NATO

[Rascal]

What are you thoughts?


Is it a purely defensive alliance or is it an alliance that is a tool for western imperialism?

Does it act as an arm of corporate military suppliers or is it a necessary tool in the armoury against an aggressive Putin?

Is NATO basically an extension of capitalist power or does it make you sleep easier at night?

I was against the Iraq war, Blairs compliance has arguably led to the issues we face with immigration and small boats today.

It is something that is rarely discussed, it is sort of accepted that being a member of NATO is a good thing, it has after all meant no war in Western Europe since the end of WW2 , which is a good thing. Yet war seems a real threat and Putin talks about nuclear weapons.

It is a real quandary even for me who has been a life long supporter of CND and an anti war advocate.

 

[Kazzydeyna]

I’ll get thrown off the forum for this but personally, in 1945 if I was PM, I would have offered the soviets half the military bases we gave to the Americans.
Made this country a bridge between east and west.
It would also have been the right thing to do, to reward the sacrifice of the soviet nation, that ultimately saved the world from fascism.

 

[Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese]

It should probably have been looked at or even done away with in 1989 when the Soviet Union collapsed.
Frankly I think us Europeans enjoyed having the US maintain conventional and nuclear forces in Europe so we could all skimp on our defence spending.

 

[Rascal]

I’ll get thrown off the forum for this but personally, in 1945 if I was PM, I would have offered the soviets half the military bases we gave to the Americans.
Made this country a bridge between east and west.
It would also have been the right thing to do, to reward the sacrifice of the soviet nation, that ultimately saved the world from fascism.

That is a really clever thought.

Can I think about it and return to your post.

 

[Rascal]

It should probably have been looked at or even done away with in 1989 when the Soviet Union collapsed.
Frankly I think us Europeans enjoyed having the US maintain conventional and nuclear forces in Europe so we could all skimp on our defence spending.

I agree, why expand NATO when the threat reduces. Reliance on the USA means we import USA values, which I am not comfortable with.

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

Prefer OTAN myself.

 

[Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese]

I’ll get thrown off the forum for this but personally, in 1945 if I was PM, I would have offered the soviets half the military bases we gave to the Americans.
Made this country a bridge between east and west.
It would also have been the right thing to do, to reward the sacrifice of the soviet nation, that ultimately saved the world from fascism.

I agree with you about the Soviet sacrifice winning the war, but that was largely based upon their disregard for their own and everyone else's lives. I think Berlin was plenty far enough for 'uncle Joe' Stalin to come thankyou very much. Also, the Americans pretty much owned us after ww2 so it wasn't really a case of 'giving' them bases as them deciding to stay on on bases where they had also committed blood and treasure to the downfall of facism.

 

[Kazzydeyna]

I agree, why expand NATO when the threat reduces. Reliance on the USA means we import USA values, which I am not comfortable with.

It also makes it far easier for the USA to fight the next war to the last drop of European blood.

And charge us crippling amounts of cold, hard, cash for the next several decades For the privilege of sending our young working class men and women off to die for American values.

 

[PragueBlue]

To me it is just a necessary defensive alliance. I'm sure we'd all rather live in a world where such an alliance wasn't necessary (just as we would wish that having armed forces wasn't necessary).

 

[Rascal]

It also makes it far easier for the USA to fight the next war to the last drop of European blood.

And charge us crippling amounts of cold, hard, cash for the next several decades For the privilege of sending our young working class men and women off to die for American values.

That is chilling.