Nato’s Electoral Lists for the European Elections

While the electoral campaign fuels the debate between those who are for and against the European Union, very few get it: it is Washington not Brussels that will determine Europe’s future.

The Obama Administration has already launched its programme for Europe outlined by the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel. Faced with Russian action in Ukraine – he begins - the existing Nato members have to demonstrate that they are as committed to the Alliance as Nato’s founding fathers were 65 years ago. The first way to strengthen Nato: increase military expenditure. With the end of the Cold War – points out Hagel – the feeling has spread among European allies that their insecurity, due to the aggressive policy of some states (read the URSS and its allies) was over: a myth shattered by Russian action in Ukraine. This has caused increasing dis proportionality between US military expenditure and its allies. Today, even though the US has a GDP that is less that the cumulative GDP of its 27 allies, it spends three times more on the military. To remedy this imbalance, a Nato meeting was held at which not only the Ministers of Defense but also the Finance Ministers will participate: an increase in military expenditure must in fact become a priority for all governments forming part of the Alliance. In 2006, they committed to earmark a minimum of 2% of their GDP for defense, but to date, other than the USA, only Greece, Estonia and Great Britain have met this target.

However it is not enough to simply increase Nato military expenditure (today more than 1,000 billion dollars per year, equal to 60% of the global expenditure): it is necessary to establish how to invest it more wisely. To this end, in a few months, a Nato Summit will take place in Great Britain to restructure the Alliance’s forces which must be ready to tackle any type of conflict (including a nuclear conflict) against adversaries that are more sophisticated. In the short term - emphasizes Hagel – Nato has responded firmly to Russian actions, but we have to expect that Russia wants to test out (and not just at the military level) our long-term commitment. Europe must reduce, by more than 25% within 10 years, imports of Russian gas. These will be substituted by natural liquid gas supplied by the United States. At the same time, the Transatlantic Partnership for Trade and Investment must be implemented.

It is also necessary to take into account that the threats to the Alliance are not limited to Europe: new threats are emerging (the reference to China is evident), so much so that the areas in the world considered outside Nato’s domain are on the decrease. This has to help nations all over the world – from Africa to the Persian Gulf and to South East Asia – to build a collective security system.

There can therefore be no doubt as to Washington’s design: after kicking off a new climate of Cold War, by extending Nato to the East and the putsch in Kiev, it is trying to exploit this climate to strengthen US military and economic influence in Europe and to bring in its European allies on the other fronts that the US is opening in the Asia/Pacific region.

Discussing Europe outside this context becomes a banal irrelevancy. Especially in a country like Italy, governed by yes men ready to obey the orders of Washington. At their side are the yes-women, such as the neo-minister Pinotti said to be ready to send troops into Ukraine and emphasizes that they need to have sophisticated weapons to defend themselves.

It is for this reason that Hagel will honour her with a medal of honour.

Note
The US Energy Policy

Contrary to the declarations of the Obama Administration, the US will not be able to provide Western Europe or Central Europe with liquid gas. In actual fact, in the United States, shale gas is not a profitable business and is only exploited by heavily-subsidized companies. The major players dealing in non-US hydrocarbons cannot benefit from these subsidies and therefore all of them are in the process of withdrawing from this trade (in fact, Shell has already done so).
_ Nonetheless, as far as energy goes, Washington is independent and will be able to export oil after purchasing exploitation rights over the Gulf of Mexico (recently re-christened by US geographers as «the Gulf of the US»).
The official discourse on shale gas is entirely aimed at convincing the Europeans to reject Russian gas and to become completely dependent on the US.