It is clear that NATO is being a proxy-to-a-proxy, and due to believing in its own rhetoric it has backed itself into a corner, not only based on how it deals with claimed adversaries but in its relations amongst its own membership, and suffers from a dearth of integrity—or a total lack thereof!
But let’s start about this train where we left off with contradictions about NATO expansion, in light of the Lithuanian NATO Summit. There are many reasons why people don’t want to fund Ukraine besides the obvious ones.
Recently, the New York Times came out with a story with this headline: Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine last year, Kyiv and its NATO allies have posted, and then quietly deleted, several photos of soldiers with patches bearing Nazi emblems. This is surprising since the mainstream media has been trying to keep this a secret.
This is just the “tip-of-the-iceberg” of what is going on in Europe and within the ranks of NATO.
NATO’s War Council
What is going on in Ukraine and at NATO Summits is clear, the gathering of War Councils, and call it what we may, even the Deputy Head of Russia’s Security Council, has said that Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) are already at war with each other. It is becoming clear, not only based on Zelensky’s sarcastic remarks at the recent NATO Summit, that not all is well in Never-Never Land when he said that he calls the UK Defense Minister each morning to thank him.
This is becoming a sad comedy when Ben Wallace, the British Defense Minister chides the Ukrainian president over his lack of gratitude when he said “Whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude. And how this was [especially the case] when you are sometimes asking countries to give up their own stocks” for the sake of Ukraine. The statement that “We are not Amazon” perhaps sums up the UK and Western positions best in terms of a never-ending supply of weapons, no strings attached, to Ukraine.
The argument over to let or not let Ukraine join, and when, is one that is best suited to discuss [over a round of drinks than to have out in the open], as it is far too revealing one way or another—not only exposing all that is wrong with NATO but how its expansion has added to regional instability and internal weaknesses in Europe and among its allies. It should be common sense to understand that the costs of expanding the Alliance outweigh the benefits. Best to qualify this, by saying overall, as for some it is a windfall, especially for those who supply NATO standard weapons.
Nobody can deny the risk, and as some pundits have concluded, at the Vilnius summit and beyond, NATO leaders would be wise to acknowledge these facts and close the door to Ukraine. It seems that Zelensky is following the lead of Donald Trump with his fiery tweets, and this does not help his cause or his reputation—as fewer and few are taking him seriously.
The Washington Post reports how the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s angry tweet slamming NATO for their “unprecedented and absurd” timeline for Ukraine’s membership left allies stunned — and almost pushed US officials to edit their invitation for Kyiv to eventually join the alliance. It boils down to his demands and lack of gratitude, and his abrasive personality is rubbing people the wrong way—and some may start questioning as whose side is he really on?
It is getting so bad that the “president’s fiery response to NATO’s conditions-based pledge in Vilnius touched off a scramble” — and brief consideration of watering down what Kyiv would be offered. It is as if you got me in this deep, and you must not cut and run now, as if “I have some hard critics to face, and they don’t mess around, and I can really disappear for good.”
It is the conditions that challenge Ukraine and Zelensky, as he knows that they are unrealistic to the Ukrainian reality, i.e., business as usual, and all the hype about the rule of law, democracy and equal rights is but political rhetoric, and if allowed, the real business and the selloff of Ukraine would be hampered.
Nonetheless, NATO finds a way to get around its own requirements with the wording of the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a new joint body where NATO Allies and Ukraine sit as equal members to advance political dialogue, engagement, cooperation, and Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. Supposedly [wishful thinking] it will provide for joint consultations, decision-making, and activities, and will also serve as a crisis consultation mechanism between NATO and Ukraine.
It is like Orwellian doublespeak, as reflected in some of the language used, and what it means today, will have another meaning in another time. One instance is its commitment to defense, by reaffirming its “iron-clad” commitment to defend each other and every inch of Allied territory at all times, protect our one billion citizens, and safeguard our freedom and democracy, in accordance with Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
And near the end of the long document, it goes on about new allies, as there is nothing that separates the meaning of what is a member and what an ally is, and this should be disturbing even for laypersons. It is a bit clearer as to enemies; it describes how The People’s Republic of China’s stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge NATOs interests, security and values. However, the document itself brings into question the divide between its claimed values and reality.
