The US used NATO and structured it accordingly to prepare for war against Russia. The strategy after the collapse of the Soviet bloc was to avoid the presence of an “adversary”. To this end, NATO was expanded and Eastern Europe in particular was fully integrated militarily. NATO structures had to be rebuilt so that they could be rapidly deployed and rapidly scaled. The transfer of American troops across the Atlantic and across Europe to the Russian border, which has been practiced in large-scale military exercises, plays a central role in this.
NATO structures after 1991 were consolidated to enable joint warfare under the US High Command. The central building block in the war against Russia is Ukraine, which represents Russia’s “strategic depth.” If integrated into the NATO war machine, Russia’s existence is militarily threatened.
This integration of Ukraine proceeded on the basis of a Western intelligence plan, but was met with contradictions and was only possible with the establishment and development of parastatal “Nazi” forces and two coups. The decisive year in which the escalation occurred is the year 2014 with the Maidan coup in Ukraine. Subsequently, not only did the massive rearmament and annexation of Ukraine take place, but all the already prepared and initiated structural changes of NATO in the direction of quick war were escalated and expanded as planned. In particular, the events in Ukraine in 2014, which were deliberately prepared and manufactured, show that this was a planned, politically desired and ruthlessly implemented process.
This process was marked by an important contradiction, which is that of the resistance of the Russian-speaking people of Donbas which was a precursor to Russia’s response with the military operation in February 2022. Obviously NATO knew that its policy of military integration of the Eastern states Europe, and especially Ukraine, would meet resistance from Russia and would turn it towards China and India.
But these factors do not contradict the consistent implementation of a military build-up and preparation for war against Russia. On the contrary, preparing for war is part of the lobbying strategy. The restructuring of NATO structures, which began in 2002, and the construction of a missile defense system in 2012 are important escalation steps before 2014, as are the destruction of Yugoslavia in 1999 and Libya in 2011. However, the year 2014 with the US-induced escalation in Ukraine was in any case a turning point, also to the extent that NATO renounced any verbal cover-up of its anti-Russian strategy from that point on.
The special role played by Ukraine in this strategy stems from the following points:
- The territory of Ukraine is close to Moscow and important centers in southern Russia. Placing missiles in Ukraine would pose a direct threat to Moscow, as they would be difficult to repel due to the short distance.
- The permanent threat of Ukraine joining NATO and deploying weapons systems in Ukraine poses an immediate and existential threat to Russia. Due to the short distances, an invasion from Ukraine would be threatening, as Russian troops would have very little space to set up defenses and counter-attacks, the so-called strategic depth that Russia would not have to be able to adequately defend itself.
- The Black Sea Fleet and Crimea are important points of both Russian defense and military options in the Black Sea and beyond. Eliminating the Black Sea Fleet would make Russia vulnerable, especially in the south, and cut it off from the Black Sea and East Mediterranean.
- Ukraine is closely intertwined with Russia, historically, culturally, politically and economically. Large parts of the population speak Russian, large parts in the east and south were Russian territory for a long time, the big cities of the country are Russian institutions. For a long time, both countries were part of the Soviet Union rather than separate countries or states. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 created a Ukrainian state that was immediately attempted by the United States and other Western nations to put it on the front line against Russia.
In the strategies of the USA (as well as Germany), the central role of Ukraine is clearly stated and clearly reflected in the actions, the creation and reconstruction of structures, as well as mainly the massive political intervention.
NATO’s orientation since 1991 has been based on the US strategy of “one world, no adversary”, a strategy to prevent the rise of potential adversaries and, in particular, a strategy to integrate Eastern Europe in order to isolate Russia. NATO’s eastward expansion is explicitly directed against Russia. This is a platitude, but it must be mentioned urgently, because the admission of new members meant the expansion of military structures and the possibility of waging war on the borders of Russia.
As part of the integration of Eastern Europe, in 1999 Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO. That same year, NATO waged war against Yugoslavia. This was NATO’s first deployment outside of Alliance territory. It was directed against a close ally of Russia. The new Strategic Concept adopted in 1999 stipulated that NATO forces could conduct “crisis response operations” not covered by Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. New guidelines were drawn up for the deployment of Alliance troops. This meant, among other things, ensuring the geographical distribution of forces across the Alliance territory, including the deployment of forces outside land and water, i.e. advancing forces when and where necessary.
In 2002, the NATO-Ukraine Action Plan was adopted, which provided for the intensification of cooperation in the field of armaments and the full integration of Ukraine into the structures of the EU and the Alliance. From 2000 onwards, a series of coup movements, the so-called “color revolutions”, were organized: In 2000 in Serbia, in 2003 in Georgia, in 2004 in Ukraine and in 2005 in Kyrgyzstan. The goal was to overthrow pro-Russian or non-Russian governments so that they could proceed with NATO expansion.
