Bulgaria will invest 6 billion in infrastructure to rapidly deploy NATO forces – EURACTIV

Bulgaria will invest in infrastructure that will help, if necessary, deploy NATO forces on the eastern flank but can also be used for civilian needs, Defense Minister Todor Tagarev announced on Monday.

Currently, the multinational NATO battle group under Italian command is on Bulgarian territory, consisting of approximately 1,000 military personnel. The plans are to expand the contingent to 1,500 and build a military base for NATO needs in southern Bulgaria, allowing a brigade to be formed.

The deployment of a multinational NATO battle group on our territory has been discussed dozens or hundreds of times. During my visit to the United States (last week), we talked about how best to provide the necessary infrastructure as a host country and how the United States can help us so we can use available international co-financing funds for its construction, Tagarev told bTV.

Bulgaria has a bilateral agreement with the US for the joint use of four Bulgarian military bases.

The investment of 6 billion is unrelated to the defence budget and will be used for road and railway infrastructure to help rapidly deploy military formations when needed, said Tagarev.

The minister spoke of new roads and railways with the capacity to ensure rapid deployment of allied troops, as well as oil pipelines, gas pipelines, and new warehouses.

We are working on all these issues, not only within the competence of the Ministry of Defence, Todor Tagarev explained.

According to the minister, there are plans for all battle groups from the countries of the eastern flank of NATO to grow to brigade battle groups that is, up to about 5,000 people. This will happen when needed, we dont have a clear timetable at the moment. We have to be ready to provide the conditions when it happens, he said.

Over the past few years, Bulgaria has made relatively large investments in its military in an attempt to replace old Soviet equipment. The country bought new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets for $2.4 billion, 200 US Stryker infantry fighting vehicles for $1.1 billion and is building two new patrol ships.

Tagarev explained that Bulgaria will become a regional centre for repairing and maintaining Stryker combat vehicles.

Other projects include strengthening the coast guard, building new military radars, and even buying submarines.

(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)

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Russia could pose serious military threat to NATO in three to five years, Estonia warns – Yahoo News

Russia could reconstitute its military strength and become a significant military threat to NATO's eastern flank within three to five years, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told The Times on Jan. 15.

Citing Estonian intelligence, the PM warned that Moscow could pose a serious challenge to the eastern NATO members in foreseeable future.

Read also: Ukraine will become a member of NATO when all allies agree, and conditions are met Biden

"Much will depend on how successfully we manage to maintain our unity regarding Ukraine," said Kallas.

She added that, from the Baltic nations' perspective, Russia still has sufficient strength to exert real military pressure, despite having its fighting capacity significantly degraded by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: Latvia expels pro-Kremlin head of Latvia-Russia Association

Previously, Kallas cautioned that if the West does not aid Ukraine in winning the war, some NATO members could potentially become the Kremlins next targets for armed aggression.

Earlier reports indicated that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, it could take Russia five to ten years to rebuild the capabilities of its ground forces, and three to five years to replenish the stockpiles of precision-guided munitions.

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NATO says Bild article about war between Russia and Alliance is war game scenario – Yahoo News

The story by the German tabloid Bild, which says NATO is preparing for war with Russia, is based on a training scenario document.

Source: Jnis Srts, Director of the NATO Center of Excellence for Strategic Communications on Twitter; European Pravda

Details: Srts noted that Bild has a training scenario, which is always a fictional situation.

It is aimed at testing military capabilities in a particular area, Srts added.

"Previously, scenarios were completely invented with non-existent countries and geographical regions. Now it is more appropriate to use existing countries and geographical regions," Srts commented.

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NATO says Bild article about war between Russia and Alliance is war game scenario - Yahoo News

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...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 6 PMEST TUESDAY...* WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 7inches.* WHERE...Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties.* WHEN...From 6 AM to 6 PM EST Tuesday.* IMPACTS...Plan on snow covered and slippery road conditions. Thehazardous conditions will impact the Tuesday morning andevening commutes.PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...Periods of snow will result in snow covered roads and limitedvisibilities. Slow down and use caution while driving.Submit snow reports through our website or social media.&&

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Britain to send 20,000 troops to NATO training – Yahoo News

The UK is planning to send 20,000 military personnel to participate in a large-scale NATO training exercise that will take place across Europe in the first half of this year, news agency Reuters reported on Jan. 15.

Read also: UK weighing contingency to deploy forces to Ukraine if Russia greatly escalates war

Britain will send military personnel, ships and aircraft to Europe as part of NATO Steadfast Defender 24, aimed at practicing the defense of its eastern flank.

The deployment includes 16,000 British Army personnel based in Eastern Europe from February to June, and an aircraft carrier strike group. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and reconnaissance aircraft will also be involved.

"I can announce today that UK will be sending some 20,000 personnel to take part in one of NATO's largest deployments since the end of the Cold War," said UK Defense Minister Grant Shapps.

The military will join forces with colleagues from 30 NATO countries and Sweden, providing a crucial deterrent against the threat from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Shapps added.

Read also: UK, Ukraine sign 10-year security deal

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Britain to send 20,000 troops to NATO training - Yahoo News

Sweden seeks to tighten NATO’s grip in Baltic Sea with 2 new submarines – POLITICO Europe

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KARLSKRONA, Sweden Theyve been on the drawing board for more than a decade, but in the heart of a vast assembly hall in a shipyard on the Baltic Sea coast, Swedens two new A26 attack submarinesare finally coming together.

Set for launch in 2027 and 2028, the 66-meter-long diesel-electric subs, named Blekinge and Skne after two Swedish counties, are designed to patrol NATOs eastern reaches under the Baltic Sea, tracking and countering Moscows maritime moves amid ever worsening relations between Russia and Europe.

The two are Swedens first new subs to be built since the mid-1990s and will join four older vessels in the Nordic states fleet.

We have a long history of building submarines, said Mats Wicksell, the head of Kockums, a business area of Swedish military equipment manufacturer Saab which is building the A26s. But this is still a big step forward for us.

The looming Swedish launches underscore a nascent subsea renewal in Northern Europe, where the Norwegian navy recently ordered four new submarines from Germanys ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The Netherlands has received bids from TKMS, Saab Kockums and Frances Naval Group to build four submarines, while Denmark, which disposed of its fleet in 2004, recently suggested itmightreverse that move.

This expansion will partially bridge the gap to NATOs biggest European fleets, which are set for slight growth this decade, according to a report by Swedens Defense Research Agency. Six new French Barracuda class submarines are entering service and two further Type 212 subs will join an existing German fleet of six. The U.K.s fleet of Astute class submarines will total seven by the end of the decade and the Italian Todaro class submarines eight.

The European upgrades come amid a Russian PR drive about additions to its own fleet. In December, President Vladimir Putin posed on the dockside at Russias White Sea submarine production hub at Severodvinsk alongside two new vessels, the Krasnoyarsk and Emperor Alexander the Third.

The Russian navy will have 50 submarines in 2030, according to the Swedish report.

The U.S. submarine fleet is set to shrink slightly in numerical terms to 57 by 2030, but the continued introduction of the new Virginia class will serve to maintain and even widen America's technological advantage over its rivals during the same period, the Swedish report said.

Visited on a recent weekday, the Saab shipyard in the southern Swedish naval town of Karlskrona was humming with activity.

The partially built Blekinge was shrouded in scaffolding, while metal workers prepared further steel hull sections for highly skilled welders to later stitch together into a whole capable of withstanding blasts from mines and impact with the seabed. In another area, electricians threaded seemingly endless reams of wiring into high-tech interiors.

For Sweden, the long delayed new submarines they were initially supposed to enter service in 2018 and 2019 will be a shot in the arm in a rapidly deteriorating security environment.

Sweden has seenincursionsby an unidentified submarine in its territorial waters as well as explosions crippling the Russian-built Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in its maritime exclusive economic zone in 2022 and the severing of a subsea communications cable linkto Estoniain 2023.

