Overview of NATO War Summit
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The Summit will add to actions taken since the last Summit held in Wales in 2014 to mobilize more NATO troops and military equipment to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic states under the bogus pretexts of "projecting stability" in the region and "deterring Russian aggression."
Protest Actions
Demonstrations are taking place in Warsaw from July 8-10 under the banner "No to War -- No to NATO." Organizers are calling for an end to the confrontation with Russia and the stationing of troops and holding of maneuvers at Russia's western border; no further armament in the NATO member states which they say can only be financed by sharply reducing spending on education, health care and social security systems; no new nuclear weapons (and no modernization of existing arsenals) in Europe and worldwide; no missile defense system in Eastern Europe as it only furthers the dynamic of armament and confrontation; and no NATO operations against refugees.
It is reported that on July 4 increased border controls were imposed by Poland at its border with Russia near Kaliningrad, its borders with Ukraine and at its borders with the countries of the EU Schengen Zone for the NATO Summit -- no doubt aimed at keeping out those intent on protesting NATO.
Troop Build-Up in Baltic States and Eastern Europe to Be Finalized
Speaking at a press conference on July 4, Stoltenberg said that since the last Summit NATO had "delivered a faster, a stronger, and a more ready Alliance," and that "We now need to take the next steps. So at our Summit in Warsaw, we will agree to further enhance our military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance." In this vein, he said leaders will agree at the Summit to deploy four battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. On July 8 U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. will station a battalion of 1,000 troops in Poland and establish the headquarters for a separate brigade of 3,500 U.S. troops and heavy weaponry that will move throughout Eastern Europe on continuous, nine-month rotations. Also on July 8, General Vance revealed that Canada would be sending around 450 soldiers to Latvia "on an enduring basis" to form the nucleus of a 1,000-strong multinational battalion it will lead there. Canada will also send up to six CF-18s to carry out "air policing" over Eastern Europe as it had done in 2014-15 and will continue sending naval frigates to the region as part of its Operation REASSURANCE. Germany and Britain are expected to command the other two battalions in Lithuania and Estonia, respectively.
Click to enlarge.
Canada's Battlegroup
Canada's commitment of hundreds of new troops for a battlegroup means the total number of Canadian Forces members from all three branches stationed in the Baltics and Eastern Europe with Operation REASSURANCE will rise to around 800, reports say. In a July update the Department of National Defence said there were 470 Canadian Forces members deployed in its Baltics and Eastern European operations. Since it began in April 2014 Operation REASSURANCE has involved the participation of Canadian troops in ongoing land exercises with other NATO members in Poland, Latvia, Romania, Germany and Lithuania; Canadian fighter jets in interoperability training and "air policing" of the Baltic region; and Canadian warships in patrolling and carrying out other NATO operations in the Baltic, Black, Mediterranean and Aegean Seas.
Minister Sajjan confirmed Canada's new troop presence in the Baltic region with rotating deployments would be on a permanent basis, understood to mean until such time as NATO dissolved the task force. A June 30 report by the CBC noted that a battlegroup has the potential to bring with it heavy equipment, including tanks, artillery and surveillance systems.
In announcing on June 30 that Canada would be sending more troops and taking command of a battalion, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said, "As part of NATO we were giving assurance to member states there, but now this has evolved to deterrence." His assertion is based on the fraudulent notion that Russia is threatening to invade other countries, while it is the U.S. and NATO that have bases and missile systems all over Europe and that threaten and invade other countries with impunity. The Canadian troops along with those from other major NATO powers are a deliberate form of political and military interference intended to keep the peoples of the countries bordering Russia firmly in NATO's grip to try and suppress any aspirations they may have for friendly relations with non-NATO countries to the east and against war.
NATO's "Southern Flank"
The Summit is also expected to take decisions on a new military force on NATO's "south-east flank" said to refer to a task force based in Romania and will also "adopt a framework for NATO's further adaptation to the challenges emanating from the south." The U.S. already has its Ashore Aegis ballistic missile system installed at Deveselu in southern Romania, claiming it poses no threat to Russia but targets threats from the south such as Iran.
