Away with NATO! by Craig Murray, 7/10/2018

Away with NATO!

NATO has brought nothing but war and destruction.

In light of the upcoming NATO summit, Craig Murray recalls the devastating wars and interventions of the military alliance in Afghanistan and Libya, exposes NATO’s declared “Russian threat” as a baseless justification for its existence, and concludes by pointing to China’s quiet and peaceful rise as a world power.

by Craig Murray

[This article posted on 7/10/2018 is translated from the German on the Internet, http://www.manova.news.]

No one needs NATO

Donald Trump is traveling to Europe for the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels and a subsequent meeting with the British prime minister, bringing with him the usual loud demands for more taxpayer money for the arms industry.

Yet NATO is a proven useless institution. Its largest active military operation—12 years in Afghanistan—led to military defeat in 80 percent of the country, the establishment of a regime with extremely limited influence, and a booming heroin export industry that finances the criminal underworld in virtually all NATO countries.

Just look at this graph and remember with amazement that NATO’s occupation of Afghanistan began in early 2002.

By invading Afghanistan and strengthening the heroin warlords, NATO countries have destabilized themselves.

NATO’s second-largest military operation was the attack on Libya, where it carried out an incredible 14,200 bombing missions with high-explosive munitions, destroying both the country’s infrastructure and entire cities. The following image shows the Libyan port city of Sirte after NATO’s “liberation.”

The direct result of the devastation of Libya and the destruction of its state infrastructure is the massive, unhindered mass exodus, especially from West Africa, through Libya and across the Mediterranean in boats. This has not only led to appalling exploitation and the tragic deaths of many migrants, but has also fundamentally weakened the governments of European NATO countries and their publicly expressed political convictions. As a result, right-wing populism is on the rise in many parts of the EU.

In short, by destroying Libya, NATO members have destabilized themselves.

And again the “Russian threat”
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Now NATO is turning its attention back to the original “threat” it set out to ward off: Russia’s invasion of Western Europe.

Russia has no intention of invading Western Europe. The very idea is ridiculous. NATO is not needed to ward off a threat that does not exist.

Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia combined already have the same gross national product as Russia. If Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are added to the equation in terms of purchasing power, these Eastern European countries can compete economically with Russia. In terms of purchasing power parity, the combined GDP of all NATO countries is twelve times greater than Russia’s GDP.

Russia has disproportionately large military power for its size – but not that large. Russia’s military spending is one-sixth of NATO’s military spending, but it is somewhat more efficient because, despite corruption, less of it disappears into the pockets of arms industry shareholders, lobbyists, politicians, and other bigwigs, as so often happens in the West. But that cannot compensate for Russia’s enormous economic disadvantage. Nothing can compensate for it. Russia is very capable of defending itself, but it is by no means in a position to attack major powers.

Russia’s foreign policy successes – in Crimea, Syria, and Georgia – are not based on massive military strength – NATO powers far surpass Russia in this regard – but simply on much better governance. And NATO, despite all the trillions that Western taxpayers invest in it, has been unable to do anything about it, even though Russia’s actions in Crimea and Georgia violated international law.

Those who still haven’t understood that our famous nuclear arsenal is as useless as a goiter haven’t been paying attention. In none of the recent foreign policy crises – including North Korea’s nuclear armament – has anyone anywhere mentioned that Trident missiles could be part of the solution. These missiles are completely useless.

There is no threat of a Russian attack on NATO. Although the EU is not officially a military alliance, it remains politically impossible that part of EU territory could be invaded without the rest of the member states responding. It is very obvious that Vladimir Putin is pursuing a strategy of reattaching those border areas in former Soviet states that are inhabited by ethnic Russians to Russia. However, he is proceeding according to the salami tactic and avoiding major conflicts. There is no real threat to the Baltic states, as EU membership already guarantees their security.

NATO’s role as a defensive power against Russia is therefore useless, and its other military adventures have been an absolute disaster.

Finally, a few thoughts on China. I cannot think of any historical example in which any country has managed to achieve such a dominant economic position in the world while showing so little interest in military expansion as China has done over the past two decades. The invasion of Tibet took place before China’s economic boom, and the territorial conflicts in the South China Sea can hardly be compared to the invasion of Iraq. I do not claim to be an expert on Chinese culture or thinking, but they seem to have understood that superiority can be achieved by more subtle means than armed force. We are facing a few exciting decades in which China will rapidly overtake the US as a superpower.

Craig Murray is an author and human rights activist. He was British ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004 and rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010.

Editorial note: This text first appeared under the title “No Need for NATO.” It was translated by the volunteer Rubikon translation team and edited by the volunteer Rubikon proofreading team.

Craig Murray, born in 1958, is a former British diplomat and now works as a human rights activist and blogger. He gained notoriety during his time as ambassador to Uzbekistan for repeatedly criticizing the Karimov regime there for its human rights violations. For more information, visit http://www.craigmurray.org.uk.