Sweden reinstated conscription and remilitarized its strategically placed Baltic Sea of Gotland in the wake of Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014. Since the Kremlins full scale attack on Ukraine in 2022, it has boosted defense spending by 30 percent between 2023 and 2024 and applied to join NATO.

In early January, the Swedish government and the head of its armytoldcitizens to prepare themselves for war.

Theplan tolaunch the A26s has been a key pillar in Stockholms claim that it cancontributeto NATOs military strength,and isnt applying to join the alliance solely to benefit from its mutual defense guarantees.

Since the accession to NATO of the Baltic States in 2004 and Finland last April, the alliance has faced a headache over how to protect maritime supply lines to those states and restrict access to Russia in the event of conflict with the Kremlin.

Carl Gyhlenius, a Swedish former submarine commander and now a planner for the countrys navy, said he felt that NATO was getting a missing jigsaw piece with Sweden's NATO accession delayed by foot-dragging from Turkey and Hungary.

The Baltic Sea is hard to deal with if you don't have the necessary experience, and the fact that another country is joining NATO which has this as its backyard, with that regional expertise, that should ease operational problems, Gyhlenius said.

The Baltic is widely seen as a tricky operating environment because its varying salt levels affect sonar. It is also shallow and heavily trafficked, which increases collision risk.

On a recent visit to Stockholm, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg praised Swedens defense industry saying it offered advanced technology across a range of branches addingthat the NATO accession of the Nordic statewill be a big advantagefor the alliance as it seeks to maintainits technological edgeoveritsrivals.

Swedens first submarine, called the Shark, was launched in 1904, and over the decades that followed the Swedish navyexpanded its underwater capabilities as part of its broader effort to mount a credible national defense as a neutral state betweenEast andWest.

Toward the end of the last century,Swedish engineers achieved a technical breakthrough with a system called air independent propulsion (AIP) which allowed Swedish submarines to operate for longer periods without surfacing, aiding their ability to evade detection.

Following the end of the Cold War, Sweden cut back on defense spending and its submarine program was largely on hold foradecade until 2010, when Defense Minister Sten Tolgfors announced a plan to build the A26.

Through this significant renewal, we are ensuring that the Swedish submarine fleet will continue to maintain the highest international class, he said. Modern submarines represent a significant obstacle to any actor who wants to use the Baltic Sea for anything other than peaceful shipping.

In the years since, the A26 project has been criticized for delays and cost overruns.

But its defenders say the wait and extra cost will be justified by the delivery of vessels tailor-made for Baltic Sea conditions at a time when control of that waterway is geopolitically vital.

In its promotional material, Saab notes that the dimensions of the A26 as well as its updated AIP system and new sonar-defeating hull design make it ideally suited to the Baltic.

It also has a new modular design, which will allow obsolete technology to be replaced with new systems more easily and a new portal toward the front of the boat will also allow easier interaction between the crew inside the vessel and divers or unmanned vessels operating outside, Saab says.

Kockums chief Wicksell said the A26 represents value for money because its combination of stealth and advanced weapons systems can help ward off foes and reduce the risk of a costly future conflict.

If I know there is something out there but I dont know where it is and I cant defend myself against it, that is a deterrent, he said.

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Sweden seeks to tighten NATO's grip in Baltic Sea with 2 new submarines - POLITICO Europe

Russian Foreign Ministry dismisses Bild claims that Russia is preparing for war with NATO – Yahoo News

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova characterized a recent article in German newspaper Bild as last year's horoscope for Pisces in Cancer, in a Telegram post on Jan. 15.

The article alleges that Bild obtained a secret document from the German military that details how a conflict between Russia and NATO might arise, with events unfolding month by month. The culmination involves deployment of hundreds of thousands of NATO soldiers and the start of war in the summer of 2025.

No aspect of this alleged document has been confirmed by either official or independent sources.

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KSF experts assess Ukraine's EU and NATO prospects in 2024

NATO to hold a meeting on Russias recent wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities

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NATO top job should go to country that pays up on defense, Latvian FM says – POLITICO Europe

Latvian Foreign Minister Krijnis Kari, who has joined the race to become NATO's next secretary-general, thinks the job should go to someone from a country that walks the talk on defense spending.

Latvia is investing "about 2.4 percent of our GDP into defense this year, and we're heading up to 3 percent in the next three years," Kari told POLITICO's Power Play podcast.

"We sort of put our money where our mouths are," the foreign minister added. "Which is important, I think, for any secretary-general to be able to speak to those members who are not yet doing it."

Several European leaders have expressed interest in taking over as head of the military alliance after NATO's current chief, Jens Stoltenberg, announced he would step down at the end of his term, which was extended until October.

Aside from Kari, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who could become the alliance's first female boss, and the Netherlands' outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte have also said they are interested in the job.

While Rutte is considered to be the front-runner, he has faced criticism over his country's failure to meet the alliance's defense spending target, set at 2 percent of each country's gross domestic product. Estonia's spending has surpassed that mark since 2015, according to NATO. Latvia has contributed more than 2 percent of its GDP to defense since 2018.

Aside from the role of NATO chief, the race for top jobs in the European Union has otherwise already started in Brussels, after European Council President Charles Michel announced he would run in the European election in June.

If elected, Michel would take office in July, meaning that EU leaders would have to rush through what are usually lengthy negotiations to find his replacement.

Otherwise, they risk having Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbn who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin step in to temporarily chair the meetings between EU leaders as his country takes on the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on July 1.

Kari said Michel's announcement took him "a little bit by surprise," and added it was "very difficult to imagine how an agreement could be taken before the elections."

If he doesn't get the NATO job, Kari who is a former member of the European Parliament said he would not rule out coming back to the European capital. Although he would seek to do so as an EU commissioner instead.

"Politics is a fickle business ... I can certainly close no doors today," Kari said.

"Who knows what tomorrow will bring," he concluded.

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NATO top job should go to country that pays up on defense, Latvian FM says - POLITICO Europe

Greece assumes command of permanent NATO naval force – Kathimerini English Edition

[Hellenic National Defense General Staff]

Greek Captain Fotis Paraskevas took over the command duties of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Maritime Group Two (SNMCMG2) with the handover ceremony taking place at the Naval Base La Spezia in Italy on Friday, as was announced by the Hellenic National Defense General Staff on Monday.

Italian Captain Ettore Ronco transferred the responsibilities to Captain Paraskevas aboard the General Support Ship HERACLES on Friday. The event was attended by NATO Rear Admiral Stefan D. Pauly.

Greeces involvement in SNMCMG2, one of NATOs two permanently activated naval forces for mine countermeasure operations, enhances its role in ensuring maritime safety, particularly in the Mediterranean region.

SNMCMG2 provides NATO with immediate operational response capability, specifically as part of the NATO Response Force (NRF), during periods of peace, crisis and tension. Command rotation occurs semi-annually among participating states.

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Greece assumes command of permanent NATO naval force - Kathimerini English Edition

UK to send 20000 troops in biggest NATO deployment in 40 years, says defence secretary – The Derby Informer

The UK is to deploy 20,000 troops and lead a NATO exercise that is designed to deter Vladimir Putin from threatening countries in Europe, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has said.He told GB News: This will be the biggest deployments of UK troops to NATO for about 40 years.This is an operation which is designed to essentially allow NATO to test our approach in what isa much more dangerous world, given the conflicts in Europe, conflicts in the Middle East, but also the sort of intent of people like Putin to really disrupt the world order and our way of life, and so we'll be leading that NATO exercise which will be about 40,000 people overall.In a discussion during Breakfast with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster, he continued: We've seen what Putin is capable of, we know that he's walked into a democratic neighbour in Ukraine and caused mayhem.And sometimes it's tempting to think, well, what's this got to do with us, but we saw last year, didnt we, with that enormous spike in energy prices and the incredible cost to households here.What happens over there really does matter here as well and we know that Putin has the intent so this very large military exercise involving 30 countries - 31, because it involves Sweden who are not yet in NATO - is designed to make sure that we are ready and we've tested our approach to anything that Putin might throw our way or anyone else in the future.Asked about polling indicating that the Tories are heading for 1997-style defeat at the next General Election, he said: While we have a plan that we're working to and that plan has started as see inflation really plummeting, the economy growing, we've seen tax cuts which now in January have come through and are worth about 450 pounds for somebody on the average salary.And I hope we can do more in that direction. In other words, we have a plan. It's working and it's starting to work.We'd be going right back to square one if we got Keir Starmer and Labour in now.WATCH ABOVE.

