The Turkey-Russia feud raises a few questions about the future of NATO. In other words, are NATO allies ready to defend Turkey? Or are they expecting U.S. jets to do it?
Based on what we saw in Iraq in the late 1990s (enforcing the no fly zone) and Kosovo in 1995, NATO will come down to U.S. and UK jets doing all of the flying.
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My guess is that Putin knows this and will try to force NATO to act. He is now saying that the U.S. knew that Turkey would shoot down a Russian jet. On the other hand, Turkey is telling Russia not to play with fire.
Who really knows? At the same time, it does not matter. The jet is down, a pilot is dead and Putin just got the opportunity to prick the NATO balloon.
Putin has been trying to downsize NATO for some time. I agree with Stephen Covington:
Russia’s leadership wants a Europe without strategic Alliances, without multi-national organizations and without a U.S.-Europe Transatlantic link that can through collective policies and action offset the national strengths Russia would hold over any one European nation. It would be a European security environment that would allow Russia to apply its national strengths to great effect without challenge and competition — enhancing its power abroad and at home.
How does Putin blow up NATO? He doesn’t. He simply watches NATO blow up itself. He forces NATO to work together, such as in defending Turkey under Article 5 or fighting ISIS.
In the end, NATO won’t work together because of weak U.S. leadership and the reality that most countries have no real military resources to bring to the game. NATO is like a baseball team where only a couple of guys can play and the rest can’t do much more than watch from the dugout.
We will watch to see how this plays out. Nevertheless, Putin is a master tactician and he assumes that Obama is weak and the West is weaker. He is betting that he will win because the other side doesn’t want to fight. And he is right!
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
The Turkey-Russia feud raises a few questions about the future of NATO. In other words, are NATO allies ready to defend Turkey? Or are they expecting U.S. jets to do it?
Based on what we saw in Iraq in the late 1990s (enforcing the no fly zone) and Kosovo in 1995, NATO will come down to U.S. and UK jets doing all of the flying.
My guess is that Putin knows this and will try to force NATO to act. He is now saying that the U.S. knew that Turkey would shoot down a Russian jet. On the other hand, Turkey is telling Russia not to play with fire.
Who really knows? At the same time, it does not matter. The jet is down, a pilot is dead and Putin just got the opportunity to prick the NATO balloon.
Putin has been trying to downsize NATO for some time. I agree with Stephen Covington:
Russia’s leadership wants a Europe without strategic Alliances, without multi-national organizations and without a U.S.-Europe Transatlantic link that can through collective policies and action offset the national strengths Russia would hold over any one European nation. It would be a European security environment that would allow Russia to apply its national strengths to great effect without challenge and competition — enhancing its power abroad and at home.
How does Putin blow up NATO? He doesn’t. He simply watches NATO blow up itself. He forces NATO to work together, such as in defending Turkey under Article 5 or fighting ISIS.
Read the full story at American Thinker, by Silvio Canto, Jr.
NATO understands that Turkey creates risks for entire alliance — Russian NATO envoy
Russian News Agency TASS, report: NATO fully understands that Turkey’s downing of a Russian bomber creates risks to the entire North Atlantic Alliance, Russia’s Permanent Representative at NATO Alexander Grushko said on Friday.
“I think the NATO countries are aware that Turkey is dragging them into a dangerous game by this criminal action, since this ally (Turkey) is bound with all the 20 NATO member states by very serious security liabilities both in the military and in the political spheres, and the key article – article five – creates a threat of a risk to the alliance, ” he said in an interview with the Kommersant FM radio station.
He said the situation was very serious. The last attack by a NATO country on Russian and Soviet aircraft took place in the early 1950s. “Quite naturally, in his statement Stoltenberg called for calmness and said this situation should be settled by Moscow and Ankara, ” Grushko said. “It proves that NATO, as an organization, is seeking to maximally dissociate itself from this incident”.