In response to the fact that NATO is aggressively militarizing Eastern Europe and the Baltics, particularly those countries on Russia's borders, Stoltenberg said, "We don't want a new Cold War. What we do is proportionate. It's defensive." The whole talk about defence and deterrence is meant to hide the virtual occupation of Eastern Europe and its peoples by NATO forces, in which Canada is now even more embroiled under the Trudeau government.
Since the last Leaders' Summit in Wales in 2014, NATO has tripled the size of its Response Force, intended to assemble and respond within a week to 10 days, to 40,000 members. It has also added a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force or Spearhead Force that is supposed to be able to deploy within 48 hours to NATO's eastern and southern flanks. After this Summit there will also be a new "high readiness brigade" of 4,000 troops comprised of the four battalions to be stationed in the Baltic states and Poland.
In presenting what is being put in place for the future, a news release on the Summit points out moves to strengthen NATO's domination of its "partners" in Eastern Europe, in particular Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, as well as Finland and Sweden: "To the east, NATO will continue to boost the defence capabilities and build the resilience of its partners Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova to resist outside pressure and to advance reforms."
The release goes on to say that "NATO will continue to work closely with partners such as Finland, Sweden and Georgia, who have a significant contribution to make to security in the strategically important Baltic Sea and Black Sea regions. Montenegro's future membership will enhance stability in the Western Balkans. NATO's Open Door Policy, together with EU enlargement, have helped to spread stability and prosperity. NATO's door remains open to European states able to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area."
War in Iraq and Syria
NATO is also increasing its participation in the U.S.-led war in Iraq and Syria. The Summit is expected to approve the deployment of NATO AWACS surveillance planes in support of the U.S.-led "global coalition to counter ISIL." It is possible that Canada will provide such planes as the Canadian government has indicated that in addition to sending troops to Russia's borders it will make other announcements at the summit. Stoltenberg also said he expected NATO members would agree on a new "training and capacity building" effort in Iraq, of which Canada is part. NATO is currently training several hundred Iraqi officers in Jordan, and is "strengthening" the defence sectors of Jordan and Tunisia. In an indication that it is preparing for a new direct military role in Libya it states that it "also continues its preparatory work to assist Libya, if requested."
NATO is also expanding its role in militarizing humanitarian crises which it has itself created. It will look to take on a role in the Central Mediterranean as part of the European Union's Operation Sophia. Operation Sophia was set up in July 2015 to "stem the flow of migrants and refugees" from Libya after NATO-backed mercenaries and war planes destroyed the country and its institutions and killed its President. It is reported that one of the problems facing the mission is the lack of a legitimate government in Libya from which EU forces can get agreement to patrol its maritime borders and even its coast. NATO also indicates that its deployment in the Aegean Sea to deal militarily with the humanitarian refugee and migrant crisis "caused by conflict and instability on NATO's southern borders" will continue.
Emphasis on Increased Military Spending from Members
NATO also indicated that for the first time in many years there had been a small increase in defence spending among European Allies and Canada and that it expects military spending to rise further in these countries in 2016. During the federal election, the Trudeau Liberals committed to maintain defence spending at current levels, which it indicated meant maintaining the budgeted increases.
Official Summit Agenda
July 8, the opening day, featured a meeting of the North Atlantic Council attended by leaders of the 28 member states and of Montenegro which has observer status. This was followed by a working dinner to which Finland, Sweden, the European Council and the European Commission were invited to join the leaders of NATO member states.
On July 9 there will be a meeting on Afghanistan with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah participating, along with representatives of "partner countries contributing to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission" and unspecified international organizations in attendance. There will also be a second meeting of the North Atlantic Council to which Jordan, the European Council and the European Commission have been invited. The Summit will end with a NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting with the President of Ukraine.
NATO Defence and Foreign Ministers will be joined at the summit by their counterparts from "partner countries" and hold parallel meetings. One such meeting will see NATO Defence Ministers meeting with their counterparts from 25 countries which "cooperate with NATO on interoperability," including Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.
(TML Weekly No. 28, July 9, 2016)