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UK to send 20000 troops in biggest NATO deployment in 40 years, says defence secretary - The Derby Informer

Russia likely to menace NATO Eastern Flank in ‘three to five years,’ Kallas tells UK daily – ERR News

Europe has between three and five years to prepare a resurgent Russian military as a serious threat to NATO's eastern flank, including Estonia's eastern border, Kaja Kallas told British daily The Times.

"Our intelligence estimates it to be three to five years, and that very much depends on how we manage our unity and keep our posture regarding Ukraine," the prime minister told The Times.

"What Russia wants is a pause, and this pause is to gather its resources and strength. Weakness provokes aggressors, so weakness provokes Russia," she added.

Kallas conceded that it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain NATO unity, with signs of war fatigue present in several western nations, and the possibility of Donald Trump returning as U.S president, which would undermine NATP deterrence, the paper wrote.

"It's becoming harder [to maintain unity] all the time because the topics are getting harder as well," Kallas added.

"We are all democracies, and in democracies you have domestic problems that kick in and the war has been going on for some time so that it sort of becomes wallpaper," the prime minister continued, adding that it is nonetheless the obligation of leaders to continued to explain why Ukraine must be supported and must triumph, for the sake of all of Europe's security.

In the longer term, NATO needs to to adopt a Cold War-style "containment" strategy towards Russia, Kallas added, with defense spending of 2.5 per cent of GDP per year as a baseline minimum for western nations.

A report by the Foreign Intelligence Service (Vlisluureamet) which Kallas had cited says Moscow regarded Estonia as among the most vulnerable parts of the NATO alliance and thus the most likely location for any potential attack.

This is the case even with Russia's losses in its invasion of Ukraine so far estimated at up to 300,000 casualties, while irredentism and never having had to take responsibility for past atrocities being among the driving forces of Russian aggression.

The rest of the interview deals with a recent spate of disruption to GPS navigation across the southern Baltic Sea, which Kallas has said was likely conducted or at least caused by Russia Kallas was the first NATO leader to suggest this, shortfalls in relation to NATO capabilities LINK, and different theorized windows of time which Russia might require to rebuild its military fully after the Ukraine war.

As noted Kallas put this time-frame at around five years, while other estimates have put the figure at up to nine years.

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British troops deploy to northern Norway ahead of huge NATO Arctic exercise – The Independent Barents Observer

The bi-annual winter wargamepreviously known as Cold Response has changed its name to Nordic Response. While Norway used to be a lonely NATO member above the European Arctic Circle, Finland and soon Sweden are now in the team of allied countries protecting shared freedom and democratic values.

About 20,000 soldiers will participate when the exercise kicks off in March.

British soldiers are already heading north, the Royal Navy informs.

Camp Viking, some 65 km south of Troms, serves as hub for the British soldiers winter training.

The UK Commando Force remains the partner of choice for our Norwegian counterparts, and increasingly to new NATO member Finland along with Sweden, whose Special Operations Forces and Coastal Rangers will be working with the Royal Marines, says Spokesperson for the Commando Force, Major Ric Cole.

Together, and with US and Dutch involvement, we seek to develop a potent force capable of Defending NATOs Arctic flank, he says.

About 1,000 British troopers will be at Camp Viking. Those already in place face freezing training in temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Celsius, honing their survival skills.

The Brits will also fly in helicopters like the Apache fighting aircraft first tested in Arctic Norway back in 2019.

Against the backdrop of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Norway and European neighbors have raised concerns about Putins Arctic rearmament. Before Putin ordered full-scale war, NATO membership was not on the agenda neither in Helsinki or Stockholm.

A core element duringNordic Response is to train cross-border defense and movement of military hardware between the northernmost parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Air forces will be active with about 100 aircraft. Outside the coast of northern Norway, over 50 submarines, frigates, corvettes, aircraft carriers, and various amphibious vessels will be active, the Norwegian Armed Forces informs.

14 countries take part in Nordic Response with a total of about 20,000 soldiers. Unlike previous NATO exercises in northern Norway, core areas of operations are moved north to the Alta, Lakselv area, with corresponding sailings by warships off the coast of Finnmark.

Although still hundreds of kilometers from the border with Russias Kola Peninsula, the signaling effect to Moscow is not to be mistaken.

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British troops deploy to northern Norway ahead of huge NATO Arctic exercise - The Independent Barents Observer

Russian official compares media claims that NATO is preparing for Russian offensive to "last year’s horoscope" – Yahoo News

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has responded to a leaked German plan for how the country would respond to a Russian hybrid assault on NATOs eastern flank, which it suggests might occur in July 2024.

Source: Maria Zakharova on Telegram

Details: German tabloid Bild has leaked the details of what it claims to be a secret memo by the German Defence Ministry that outlines a possible "path to conflict" between Russia and NATO. The memo outlines Russias actions and the Wests response month by month, with Russia expected to launch hybrid assaults on European countries in the summer of 2024 and to start a full-scale war in the summer of 2025.

The memo envisions that Russia could use clashes in the Baltic states as a pretext to deploy troops and medium-range missile systems to Kaliningrad and could invade NATO countries during the US presidential elections.

The German Defence Ministrys Alliance Defence 2025 plan is allegedly set to be put in place in February 2024, as Germany considers it possible that Russia might launch a new offensive in Ukraine in the spring.

Quote from Zakharova: "I read Germanys secret plan that was leaked to Bild, an information gutter. Its like a mighty horoscope from last year for Pisces in Cancer. I suppose that the analysis was undertaken by the German Foreign Ministry headed by [Annalena] Baerbock."

Previously: Russian officials denied Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine ahead of the full-scale invasion. For the past two years, Russia has referred to its war against Ukraine as a "special military operation". It also denies it intends to launch an attack on NATO, but NATO countries are still preparing for a possible Russian invasion on NATOs eastern flank.

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Russian official compares media claims that NATO is preparing for Russian offensive to "last year's horoscope" - Yahoo News

Putin will only trigger World War Three if he feels Nato are unprepared, ex-commander of US forces in Europe warns – LBC

16 January 2024, 06:59 | Updated: 16 January 2024, 07:04

Vladimir Putin will do the unthinkable if he feels Nato are unprepared, a former commander of US forces in Europe has warned.

Ben Hodges, who was commander of the US army in Europe between 2014 and 2018, said another world war would only happen if Russia felt Nato was not prepared or united.

He said plans leaked from the German Ministry of Defence may seem "scary" but it shows the threat is being taken "seriously".

The documents, which emerged on Monday, show how Nato could respond to World War Three, with a step-by-step plan showing how the West would resist aggression launched by Putin.

"[Russia] only respect strength. If they sense any weakness then they will continue to move forward," Mr Hodges said, according to the Mail.

"If they did it, it would be because they made the assessment that we were not ready or unified inside the alliance or that we did not have adequate ammunition or the ability to move fast enough.

"But if we are prepared, they still have a long way to go."

