Nato is a threat to Europe and must be disbanded
/ nato / no /
Jonathan Steele spells out the glaringly obvious. The question is can any British government release itself from the role of an American satellite? Who in Europe has the audacity to declare this alliance defunct?
...Many commentators now argue for Europe to distance itself. But vague pleas for greater European coherence or for Tony Blair to end his close links with the White House are not enough. The call should not be for "more" independence. We need full independence.
We must go all the way, up to the termination of Nato. An alliance which should have wound up when the Soviet Union collapsed now serves almost entirely as a device for giving the US an unfair and unreciprocated droit de regard over European foreign policy...
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Young Fogey:
Coming from a somewhat less left-wing position than yourself, I wouldn't go as far as saying NATO is dangerous. Instead, I'd say that it's completely pointless. The American electorate confirmed last week that America and Europe (even its English speaking corner) are destined to pull apart dramatically over the next decade. NATO will be so paralysed that it won't be able to decide whether or not to buy new pencil cases. Remember, the divisions over Iraq are a symptom, not a cause. NATO won't ever be disbanded, but it may well drift into irrelevance, and I could see some of the more anti-American countries (possibly including your own, Talos) leaving it as American expansionism becomes more and more egregious.
2004-11-13 12:28
talos:
At this point in time I would say that the recognition of the need for Europe to distance itself from the singlemindedly belligerent cousins across the Atlantic, transcends the left-right divide. It's becoming clear that for many different reasons, no strategy for Europe, left or right, can succeed if the continent continues to be tied down by an increasingly (as you say) irrelevant alliance.
Should Europe remain in the NATO straightjacket however - that would be dangerous… All this barring a Kucinich/Nader landslide in the 2008 elections of course!
Greece will leave NATO when Turkey leaves NATO. Or when Europe decides to leave NATO and create a European military alliance.
(However as far as the American electorate is concerned, don't be certain that this sort of self-immolation will repeat itself in the near future… Nearly half of the part of it that bothered to show up at all, voted against the dubya… and the disillusionment with the system as it stands now, quite possibly is at a record high.
Anyway the American voters are also not unique in electing dangerous buffoons as leaders. They got nothing on the Italians, who elected possibly the most vulgar and ridiculous personality to emerge south of the Alps since Mussolini, or the French who managed to constrain themselves to choosing between a fascist or a crook, or the Austrians etc. The Americans have to deal with vastly more virulent propaganda on all levels as well…)
2004-11-14 01:36
Young Fogey:
I think you've made a fair point that many people in the trauma of defeat seem to forget - Dubya didn't win by all that much, and at some point in the next for years the madness of vastly increasing government spending while cutting taxes must come home to roost. Of course, the Republicans could well have enough sense to nominate Giuliani in 2008, which would be hard for the Dems to defend against. Although would the Suthun' fundamentalists vote for a New York Catholic in a Republican Primary especially when they're likely to have some obnoxious shit like Bill Frist to vote for? I only hope the Dems aren't silly enough to nominate Hillary.
Take the point about Greece leaving NATO when Turkey leaves NATO… bit ironic given that neither country's population is exactly pro-American these days!
2004-11-15 00:21
talos:
Let me be the first to add that were this a race between Giuliani and Kerry, I honestly wouldn't care less about the result…
As for Greece and Turkey, yeah, we've been played against each other for a long time. Should we find a way to co-exist and settle our differences peacefully, there will be a lot of weapons manufacturers who will shed bitter tears…!
2004-11-16 12:43
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