NATO its own worst enemy
It is all becoming theater, and to make such a statement is not making an abstraction. Take for instance, the recent article A Stronger NATO for a More Dangerous World: What the Alliance Must Do in Vilnius—and Beyond, purportedly written by Jens Stoltenberg, shows more than hypocrisy. Rather, it is NATO that is destabilizing the world with its very expansion, despite all promises otherwise in the wake the re-unification of Germany and the end of the Cold War.
It is not a response, and NATO is “not responding to a more unpredictable world with unity and strength” but just the opposite, and it is the main source of instability. Afghanistan and other NATO operations should have been a lesson to allies in Europe and North America, of its inherent weaknesses. The provision of unprecedented economic and military support to Ukraine is backfiring, as is being demonstrated with the divisions within NATO and the economic and political blow back.
As some pundits fully understand, Instead of making a questionable promise that poses great dangers but would yield little in return, the United States should accept that it is high time to close NATO’s door to Ukraine. It is all about cost vs. benefits, and Ukraine is making a good case for it not to be included, and perhaps this too is part of Zelensky’s tattered script.
And to add another level of instability in an already instable world, one just needs to scroll to the end of the NATO document and read about Asia. However, first ask yourself, what was the purpose of NATO, at least its early days?
Now it has expanded with the issuance of a proclamation of undeclared way by claiming that the Indo-Pacific is important for NATO, given that developments in that region can directly affect Euro-Atlantic security.
We welcome the contribution of our partners in the Asia-Pacific region – Australia, Japan, New `Zealand, and the Republic of Korea – to security in the Euro-Atlantic, including their commitment to supporting Ukraine. We will further strengthen our dialogue and cooperation to tackle our shared security challenges, including on cyber defence, technology and hybrid, underpinned by our shared commitment to upholding international law and the rules-based international order.
As long as it takes!
Not only Europeans, but Americans too, are growing sick and tired of supporting needless wars and never-ending corruption, and not only in Ukraine. It is becoming only too apparent that the founding principles of NATO are secondary to corporate interests and the bottom line.
Even Europeans are realizing that this war is becoming too expensive, unwinnable, and comes at the expense of their own national security and economic stability. However, they in light of the NATO Summit are going to have to first spend more for their own military budgets, and that may not be as easy as claimed.
The assertion of “when and not if” is going to be a statement that will eventually mean, never and as long as it takes is just a delaying tactic, in the hope the problem will just go away. As long as it takes, in talking about unwavering support for Ukraine, may be extended far beyond their natural lifespans. Their political careers are likely to be cut short when the unwashed masses finally wake up to realize that the conflict in Ukraine was planned, orchestrated, and any option for resolution intentionally derailed or delayed.
Ukraine fatigue after NATO summit
It is especially ironic for the Estonian Prime Minister to now say that Europe must spend more money on its own national defense. Did not Trump say the same thing? And it is icing on the cake for BoJo, Boris Johnson, the smooth talking warmonger, to come out now and warn Washington, NATO and the civilized world of the “dire consequences” of giving up on Ukraine.
It is refreshing to see that upholding international law and the rules-based international order have not been overlooked in this the NATO Summit document, in spite of the fact that NATO is so far from any such values with its wars of aggression and choice.
So much for MAP, Membership Action Plans, and Ukraine is doing what NATO has not the balls to do on its own accord. As the picture shows of Zelensky, as his fan club are keeping a safe distance, knowing he is a spent round, and the novelty wearing off like the smell of a new car.
The never-ending rhetoric of support, as long as it takes, is also wearing thin. The proxy war in Ukraine will likely be decided based on the old adage, “put your money where your mouth is!” There are even sites for people who are so supportive of Ukraine who are making the same assertion. However, likely the money does not go to Ukraine, like much of the money and military assistance being spent by NATO members.
I hope this recent Summit and the conditions it has set for Ukraine will slice up NATO like a pizza. I still don’t want to understand or accept why it is still around. But I know—an instrument of aggressive US policy and Imperialism. What NATO is actually saying to Ukraine is simple: Americans and a handful of its closest partners in crime don’t like losers, and time is running out.
Henry Kamens, columnist, expert on Central Asia and Caucasus, exclusively for the online magazine“ New Eastern Outlook ”