Read more: Cyber attacks, riots and lies: Leaked documents show step-by-step plan for how Putin could trigger World War Three

Read more: UK to send hundreds of air defence missiles to Ukraine as Sunak condemns Putin's revenge attack

Mr Hodges went on to say the best way to prevent a war is to "be prepared for it".

"The UK has always been aware of the threat from Russia but now Germany are realising that this is something thats only going to get worse if theyre not prepared," he said.

"So readiness - with all the right equipment and capabilities - is exactly what nations should be doing. And Germany is doing that."

The ex-commander added: "If the civilian leadership doesnt think theres a threat, they wont be able to move quickly enough. Our leaders should talk to us like adults.

"It doesnt mean you're a scaremongerer, it means you're taking precaution, which is exactly what we should be doing."

The "Alliance Defence 2025" plans are not an early warning of how events will go - but a hypothetical scenario for decision-makers to consider.

The scenario looks at Russia mobilising 200,000 more men as its forces are bogged down in Ukraine.

Putin uses them to launch a spring offensive, winning the war in June in a nightmare scenario for Europe.

Hybrid attacks are then launched on the West, before Russia builds up forces on the border with Nato countries Poland and Lithuania.

After stirring up tensions in the Baltics, Nato deploys 300,000 soldiers east on "Day X" as they stare down Russian forces over the Suwalki gap, the region between Moscow's satellite Belarus and its Kaliningrad enclave.

A spokesperson for the ministry said: "Basically, I can tell you that considering different scenarios, even if they are extremely unlikely, is part of everyday military business, especially in training."

Link:

Putin will only trigger World War Three if he feels Nato are unprepared, ex-commander of US forces in Europe warns - LBC

‘Critical’ for NATO allies to grow defence budgets, Grant Shapps warns – as he commits UK to 2.5% spending target – Yahoo News UK

The Hill

Election officials in Virginias Prince William County have acknowledged roughly 4,000 votes were misreported in former President Trumps favor during the 2020 presidential election, when President Joe Biden went on to win the state. A release from the countys Office of Elections announced Trump incorrectly received 2,327 extra votes, while Biden was shorted 1,648 votes.

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'Critical' for NATO allies to grow defence budgets, Grant Shapps warns - as he commits UK to 2.5% spending target - Yahoo News UK

Grant Shapps heralds ‘biggest deployment of troops to Nato for 40 years’ – Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Grant Shapps discusses the biggest deployment of troops to Nato for 40 years.The Defence Secretary spoke to GB News as the UK prepares to send 20,000 troops in one of Natos largest military exercises since the Cold War.The alliance is practicing repelling an invasion by Russian President Vladimir Putins forces.This is a an operation which is designed to essentially allow NATO to test our approach in what is a much more dangerous world given the conflicts in Europe, the conflicts in the Middle East, but also the sort of intent of people like Putin to really disrupt the world order on our way of life, Shapps told Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster.Some 16,000 troops with tanks, artillery and helicopters will be deployed from the British Army across eastern Europe starting next month as part of the exercise.The Royal Navy will deploy more than 2,000 sailors across eight warships and submarines, while more than 400 Royal Marines Commandos will be sent to the Arctic Circle.

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Grant Shapps heralds 'biggest deployment of troops to Nato for 40 years' - Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Candid discussions key to building effective GCC-NATO partnership – Arab News

Bahrain this week hosted an important meeting of NATO and its regional partners to discuss closer cooperation. This was the fifth meeting held by the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Policy Advisory Group since it was established and its first since 2018, reflecting the urgency NATO gives to the Gulf region after the Ukraine conflict.

The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was established at the 2004 NATO Summit in Istanbul to promote security cooperation between the organization and partner countries. Although the original purpose was to include the broader Middle East region, currently only four countries have joined the ICI Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. Other GCC countries participate in selected activities within the ICI framework without formally being part of it.

Activities under the ICI initiative include political and security dialogue, practical cooperation, defense planning, civil preparedness, counterterrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

NATO has applauded the ICI partners contributions to NATO-led operations and missions. It cites Bahrains contribution to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Kuwait, meanwhile, signed the first ever transit agreement in the Gulf with NATO in 2012, allowing for the movement of military equipment through the country. It is also part of the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction mechanism, an international initiative to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean. Qatar participated in Operation Unified Protector in Libya in 2011. The UAE has also contributed substantially to NATO operations and missions over the years, including in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, which started in 2003, and joining the International Security Assistance Force in 2008. The UAE also participated in Operation Unified Protector in Libya in 2011.

In recognition of the importance of Kuwait and the Gulf region in general to NATO, the NATO-ICI Regional Center was established in Kuwait City in 2017. It acts as a hub for the enhancement of practical cooperation between NATO and its ICI partners and the GCC region as a whole. According to NATO, the centers goal is to improve common understanding of security challenges increased interoperability and standardization. It promotes practical cooperation in various areas including strategic analysis, civil preparedness, military-to-military cooperation and public diplomacy. Its activities are open to all countries participating in the ICI, as well as other GCC countries and the GCC Secretariat.

The GCC and NATO have overlapping interests, but they also have differences in their approach to regional crises

Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

The Bahrain meeting held on Wednesday and Thursday sought to shore up cooperation between NATO and its ICI partners, but also to the rest of the GCC membership and its institutions. When the GCC was established in 1981, integration between its six member states was its main objective. Since then, the focus of that process has revolved around four main parallel tracks political, defense, internal security and economic integration almost in equal measures.

Those four paths of integration intersect during the GCCs periodic assessments of regional threats and challenges. On Sunday, for example, its regional security team will meet, for the fourth time in the past 12 months, for that purpose.

In the current review of regional security, more than a dozen threats and serious challenges are examined. They include Irans nuclear deal, the proliferation of missiles and drones, territorial disputes with Iran, instability in neighboring countries, maritime security, cybersecurity, terrorism, arms smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal migration, and human trafficking. Challenges that also affect regional security include climate change, water security, food security and the recurrent spread of pandemics. There are also competing Gulf security concepts that the GCC needs to address.

Most, though not all, of these security concerns intersect with those of NATO, which argues for closer cooperation between the two organizations. NATO has recognized the need to engage with countries outside its membership and, given the GCC states strategic importance and geographic location, those countries have figured prominently in its partnership plans with nonmembers. The Ukraine war has added some urgency to NATOs reaching out to GCC states and others.

There were extensive discussions on enhancing cooperation among ICI partners, which will likely continue within the ICI and NATO institutional setup. In addition, NATO is seeking out wider cooperation with other GCC states that are not currently ICI members and with the GCC organization. The GCC and NATO have been discussing for some time possible formal instruments for cooperation. GCC-NATO cooperation would be in parallel with and not a substitute for cooperation among the current ICI partners, although they will likely overlap at times.

Some of the proposals currently under discussion for GCC-NATO engagement include political dialogue, as both organizations are concerned with regional crises and their spillover effects globally, such as the conflicts in Yemen, Sudan, Palestine/Israel and Syria/Lebanon. Security dialogue is also important, as both are also concerned about Irans nuclear program and the proliferation of missiles and drones, cyberwarfare and threats to maritime security and freedom of navigation.

The political and security dialogues being proposed for GCC-NATO are similar to those conducted or planned under the framework of the GCC-EU Strategic Partnership announced in February 2022.

In addition to these dialogues, the GCC and NATO could also consider closer engagement on defense integration modalities, including the GCCs unified military command. NATO naturally provides a model for the most effective joint command. Another area of cooperation could involve the recently established GCC Strategic and Defense Academy, which will accept its first students in September.

The GCC and NATO have overlapping interests, but they also have differences in their approach to regional crises. To build an effective partnership, open and candid discussions need to take place to address the shared interests, differences and special concerns that each organization may have.

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Candid discussions key to building effective GCC-NATO partnership - Arab News

NATO – Wikipedia

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; French: Organisation du trait de l'Atlantique nord, OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states 28 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World WarII, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949.[3][4] NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber[5] (Latin for "a mind unfettered in deliberation").

NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while NATO's military headquarters are near Mons, Belgium. The alliance has targeted its NATO Response Force deployments in Eastern Europe, and the combined militaries of all NATO members include around 3.5million soldiers and personnel.[6] Their combined military spending as of 2020[update] constituted over 57 percent of the global nominal total.[7] Moreover, members have agreed to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least two percent of their GDP by 2024.[8][9]

NATO formed with twelve founding members and has added new members eight times, most recently when North Macedonia joined the alliance in March 2020. Following the acceptance of their applications for membership in June 2022, Finland and Sweden are anticipated to become the 31st and 32nd members, with their Accession Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty now in the process of being ratified by the existing members.[10] The other remaining European Economic Area or Schengen Area countries not part of NATO are Ireland, Austria and Switzerland (in addition to a few other European island countries and microstates). In addition, NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members.[3] Enlargement has led to tensions with non-member Russia, one of the twenty additional countries participating in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. Another nineteen countries are involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes with NATO.

The Treaty of Dunkirk was signed by France and the United Kingdom on 4 March 1947, during the aftermath of World WarII and the start of the Cold War, as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance in the event of possible attacks by Germany or the Soviet Union. In March 1948, this alliance was expanded in the Treaty of Brussels to include the Benelux countries, forming the Brussels Treaty Organization, commonly known as the Western Union.[11] Talks for a wider military alliance, which could include North America, also began that month in the United States, where their foreign policy under the Truman Doctrine promoted international solidarity against actions they saw as communist aggression, such as the February 1948 coup d'tat in Czechoslovakia. These talks resulted in the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 by the member states of the Western Union plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.[12] Canadian diplomat Lester B. Pearson was a key author and drafter of the treaty.[13][14][15]

The North Atlantic Treaty was largely dormant until the Korean War initiated the establishment of NATO to implement it with an integrated military structure. This included the formation of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in 1951, which adopted many of the Western Union's military structures and plans,[16] including their agreements on standardizing equipment and agreements on stationing foreign military forces in European countries. In 1952, the post of Secretary General of NATO was established as the organization's chief civilian. That year also saw the first major NATO maritime exercises, Exercise Mainbrace and the accession of Greece and Turkey to the organization.[17][18] Following the London and Paris Conferences, West Germany was permitted to rearm militarily, as they joined NATO in May 1955, which was, in turn, a major factor in the creation of the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact, delineating the two opposing sides of the Cold War.[19]

The building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 marked a height in Cold War tensions, when 400,000US troops were stationed in Europe.[20] Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of France from NATO's military structure in 1966.[22] In 1982, the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance.[23]

The Revolutions of 1989 in Europe led to a strategic re-evaluation of NATO's purpose, nature, tasks, and focus on the continent. In October 1990, East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance, and in November 1990, the alliance signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) in Paris with the Soviet Union. It mandated specific military reductions across the continent, which continued after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact in February 1991 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union that December, which removed the de facto main adversaries of NATO.[24] This began a draw-down of military spending and equipment in Europe. The CFE treaty allowed signatories to remove 52,000pieces of conventional armaments in the following sixteen years,[25] and allowed military spending by NATO's European members to decline by 28 percent from 1990 to 2015.[26] In 1990 assurances were given by several Western leaders to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand further east, as revealed by memoranda of private conversations.[27][28][29][30] However, the final text of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, signed later that year, contained no mention of the issue of eastward expansion.

In the 1990s, the organization extended its activities into political and humanitarian situations that had not formerly been NATO concerns.[31] During the Breakup of Yugoslavia, the organization conducted its first military interventions in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and later Yugoslavia in 1999.[32] These conflicts motivated a major post-Cold War military restructuring. NATO's military structure was cut back and reorganized, with new forces such as the Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps established.

Politically, the organization sought better relations with the newly autonomous Central and Eastern European states, and diplomatic forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up during this post-Cold War period, including the Partnership for Peace and the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative in 1994, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997, and the NATORussia Permanent Joint Council in 1998. At the 1999 Washington summit, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic officially joined NATO, and the organization also issued new guidelines for membership with individualized "Membership Action Plans". These plans governed the addition of new alliance members: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, and North Macedonia in 2020.[33] The election of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 led to a major reform of France's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on 4 April 2009, which also included France rejoining the NATO Military Command Structure, while maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent.[22][34][35]

Article5 of the North Atlantic treaty, requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the September 11 attacks,[36] after which troops were deployed to Afghanistan under the NATO-led ISAF. The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending trainers to Iraq, assisting in counter-piracy operations,[37] and in 2011 enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

Russia's annexation of Crimea led to strong condemnation by all NATO members,[38] and was one of the seven times that Article 4, which calls for consultation among NATO members, has been invoked. Prior times included during the Iraq War and Syrian Civil War.[39] At the 2014 Wales summit, the leaders of NATO's member states formally committed for the first time to spend the equivalent of at least two percent of their gross domestic products on defence by 2024, which had previously been only an informal guideline.[40] At the 2016 Warsaw summit, NATO countries agreed on the creation of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence, which deployed four multinational battalion-sized battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.[41] Before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, several NATO countries sent ground troops, warships and fighter aircraft to reinforce the alliance's eastern flank, and multiple countries again invoked Article 4.[42][43][44] In March 2022, NATO leaders met at Brussels for an extraordinary summit which also involved Group of Seven and European Union leaders.[45] NATO member states agreed to establish four additional battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia,[41] and elements of the NATO Response Force were activated for the first time in NATO's history.[46]

As of June 2022, NATO had deployed 40,000 troops along its 2,500-kilometres-long Eastern flank to deter Russian aggression. More than half of this number have been deployed in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, which five countries muster a considerable combined ex-NATO force of 259,000 troops. To supplement Bulgaria's Air Force, Spain sent Eurofighter Typhoons, the Netherlands sent eight F-35 attack aircraft, and additional French and US attack aircraft would arrive soon as well.[47]

NATO enjoys public support across its member states.[48]

No military operations were conducted by NATO during the Cold War. Following the end of the Cold War, the first operations, Anchor Guard in 1990 and Ace Guard in 1991, were prompted by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Airborne early warning aircraft were sent to provide coverage of southeastern Turkey, and later a quick-reaction force was deployed to the area.[49]

The Bosnian War began in 1992, as a result of the Breakup of Yugoslavia. The deteriorating situation led to United Nations Security Council Resolution 816 on 9 October 1992, ordering a no-fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina, which NATO began enforcing on 12 April 1993 with Operation Deny Flight. From June 1993 until October 1996, Operation Sharp Guard added maritime enforcement of the arms embargo and economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first wartime action by shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft violating the no-fly zone.

On 10 and 11 April 1994, the United Nations Protection Force called in air strikes to protect the Gorade safe area, resulting in the bombing of a Bosnian Serb military command outpost near Gorade by two US F-16 jets acting under NATO direction. In retaliation, Serbs took 150U.N. personnel hostage on 14 April.[52][53] On 16 April a British Sea Harrier was shot down over Gorade by Serb forces.

