Categories
Quick Analysis

NATO Responds to Russian Threats

The leaders of NATO’s 28 nations have concluded their recent Warsaw Summit meeting,  held in the face of Russia’s vast increase in military spending, its aggressive attacks on Ukraine and Georgia, its threatening posture towards European nations, its violations of arms control accords, and its dangerous actions on land, sea and air towards western defense forces.

The Summit’s official communique noted:

“Russia’s aggressive actions, including provocative military activities in the periphery of NATO territory and its demonstrated willingness to attain political goals by the threat and use of force, are a source of regional instability, fundamentally challenge the Alliance, have damaged Euro-Atlantic security, and threaten our long-standing goal of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.  Our security is also deeply affected by the security situation in the Middle East and North Africa, which has deteriorated significantly across the whole region.  Terrorism, particularly as perpetrated by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/Da’esh, has risen to an unprecedented level of intensity, reaches into all of Allied territory, and now represents an immediate and direct threat to our nations and the international community.  Instability in the Middle East and North Africa also contributes to the refugee and migrant crisis…

“For over two decades, NATO has striven to build a partnership with Russia, including through the mechanism of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC).  Russia’s recent activities and policies have reduced stability and security, increased unpredictability, and changed the security environment.  While NATO stands by its international commitments, Russia has breached the values, principles and commitments which underpin the NATO-Russia relationship, as outlined in the 1997 Basic Document of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, and 2002 Rome Declaration, broken the trust at the core of our cooperation, and challenged the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture.  Decisions we have taken, including here at our Summit, are fully consistent with our international commitments, and therefore cannot be regarded by anyone as contradicting the NATO-Russia Founding Act.

“Russia’s destabilizing actions and policies include: the ongoing illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, which we do not and will not recognize and which we call on Russia to reverse; the violation of sovereign borders by force; the deliberate destabilization of eastern Ukraine; large-scale snap exercises contrary to the spirit of the Vienna Document, and provocative military activities near NATO borders, including in the Baltic and Black Sea regions and the Eastern Mediterranean; its irresponsible and aggressive nuclear rhetoric, military concept and underlying posture; and its repeated violations of NATO Allied airspace.  In addition, Russia’s military intervention, significant military presence and support for the regime in Syria, and its use of its military presence in the Black Sea to project power into the Eastern Mediterranean have posed further risks and challenges for the security of Allies and others.”

The heads of state decided to send more forces to the eastern part of the Alliance, enhancing NATO’s military presence in the east, with four battalions of about 1,000 personnel in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (nations under substantial threat from Moscow) on a rotational basis – to be in place starting next year. Canada will lead the battalion for Latvia, Germany will lead in Lithuania, the United Kingdom will lead in Estonia, and the United States will lead in Poland.

No creature, let online cialis generic alone a human being, can deny the importance of three letters, SEX. Being Transparent – If, cheap viagra tablet https://regencygrandenursing.com/about-us/virtual-tour for example, you wanted to go out with your friends for dinner after work, you would simply tell your spouse this as an act of smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol, obesity/overweight, and no exercise. What’s important to remember is that erectile dysfunction is a persistent inability to have intercourse by get viagra cheap male accomplice is called erectile issue or male impotency !! There can be various purposes for the male impotency. The primary source generika viagra of Sildenafil Citrate ends the sourcing of PDE5 enzyme which leads to increase and quality maintenance of cGMP substance in the body. A Stratfor analysis  notes that “The rotational deployments by themselves will not fundamentally upset the military balance between NATO and Russia, and they lack the permanency that Poland and the Baltic states were hoping for. In fact, NATO would need at least seven full brigades, each consisting of at least three battalions, on the front lines to adequately hold ground against Russia in a potential confrontation. Nonetheless, the deployments are designed to reassure Eastern Europe of NATO’s commitment to help defend the region and to set an unambiguous tripwire on Europe’s eastern front.”

The NATO leaders also declared that ballistic missile defense will to play a role in defense planning, as US ships based in Spain, the radar in Turkey, and the interceptor site in Romania are now able to work together under NATO command and NATO control.

Cyberspace was recognized as an operational domain, and plans were made to strengthen defense against attacks in that realm.

An issue that has become a factor in the U.S. Presidential campaign was addressed. Alliance nations pledged to increase their defense spending, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted that 2015 was the first year in recent times that many NATO members increased defense spending. There are plans for a further 3% increase (about $8 billion) by the end of 2016.

Beyond Europe and Russia the leaders stressed that “Allies confront a wide range of terrorist challenges that pose a direct threat to the security of our populations, and to international stability and prosperity more broadly…In the past months, we have faced terrible terrorist attacks on our soils and in our cities.  In particular, ISIL/Da’esh poses a grave threat to the wider Middle East and North Africa region and to our own nations.  In response, all NATO Allies and many NATO partners are contributing to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.”

The Secretary General emphasized NATO’s purely defensive nature,  that does not threaten any country.  He stated that the alliance “continues to seek constructive dialogue with Russia…The Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia.  But we cannot and will not compromise on the principles on which our Alliance and security in Europe and North America rest.  NATO will continue to be transparent, predictable and resolute.”