"Historic" new Nato goals are top secret - but lead to major arms race
Officially, everything is only being done to protect against Russia. But in reality, NATO is pursuing secret goals that go far beyond deterrence in its largest rearmament programme since the Cold War.
Nato has set itself new ‘capability goals’. They contain guidelines on how the allies should further develop their armed forces in order to fulfil their tasks within the US-led military alliance.
Nato Secretary General Rutte spoke of ‘ambitious’ goals that represent a ‘huge leap forward’. The Dutchman claimed that this was a ‘historic’ decision.
However, he did not want to reveal which ‘capabilities’ would be involved. Only a few key areas were mentioned: air and missile defence, long-range weapons, mobile intervention units and logistics.
‘We must become combat-ready’
All details are top secret. It also remains unclear what military objectives are to be achieved with the new ‘capabilities’. The only thing that is clear is that they go far beyond traditional deterrence.
‘We must become combat-ready,’ demanded US Secretary of War Hegseth. ‘Ready for war’, the word used by Pistorius, sounds almost harmless by comparison. Nato is gearing up for battle - against Russia, of course.
The question is whether this battle should be waged from Ukraine as before, or also within the Alliance's territory. Long-range weapons and new intervention forces speak in favour of expanding the combat zone.
New combat zone in the Baltic Sea?
It will probably no longer be ‘just’ about the Black Sea - as it was before the start of the war in Ukraine. In 2021, NATO carried out the largest and most complex naval manoeuvre to date there, called ‘Sea Shield’.
The Baltic Sea, where a new tactical headquarters has been set up in Rostock, has also been added. The NATO manoeuvre BALTOPS has just begun there. ‘Now Nato is showing its muscles,’ cheers Bild.
However, it is unclear why the Bundeswehr needs ‘around 50,000 to 60,000 more soldiers in the standing forces than today’ (Pistorius). Should they be sent to fight on the eastern front?
The orginal post (in German) is here