In August 1995, a two-week NATO bombing campaign, Operation Deliberate Force, began against the Army of the Republika Srpska, after the Srebrenica genocide.[55] Further NATO air strikes helped bring the Yugoslav Wars to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement in November 1995.[55] As part of this agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated peacekeeping force, under Operation Joint Endeavor, named IFOR. Almost 60,000 NATO troops were joined by forces from non-NATO countries in this peacekeeping mission. This transitioned into the smaller SFOR, which started with 32,000 troops initially and ran from December 1996 until December 2004, when operations were then passed onto the European Union Force Althea. Following the lead of its member states, NATO began to award a service medal, the NATO Medal, for these operations.[57]

In an effort to stop Slobodan Miloevi's Serbian-led crackdown on KLA separatists and Albanian civilians in Kosovo, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1199 on 23 September 1998 to demand a ceasefire. Negotiations under US Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke broke down on 23 March 1999, and he handed the matter to NATO,[58] which started a 78-day bombing campaign on 24 March 1999.[59] Operation Allied Force targeted the military capabilities of what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During the crisis, NATO also deployed one of its international reaction forces, the ACE Mobile Force (Land), to Albania as the Albania Force (AFOR), to deliver humanitarian aid to refugees from Kosovo.[citation needed]

The campaign was criticized over whether it had legitimacy and for the civilian casualties, including the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Miloevi finally accepted the terms of an international peace plan on 3 June 1999, ending the Kosovo War. On 11 June, Miloevi further accepted UN resolution 1244, under the mandate of which NATO then helped establish the KFOR peacekeeping force. Nearly one million refugees had fled Kosovo, and part of KFOR's mandate was to protect the humanitarian missions, in addition to deterring violence.[60] In AugustSeptember 2001, the alliance also mounted Operation Essential Harvest, a mission disarming ethnic Albanian militias in the Republic of Macedonia.[61] As of 1December2013[update], 4,882KFOR soldiers, representing 31countries, continue to operate in the area.[62][non-primary source needed]

The US, the UK, and most other NATO countries opposed efforts to require the UN Security Council to approve NATO military strikes, such as the action against Serbia in 1999, while France and some others claimed that the alliance needed UN approval.[63] The US/UK side claimed that this would undermine the authority of the alliance, and they noted that Russia and China would have exercised their Security Council vetoes to block the strike on Yugoslavia, and could do the same in future conflicts where NATO intervention was required, thus nullifying the entire potency and purpose of the organization. Recognizing the post-Cold War military environment, NATO adopted the Alliance Strategic Concept during its Washington summit in April 1999 that emphasized conflict prevention and crisis management.[64][non-primary source needed]

The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter for the first time in the organization's history.[65] The Article states that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The invocation was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty.[66][non-primary source needed] The eight official actions taken by NATO in response to the attacks included Operation Eagle Assist and Operation Active Endeavour, a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and to enhance the security of shipping in general, which began on 4 October 2001.[67][non-primary source needed]

The alliance showed unity: on 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which included troops from 42 countries. The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two countries leading ISAF at the time of the agreement, and all nineteen NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked the first time in NATO's history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area.[68][pageneeded]

ISAF was initially charged with securing Kabul and surrounding areas from the Taliban, al Qaeda and factional warlords, so as to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai. In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan,[69][non-primary source needed] and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country.[70][non-primary source needed]

On 31 July 2006, the ISAF additionally took over military operations in the south of Afghanistan from a US-led anti-terrorism coalition.[71] Due to the intensity of the fighting in the south, in 2011 France allowed a squadron of Mirage 2000 fighter/attack aircraft to be moved into the area, to Kandahar, in order to reinforce the alliance's efforts.[72] During its 2012 Chicago Summit, NATO endorsed a plan to end the Afghanistan war and to remove the NATO-led ISAF Forces by the end of December 2014.[73] ISAF was disestablished in December 2014 and replaced by the follow-on training Resolute Support Mission.[74]

On 14 April 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by May 1.[75] Soon after the withdrawal of NATO troops started, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government, quickly advancing in front of collapsing Afghan Armed Forces.[76] By 15 August 2021, Taliban militants controlled the vast majority of Afghanistan and had encircled the capital city of Kabul.[77] Some politicians in NATO member states have described the chaotic withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan and the collapse of the Afghan government as the greatest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding.[78][79]

In August 2004, during the Iraq War, NATO formed the NATO Training Mission Iraq, a training mission to assist the Iraqi security forces in conjunction with the US-led MNF-I.[80] The NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) was established at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government under the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546. The aim of NTM-I was to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions so that Iraq can build an effective and sustainable capability that addresses the needs of the country. NTM-I was not a combat mission but is a distinct mission, under the political control of the North Atlantic Council. Its operational emphasis was on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission were coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the US-led Deputy Commanding General Advising and Training, who was also dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-I. The mission officially concluded on 17 December 2011.[81]

Turkey invoked the first Article 4 meetings in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War. Turkey also invoked this article twice in 2012 during the Syrian Civil War, after the downing of an unarmed Turkish F-4 reconnaissance jet, and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria,[82] and again in 2015 after threats by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to its territorial integrity.[83]

Beginning on 17 August 2009, NATO deployed warships in an operation to protect maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean from Somali pirates, and help strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states. The operation was approved by the North Atlantic Council and involved warships primarily from the United States though vessels from many other countries were also included. Operation Ocean Shield focused on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider which were distributing aid as part of the World Food Programme mission in Somalia. Russia, China and South Korea sent warships to participate in the activities as well.[84][non-primary source needed][85][non-primary source needed] The operation sought to dissuade and interrupt pirate attacks, protect vessels, and to increase the general level of security in the region.[86][non-primary source needed]

During the Libyan Civil War, violence between protesters and the Libyan government under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi escalated, and on 17 March 2011 led to the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which called for a ceasefire, and authorized military action to protect civilians. A coalition that included several NATO members began enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya shortly afterwards, beginning with Opration Harmattan by the French Air Force on 19 March.

On 20 March 2011, NATO states agreed on enforcing an arms embargo against Libya with Operation Unified Protector using ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group1 and Standing Mine Countermeasures Group1,[87] and additional ships and submarines from NATO members.[88] They would "monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries".[87]

On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone from the initial coalition, while command of targeting ground units remained with the coalition's forces.[89][90] NATO began officially enforcing the UN resolution on 27 March 2011 with assistance from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.[91] By June, reports of divisions within the alliance surfaced as only eight of the 28 member states were participating in combat operations,[92] resulting in a confrontation between US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and countries such as Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Germany with Gates calling on the latter to contribute more and the latter believing the organization has overstepped its mandate in the conflict.[93][94][95] In his final policy speech in Brussels on 10 June, Gates further criticized allied countries in suggesting their actions could cause the demise of NATO.[96] The German foreign ministry pointed to "aconsiderable [German] contribution to NATO and NATO-led operations" and to the fact that this engagement was highly valued by President Obama.[97]

While the mission was extended into September, Norway that day (10 June) announced it would begin scaling down contributions and complete withdrawal by 1 August.[98] Earlier that week it was reported Danish air fighters were running out of bombs.[99][100] The following week, the head of the Royal Navy said the country's operations in the conflict were not sustainable.[101] By the end of the mission in October 2011, after the death of Colonel Gaddafi, NATO planes had flown about 9,500 strike sorties against pro-Gaddafi targets.[102][103] A report from the organization Human Rights Watch in May 2012 identified at least 72 civilians killed in the campaign.[104]

Following a coup d'tat attempt in October 2013, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan requested technical advice and trainers from NATO to assist with ongoing security issues.[105]

Use of Article 5 has been threatened multiple times and four out of seven official Article 4 consultations have been called due to spillover in Turkey from the Syrian Civil War. In April 2012, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan considered invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty to protect Turkish national security in a dispute over the Syrian Civil War.[106][107] The alliance responded quickly, and a spokesperson said the alliance was "monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to do so" and "takes it very seriously protecting its members."[108]

After the shooting down of a Turkish military jet by Syria in June 2012 and Syrian forces shelling Turkish cities in October of 2012[109] resulting in two Article 4 consultations, NATO approved Operation Active Fence. In the past decade the conflict has only escalated. In response to the 2015 Suru bombing, which Turkey attributed to ISIS, and other security issues along its southern border,[110][111][112][113] Turkey called for an emergency meeting. The latest consultation happened in February 2020, as part of increasing tensions due to the Northwestern Syria offensive, which involved[114] Syrian and suspected Russian airstrikes on Turkish troops, and risked direct confrontration between Russia and a NATO member.[115] Each escalation and attack has been meet with an extension of the initial Operation Active Fence mission.

