a little Freudian glimpse into the how the US military views the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which otherwise comprises flimsy Eurotwerps and former commies we don't much trust.

Grid Expansion

Rozcoff lays down the palette of aggressive military exercises, the push into Finland and Sweden (pissing off locals, of course),  missile installation plans, carrier battle group war games.  A Patriot missile system is due to start installation in Poland this year, outside of any missile defense parameters because, by the gentle words of President Obama, Poland and NATO should not "neglect potential security threats closer to home in Europe and..." And, indeed.

Outside of now being a target, the local Polish population will be in for a further treat. Beaming, Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Komorowski informed his audience that, "[t]his will be the first time US soldiers are stationed on Polish soil."

Left unsaid in Komorowski's prideful moment is the fact that the US station was last used during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

Why do they do this? Abu Graib? Hey, the place that bastard Hussein used to torture prisoners?  Yeah, let's use that to torture prisoners.  US soldiers stationed in a Luftwaffe airbase? Hey, that Luftwaffe airbase those bastard Nazis used for their occupation of Poland?  Yeah, let's use that for ....  Apropos the Pentagon would employ an efficient reuse policy for the tragically unnecessary.

For all the money the Pentagon spends on PR, you'd think they'd get something like this right. On the other hand, maybe they just don't give a shit.  With economic distress hitting hard everywhere, one source of capital for floundering, ally economies that isn't drying up is the Defense Department's budget.  They're striking while the iron is hot and before the SCO starts to unwind from the US dollar.

I highly recommend Rick's work.  Extremely thorough research in a strong critique of US foreign policy.