NATO’s Bridge to Nowhere, by James W. Carden

When you’re losing a war, reiterate the goal that made your enemy start the war in the first place. That’s statecraft. From James W. Carden from theamericanconservative.com:

Formalizing Ukraine’s NATO-ward trajectory is a recipe for continued disaster.

If anything positive can be said to have resulted from this week’s NATO summit in Washington, it is that it occasioned a series of thoughtful critiques from the few remaining citadels of dissent within the U.S. foreign policy community.  

The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft published a symposium, “to reflect on the past and future of the alliance.” The scholar and author Anatol Lieven who convened the symposium writes, 

NATO likes to describe itself as “the most successful alliance in history”…. What is too often forgotten, however, is that war was prevented not just by NATO solidarity, but also by NATO caution. Successive U.S. administrations—fully backed by their European allies—rejected calls for aggressive policies aimed at “rolling back” Soviet power in Eastern Europe.

A statement published on Monday by the American Committee for US–Russia Accord (which I co-authored with the editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel)expressed the wish that NATO might use the opportunity of this week’s summit “to take a cold-eyed look at itself; at its record; and at its mission—and begin the hard work of self-evaluation.”  

And yet another statement issued by a constellation of foreign policy experts warned against another round of expansion: “Admitting Ukraine would reduce the security of the United States and NATO Allies, at considerable risk to all.” 

Yet, as far as NATO was concerned: Message delivered, message ignored. This week’s summit showed that NATO is bound and determined to continue on as though the alliance operates in a world shaped by its successes—manifesting a blind insistence that the alliance is not only necessary but has been right all along. 

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2 responses to “NATO’s Bridge to Nowhere, by James W. Carden

  1. Pingback: NATO’s Bridge to Nowhere, by James W. Carden — Der Friedensstifter

  2. Sun von Rommel's avatar Sun von Rommel

    Reading about war pig comrade kommissar Stoltenberg of NATO speaking of repercussions for China because they are helping Russia.

    There are plans for an Asian NATO starting with Japan.

    Xi is noticing all of this as not all nations are led by kindergarten coloring book drooling mouthbreathers and their third rate asspuppet handlers.

    These obsolete alliances that the managerial maggots cling to are a threat to the world.

    The Cold War has been over for decades and the CCCP is no more but it never was about containing the Bear, it is about circling and invading it.

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