NATO has thirty members, mainly in Europe and North America. Some of these countries also have territory on multiple continents, which can be covered only as far south as the Tropic of Cancer in the Atlantic Ocean, which defines NATO's "area of responsibility" under Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty. During the original treaty negotiations, the United States insisted that colonies such as the Belgian Congo be excluded from the treaty.[117] French Algeria was, however, covered until its independence on 3 July 1962.[118] Twelve of these thirty are original members who joined in 1949, while the other eighteen joined in one of eight enlargement rounds.[citation needed]

Few members spend more than two percent of their gross domestic product on defence,[119] with the United States accounting for three quarters of NATO defence spending.[120]

The three Nordic countries which joined NATO as founding members, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway, chose to limit their participation in three areas: there would be no permanent peacetime bases, no nuclear warheads and no Allied military activity (unless invited) permitted on their territory. However, Denmark allowed the U.S. Air Force to maintain an existing base, Thule Air Base, in Greenland.[121]

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, France pursued a military strategy of independence from NATO under a policy dubbed "Gaullo-Mitterrandism".[122] Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated the return of France to the integrated military command and the Defence Planning Committee in 2009, the latter being disbanded the following year. France remains the only NATO member outside the Nuclear Planning Group and unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, will not commit its nuclear-armed submarines to the alliance.[22][34]

Accession to the alliance is governed with individual Membership Action Plans, and requires approval by each current member. NATO currently has three candidate countries that are in the process of joining the alliance: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, and Sweden. North Macedonia is the most recent state to sign an accession protocol to become a NATO member state, which it did in February 2019 and became a member state on 27 March 2020.[123][124] Its accession had been blocked by Greece for many years due to the Macedonia naming dispute, which was resolved in 2018 by the Prespa agreement.[125] In order to support each other in the process, new and potential members in the region formed the Adriatic Charter in 2003.[126] Georgia was also named as an aspiring member, and was promised "future membership" during the 2008 summit in Bucharest,[127] though in 2014, US President Barack Obama said the country was not "currently on a path" to membership.[128]

Ukraine's relationship with NATO and Europe has been politically controversial, and improvement of these relations was one of the goals of the "Euromaidan" protests that saw the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. Ukraine is one of eight countries in Eastern Europe with an Individual Partnership Action Plan. IPAPs began in 2002, and are open to countries that have the political will and ability to deepen their relationship with NATO.[129] On 21 February 2019, the Constitution of Ukraine was amended, the norms on the strategic course of Ukraine for membership in the European Union and NATO are enshrined in the preamble of the Basic Law, three articles and transitional provisions.[130] At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy course without outside interference.[131] On 30 November 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that an expansion of NATO's presence in Ukraine, especially the deployment of any long-range missiles capable of striking Russian cities or missile defence systems similar to those in Romania and Poland, would be a "red line" issue for Russia.[132][133][134] Putin asked U.S. President Joe Biden for legal guarantees that NATO would not expand eastward or put "weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to Russian territory."[135] NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg replied that "It's only Ukraine and 30 NATO allies that decide when Ukraine is ready to join NATO. Russia has no veto, Russia has no say, and Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence to try to control their neighbors."[136][137]

Russia continued to politically oppose further expansion, seeing it as inconsistent with informal understandings between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and European and US negotiators that allowed for a peaceful German reunification.[138] NATO's expansion efforts are often seen by Moscow leaders as a continuation of a Cold War attempt to surround and isolate Russia,[139] though they have also been criticized in the West.[140] A June 2016 Levada poll found that 68 percent of Russians think that deploying NATO troops in the Baltic states and Poland former Eastern bloc countries bordering Russia is a threat to Russia.[141] In contrast, 65 percent of Poles surveyed in a 2017 Pew Research Center report identified Russia as a "major threat", with an average of 31 percent saying so across all NATO countries,[142] and 67 percent of Poles surveyed in 2018 favour US forces being based in Poland.[143] Of non-CIS Eastern European countries surveyed by Gallup in 2016, all but Serbia and Montenegro were more likely than not to view NATO as a protective alliance rather than a threat.[144] A 2006 study in the journal Security Studies argued that NATO enlargement contributed to democratic consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe.[145] China also opposes further expansion.[146]

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, public opinion in Finland and in Sweden swung sharply in favor of joining NATO, with more citizens supporting NATO membership than those who were opposed to it for the first time. A poll on 30 March 2022 revealed that about 61% of Finns were in favor of NATO membership, as opposed to 16% against and 23% uncertain. A poll on 1 April revealed that about 51% of Swedes were in favor of NATO membership, as opposed to 27% against.[147][148] In mid-April, the governments of Finland and Sweden began exploring NATO membership, with their governments commissioning security reports on this subject.[149][150] The addition of the two Nordic countries would significantly expand NATO's capabilities in the Arctic, Nordic, and Baltic regions.[151]

On 15 May 2022, the Finnish government announced that it would apply for NATO membership, subject to approval by the country's parliament,[152] which voted 1888 in favor of the move on 17 May.[153] Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced her country would apply for NATO membership on 17 May,[154] and both Finland and Sweden formally submitted applications for NATO membership on 18 May.[155] Turkey voiced opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, accusing the two countries of providing support to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Defense Units (YPG), two Kurdish groups which Turkey has designated as terrorist organizations. On 28 June, at a NATO summit in Madrid, Turkey agreed to support the membership bids of Finland and Sweden.[156][157] On 5 July, the 30 NATO ambassadors signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland and formally approved the decisions of the NATO summit on 28 June.[158] This must be ratified by the various governments; all countries except Hungary and Turkey had ratified it in 2022.[159][160][161]

The increase in the number of NATO members over the years hasnt been sustained by an increase in the defense expenditures.[162] Being concerned about the decreasing defense budgets and aiming to improve financial equity commitments and boost the effectiveness of financial expenditure, NATO members met at the 2014 Wales Summit to establish the Defense Investment Pledge.[163][164] Members considered it necessary to contribute at least 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defense and 20% of their defense budget to major equipment which includes allocations to defense research and development by 2024.[165]

The implementation of the Defense Investment Pledge is hindered by the lack of legal binding obligation by the members, European Union fiscal laws, member states domestic public expenditure priorities, and political willingness.[163][162] In 2021, eight member states achieved the goal of 2% GDP contribution to defense spending.[166] In 2020, 18 NATO members were able to reach the target of 20% contribution to major equipment.[citation needed] The improvements in the compliance with the Wales recommendations are facilitated by the increasing risk to the security of the members posed by the Russian Federation.[citation needed]

The Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme was established in 1994 and is based on individual bilateral relations between each partner country and NATO: each country may choose the extent of its participation.[168] Members include all current and former members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.[169] The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) was first established on 29 May 1997, and is a forum for regular coordination, consultation and dialogue between all fifty participants.[170] The PfP programme is considered the operational wing of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership.[168] Other third countries also have been contacted for participation in some activities of the PfP framework such as Afghanistan.[171]

The European Union (EU) signed a comprehensive package of arrangements with NATO under the Berlin Plus agreement on 16 December 2002. With this agreement, the EU was given the possibility of using NATO assets in case it wanted to act independently in an international crisis, on the condition that NATO itself did not want to act the so-called "right of first refusal".[172] For example, Article 42(7) of the 1982 Treaty of Lisbon specifies that "If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power". The treaty applies globally to specified territories whereas NATO is restricted under its Article 6 to operations north of the Tropic of Cancer. It provides a "double framework" for the EU countries that are also linked with the PfP programme.[citation needed]

