NATO Mired in Crisis Puts on a Brave Face at Chiefs of Defence Meeting

The NATO Chiefs of Defence from the 31 member countries held a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on January 17-18. The meeting was of the NATO Military Committee, the most important NATO committee which oversees military operations. This particular meeting was focused on the "executability of the Alliance's new defence plans, NATO's warfighting transformation [and] NATO's continued support of Ukraine." It is reported that for the first time, the Chiefs of Defence met in a "NATO-Ukraine Council format."

In his opening remarks, Chair of the Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer, a four-star Admiral from the Netherlands, noted that the "rules-based international order" is under immense pressure. "The tectonic plates of power are shifting. As a result, we face the most dangerous world in decades. In this new era of collective defence, we must defend not only the physical safety of our 1 billion people and 31 (soon to be 32, with Sweden set to join) nations, we are defending freedom and democracy."

In the context of the infighting between the U.S. and the European Union regarding continuing military and economic support to Ukraine, Bauer urged that everyone needs to take a "whole of society approach" to address the crisis. He said "We need public and private actors to change their mindset for an era in which everything was plannable, foreseeable, controllable and focused on efficiency to an era in which anything can happen at any time. An era in which we need to expect the unexpected ... In order to be fully effective, also in the future, we need a warfighting transformation of NATO."

In the course of the two-day meeting, the Ukrainian Military Representative to NATO Major General Serhii Salkutsan briefed the NATO Chiefs of Defence on behalf of then Ukrainian Chief of Defence General Valery Zaluzhny (who would later be dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 8). In response, the Chiefs of Staff praised the bravery and determination of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Admiral Bauer declared: "The outcome of this war will determine the fate of the world. Our support is not charity; it is an investment in our security."

The meeting also discussed the plans for the upcoming massive war exercise Steadfast Defender 24 involving all NATO members and also Sweden to begin in February and run until June this year -- a show of force from the North Atlantic and Europe to threaten Russia. Admiral Bauer noted with regards to the proxy war that the U.S. and NATO are waging against Russia using the Ukrainians as cannon fodder: "This war has never been about any real security threat to Russia coming from either Ukraine or NATO. This war is about Russia fearing something much more powerful than any physical weapon on earth -- democracy. If people in Ukraine can have democratic rights, then people in Russia will soon crave them too."

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This article was published in

Volume 54 Number 13 - February 23, 2024

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS541313.HTM

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