In 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia became members of NATO. Thus, NATO penetrated the borders of Russia. The Balkan countries of Albania, Croatia and Skopje were invited to move forward on their path to NATO membership. Partnerships were also established with Georgia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
In the context of Ukraine’s involvement, the NATO Permanent Council was mandated to assess the NATO-Ukraine relationship. This means that the encirclement of Russia was already well advanced, and Georgia and Ukraine, two of the last central building blocks of this encirclement (see Zbigniew Brezinski “The Grand Chessboard” et al.), were soon to be oriented towards Integration. During this period, massive military activities were also carried out by NATO countries, especially the USA. In 2001 NATO countries bombed and occupied Afghanistan and in 2003 the US bombed and occupied Iraq, in an extremely destructive war and in violation of international law, as in Yugoslavia in 1999.
The US continued to escalate and at the 2008 NATO Summit managed to give Georgia and Ukraine the prospect of membership. The government of Georgia with US complicity launched an attack on Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, to which Russia responded by pushing back Georgian troops and annexing South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This was Russia’s first direct military challenge from NATO. In 2011, NATO forces bombed Libya, abusing a UN resolution to establish a no-fly zone.
That same year, Western-backed mercenary Islamist groups unleashed a guerilla war in Syria, which the US wanted to use to topple the Assad government. The deployment of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean and subsequent Russian military aid to Syria upended those plans. In this phase from 2008 to 2011/2021, there was a significant expansion of military activities and, in particular, rearmament against Russia. It could be characterized as the second escalation phase after 1999 to 2003.
The decisive turning point in the escalation was the Maidan coup in Ukraine in 2014, organized by the US and other NATO countries, with which the Alliance wanted to separate Russia from Crimea and put the military threat directly on the western border of Russia, as well as a war by the Kiev regime, which had come to power in a coup, against the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine who were resisting the coup. From this point on, the structural changes described below were fully developed and put into effect by NATO.
At the 2016 NATO Summit, it was decided to strengthen the “forward presence” in the eastern part of the Alliance, leading to an increased, regular NATO presence and significant activity in Eastern Europe.
Two years later, all members had increased their defense budgets and there was unprecedented progress in the number of activities, the ability to react, develop and maintain the interoperability of allied armed forces. Thus the NATO Rapid Reaction Initiative “4×30” was launched: 30 battalions, 30 aircraft squadrons, 30 warships, operational readiness in 30 days. These units are created and trained as elements of larger combat units. The Rapid Reaction Initiative allows the military alliance to respond even more quickly, including high-intensity warfare and rapid military intervention.
The forward presence in the east was established and fully operational since December 2018, on the basis of which the NATO Supreme Commander must be able to conduct large-scale operations. As of 2022, NATO has described Russia as the “most significant and immediate threat” and the 2022 Summit decided on a “360-degree approach,” i.e. basic readiness to intervene in all directions. In addition, a massive increase in the number of operational troops on the eastern flank was decided.
In summary, we can say that since 1991 the US has been working continuously to isolate Russia through NATO, as well as to integrate Eastern Europe into NATO structures and therefore into US military structures. Roughly three stages can be identified: 1999-2003 with the war against Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the stages of expansion of NATO membership on Russia’s borders until 2004.
The next escalation from 2008 to 2012 was due to the provocations in Georgia, the war in Libya and Syria, and the forced integration of Ukraine. The decisive turning point came in 2014 with the Maidan coup. Since then, the rearmament and military deployment already prepared has been pushed forward apace. This is a continuous and rigorous process, the goals of which (isolation and encirclement of Russia, military build-up of war capabilities) are clearly stated and vigorously pursued.
The development of the NATO armed forces clearly shows a preparation for future major wars in Europe, as NATO as an American-imperialist vehicle has not overcome the logic of the Cold War and the exercise of the outdated Machiavellian strategy of the past aimed at hegemony. The NATO military as a threatening imperialist gesture replaces diplomacy, wipes out entire countries and state entities, and hangs like a Damocles sword over unloved rivals who dare to challenge the hegemon and pursue an independent policy from the US.
NATO’s aggressive expansionism, which has all the characteristics of an imperialist definition, if it continues inevitably leads to an equally aggressive militarization of the other side, it is certain that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is increasingly developing into a military alliance , in a military behemoth with state-of-the-art super-sonic Russian weapons systems and space-based nuclear weapons, a behemoth that will cover half the planet in the next decade.
It is a fact that the goal of preparing and waging a war against Russia has never been abandoned by NATO. It is also a fact that Russia’s strong stance, its successes in the Ukraine war and its military-technological superiority should give second thoughts to the well-known warmongers in Washington who actually direct the policy of the Alliance.
