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Disunity in NATO?

Why the Ukraine Conflict Will Unravel NATO and Biden

July 19, 2023 SCHEERPOST, By Radhika Desai / CounterPunch

The proxy war on Russia is the centre piece of Biden’s foreign policy of uniting the world’s ‘democracies’ against ‘autocracies’, particularly China and Russia. He boasts repeatedly of uniting US allies, most in NATO, as never before. Though the real unity is spotty at best, until recently, the rhetoric seemed to work. No longer. At its recent Vilnius Summit, NATO’s disunity bubbled over, though not for the reasons most discussed in the press. The real reasons are rooted in developments that threaten to unravel not only Biden’s strategy, but also NATO.

Discordant strains were amply discussed in the run up to the summit. Members could not decide on any successor for Jens Stoltenberg. …………………..President Macron led (a not inconsiderable) opposition to establishing a permanent NATO presence in the East Asian region with an office in Tokyo. Though Finish membership was approved, President Erdoğan opposed Sweden’s membership until Biden offered him not only F-16s but also an IMF loan from aboard Air Force One.

Most spectacularly, while members once again promised to increase defence expenditure and production, and while the alliance made various commitments to supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia, not only did the clamour to induct Ukraine into NATO fail, but NATO proved unwilling even to commit to a timetable for entry. President Zelensky called this ‘absurd’ and the US administration called him ungrateful in return.

………………………………………… Always a work-in-progress, NATO unity has got more difficult as US power has declined. In recent decades, its chief glue has been US military power…………..  https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/19/why-the-ukraine-conflict-will-unravel-nato-and-biden/

July 20, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international