Additionally, NATO cooperates and discusses its activities with numerous other non-NATO members. The Mediterranean Dialogue was established in 1994 to coordinate in a similar way with Israel and countries in North Africa. The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was announced in 2004 as a dialogue forum for the Middle East along the same lines as the Mediterranean Dialogue. The four participants are also linked through the Gulf Cooperation Council.[173] In June 2018, Qatar expressed its wish to join NATO.[174] However, NATO declined membership, stating that only additional European countries could join according to Article 10 of NATO's founding treaty.[175] Qatar and NATO have previously signed a security agreement together in January 2018.[176]

Political dialogue with Japan began in 1990, and since then, the Alliance has gradually increased its contact with countries that do not form part of any of these cooperation initiatives.[177] In 1998, NATO established a set of general guidelines that do not allow for a formal institutionalization of relations, but reflect the Allies' desire to increase cooperation. Following extensive debate, the term "Contact Countries" was agreed by the Allies in 2000. By 2012, the Alliance had broadened this group, which meets to discuss issues such as counter-piracy and technology exchange, under the names "partners across the globe" or "global partners".[178][179] Australia and New Zealand, both contact countries, are also members of the AUSCANNZUKUS strategic alliance, and similar regional or bilateral agreements between contact countries and NATO members also aid cooperation. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO needs to "address the rise of China," by closely cooperating with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.[180] Colombia is NATO's latest partner and Colombia has access to the full range of cooperative activities NATO offers to partners; Colombia became the first and only Latin American country to cooperate with NATO.[181]

All agencies and organizations of NATO are integrated into either the civilian administrative or military executive roles. For the most part they perform roles and functions that directly or indirectly support the security role of the alliance as a whole.

The civilian structure includes:

The military structure includes:

The organizations and agencies of NATO include:

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) is a body that sets broad strategic goals for NATO, which meets at two session per year. NATO PA interacts directly with the parliamentary structures of the national governments of the member states which appoint Permanent Members, or ambassadors to NATO. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is made up of legislators from the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance as well as thirteen associate members. It is however officially a structure different from NATO, and has as aim to join deputies of NATO countries in order to discuss security policies on the NATO Council.[citation needed]

NATO is an alliance of 30 sovereign states and their individual sovereignty is unaffected by participation in the alliance. NATO has no parliaments, no laws, no enforcement, and no power to punish individual citizens. As a consequence of this lack of sovereignty the power and authority of a NATO commander are limited. NATO commanders cannot punish offences such as failure to obey a lawful order; dereliction of duty; or disrespect to a senior officer.[193] NATO commanders expect obeisance but sometimes need to subordinate their desires or plans to the operators who are themselves subject to sovereign codes of conduct like the UCMJ. A case in point was the clash between General Sir Mike Jackson and General Wesley Clark over KFOR actions at Pristina Airport.[194]

NATO commanders can issue orders to their subordinate commanders in the form of operational plans (OPLANs), operational orders (OPORDERs), tactical direction, or fragmental orders (FRAGOs) and others. The joint rules of engagement must be followed, and the Law of Armed Conflict must be obeyed at all times. Operational resources "remain under national command but have been transferred temporarily to NATO. Although these national units, through the formal process of transfer of authority, have been placed under the operational command and control of a NATO commander, they never lose their national character." Senior national representatives, like CDS, "are designated as so-called red-cardholders". Caveats are restrictions listed "nation by nation... that NATO Commanders... must take into account."[193]

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NATO | Founders, History, Purpose, Countries, Map, & Facts

Top Questions

What is NATO?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance originally established in 1949 to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe after World War II. When the Cold War ended, NATO was reconceived as a cooperative-security organization.

What does NATO stand for?

NATO is an acronym for North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

How many countries are in NATO?

Currently 30 countries are members of NATO.

Which countries are in NATO?

The current member states of NATO are Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

What are the newest members of NATO?

North Macedonia is the newest member of NATO; it joined the alliance in 2020. In May 2022 Sweden and Finland announced their intention to join NATO in response to Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Summary

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 4, 1949, which sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe after World War II. Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Joining the original signatories were Greece and Turkey (1952); West Germany (1955; from 1990 as Germany); Spain (1982); the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999); Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (2004); Albania and Croatia (2009); Montenegro (2017); and North Macedonia (2020). France withdrew from the integrated military command of NATO in 1966 but remained a member of the organization; it resumed its position in NATOs military command in 2009. Finland and Sweden, two long-neutral countries, were formally invited to join NATO in 2022.

The heart of NATO is expressed in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, in which the signatory members agree that

an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all; and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time in 2001, after the September 11 attacks organized by exiled Saudi Arabian millionaire Osama bin Laden destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City and part of the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., killing some 3,000 people.

Article 6 defines the geographic scope of the treaty as covering an armed attack on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America. Other articles commit the allies to strengthening their democratic institutions, to building their collective military capability, to consulting each other, and to remaining open to inviting other European states to join.

After World War II in 1945, western Europe was economically exhausted and militarily weak (the western Allies had rapidly and drastically reduced their armies at the end of the war), and newly powerful communist parties had arisen in France and Italy. By contrast, the Soviet Union had emerged from the war with its armies dominating all the states of central and eastern Europe, and by 1948 communists under Moscows sponsorship had consolidated their control of the governments of those countries and suppressed all noncommunist political activity. What became known as the Iron Curtain, a term popularized by Winston Churchill, had descended over central and eastern Europe. Further, wartime cooperation between the western Allies and the Soviets had completely broken down. Each side was organizing its own sector of occupied Germany, so that two German states would emerge, a democratic one in the west and a communist one in the east.

In 1948 the United States launched the Marshall Plan, which infused massive amounts of economic aid to the countries of western and southern Europe on the condition that they cooperate with each other and engage in joint planning to hasten their mutual recovery. As for military recovery, under the Brussels Treaty of 1948, the United Kingdom, France, and the Low CountriesBelgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourgconcluded a collective-defense agreement called the Western European Union. It was soon recognized, however, that a more formidable alliance would be required to provide an adequate military counterweight to the Soviets.

By this time Britain, Canada, and the United States had already engaged in secret exploratory talks on security arrangements that would serve as an alternative to the United Nations (UN), which was becoming paralyzed by the rapidly emerging Cold War. In March 1948, following a virtual communist coup dtat in Czechoslovakia in February, the three governments began discussions on a multilateral collective-defense scheme that would enhance Western security and promote democratic values. These discussions were eventually joined by France, the Low Countries, and Norway and in April 1949 resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty.

Spurred by the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950 (see Korean War), the United States took steps to demonstrate that it would resist any Soviet military expansion or pressures in Europe. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the leader of the Allied forces in western Europe in World War II, was named Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) by the North Atlantic Council (NATOs governing body) in December 1950. He was followed as SACEUR by a succession of American generals.

The North Atlantic Council, which was established soon after the treaty came into effect, is composed of ministerial representatives of the member states, who meet at least twice a year. At other times the council, chaired by the NATO secretary-general, remains in permanent session at the ambassadorial level. Just as the position of SACEUR has always been held by an American, the secretary-generalship has always been held by a European.

NATOs military organization encompasses a complete system of commands for possible wartime use. The Military Committee, consisting of representatives of the military chiefs of staff of the member states, subsumes two strategic commands: Allied Command Operations (ACO) and Allied Command Transformation (ACT). ACO is headed by the SACEUR and located at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Casteau, Belgium. ACT is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. During the alliances first 20 years, more than $3 billion worth of infrastructure for NATO forcesbases, airfields, pipelines, communications networks, depotswas jointly planned, financed, and built, with about one-third of the funding from the United States. NATO funding generally is not used for the procurement of military equipment, which is provided by the member statesthough the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force, a fleet of radar-bearing aircraft designed to protect against a surprise low-flying attack, was funded jointly.

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NATO | Founders, History, Purpose, Countries, Map, & Facts