German politician’s damning critique of NATO raises questions about alliance’s purpose (video)

As global leaders gathered at the NATO summit in Lithuania last week, seeking to ratify the membership of Sweden and discuss Ukraine’s eligibility, German politician Sevim Dagdelen delivered a scathing indictment of what the North Atlantic Treaty Organization stands for.

The 47 year old German Left Party member dissected NATO hypocrisy, lies and smoke and mirrors with the precision of a highly skilled surgeon in theatre as the German Parliament convened alongside the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Dagdelen said…

“Whenever there is talk about NATO, the following three myths are spread. First myth: NATO is a defensive alliance. But was it, not NATO that waged a war in violation of international law against Yugoslavia, bombing civilians, television stations and the Chinese embassy?

“Wasn’t it NATO that waged war in Afghanistan for 20 years with hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and war crimes? Is this called defence?

“Second myth: NATO is an alliance of democrats and the rule of law. This is already historically an outright lie. One need only recall NATO member Portugal with the fascist Salazar regimes and its brutal colonial wars in Africa.

“The illegal wars of the US and its allies have cost the lives of four and a half million people in the last 20 years alone, according to the analysis of the renowned Brown University in the US.

“Is this what commitment to international law looks like?

“Third myth: NATO defends human rights. And this, while Guantanamo detainees continue to be tortured, or while the journalist Julian Assange is facing 175 years in prison in the US for making public war crimes committed by NATO member, the US. It could not get any more mendacious than this.

“The truth is simple: Whoever is a member of NATO participates in a welfare alliance that aims at expansion and tramples on international law and human rights. Whoever is a member of NATO loses his democratic sovereignty because it is always the USA that hegemonically enforces its interests.

“And whoever is a member of NATO sacrificing the social security of his population by the massive policy of high armament. Every fifth child in our country is now poor but the German military budget grows and grows. This is a disgrace.

“It is high time to dissolve this murderous military pact. After 78 years, it is time for the USA to withdraw its troop, including nuclear weapons, from Germany.

“We need peace, not NATO.”

Dagdelen’s “US hegemonically enforcing its interests” view was echoed by New York Times journalists Grey Anderson and Thomas Meaney.

In an op-ed piece last week, they exposed NATO’s duplicity and dishonesty.

They said, that under the US “global war on terrorism,” banner, European countries dashed to rearm and boost their military strength. This is highlighted no more so than the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The US propaganda machine has successfully persuaded most of the world to believe Russia is the bad guy, and Ukraine the good guy, despite a UN Commission of Inquiry highlighting the latter’s war crimes, indiscriminate attacks on infrastructure, and systematic and widespread torture showing a disregard for its civilians.

Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, approximately half of European military expenditure went to US manufacturers. The surge in demand has worsened this trend as buyers hasten to obtain tanks, combat aircraft, and other weapons systems, committing to expensive, multiyear agreements. While Europe may be undergoing a process of remilitarisation, the US is benefiting greatly from it.

The New York Times writers pointed out that the conflict also acts as a rehearsal for the US confrontation with China, wherein European support cannot be easily relied upon.

Restricting Beijing’s access to strategic technologies and promoting US industry is not high on European agendas, and the idea of severing European and Chinese trade remains difficult to envision. Yet, there are already indications that NATO is making progress in convincing Europe to align with its regional stance.

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Prior to his visit to Washington at the end of June, Germany’s defence minister duly emphasised his recognition of “European responsibility for the Indo-Pacific” and the significance of “the rules-based international order” in the South China Sea.

The US and NATO’s deceptive tactics persist without restraint. To paraphrase a commonly used US phrase, it is high time for Europe and the rest of the world to wake up and smell the coffee, and dissolve NATO’s duplicity and its guerrilla army causing terror and anarchy throughout the world.