Monthly Archives: February 2017

Free speech in Canada: The beginning of the end? – Canada Free Press

Posted: February 13, 2017 at 9:04 am

There is no way M-103 does not reflect the views of Trudeau, his caucus and other members of the House that Muslims deserve special treatment

Motion M-103 is scheduled to come up for a vote on Feb. 16. While it is a non-binding motion that does not have the force of law, it could very well mark the beginning of the end of freedom of speech in Canada as we know it.

M-103 was introduced in Parliament in December by rookie Liberal MP Irqra Khalid and is entitled Systemic racism and religious discrimination. With a title like that what could possibly be wrong? Like many things coming out of Justin Trudeau and his party of trained seals, the title is misleading.

Motions are not bills that, if passed, become laws. They are merely expressions of those who vote in favour of the motion and like this one, make its supporters feel good about themselves. Judging only by its headline, this motion serves no useful purpose because, after all, is anyone sitting in Parliament really in favour of systemic racism and religious discrimination? In addition to make MPs feel good about themselves, the ability to table a motion allows rookie MPs of no particular note like Khalid feel important and feel they are actually doing something.

There is little doubt this motion will pass. Even without the Liberal majority, the NDP and many of, not most Conservative MPs will vote for it. And despite the fact passage will have no legal consequences, there are two troubling aspects of the bill that do not bode well for Canadians who value their right, or what they think is their right to freedom of speech.

First the word Islamophobia is specifically mentioned twice in the motion. Anti-Semitism or homophobia or hatred against another specified group is never mentioned but is described, as the afterthought it is as all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination. To a person of average intelligence, it is clear the purpose of this motion is to attack Islamophobia.

CBC has been well known over the years as the taxpayer-funded propaganda arm of the Liberal Party of Canada. But, in a random act of journalism as Rush Limbaugh might say, CBC gets it right. An article was posted to the CBC website on Feb. 9, entitled Liberal MPs anti-Islamophobia motion set for debate next week. And the first paragraph of the article, written by Kathleen Harris, is as follows:

Members of Parliament will debate a motion to condemn Islamophobia and track incidents of hate crimes against Muslims in the House of Commons next week. [Emphasis added]

Despite pleas to the contrary from supporters of the motion that Islam and Muslims are not being singled out for greater protections than other groups are, the headline and opening paragraph is a conclusion arrived at from a clear reading of the motion. Since it happens so rarely it is worth repeating; CBC got it right.

Had Khalid, the Muslim MP who sponsored the bill, been really concerned about systemic racism and religious discrimination she would not have included the word Islamophobia in M-103. It is clear the intent of the motion that has MPs from all political parties absolutely enthralled is to give a special status to Muslims and the religion of peace.

There is another part of the motion that is even more troubling than paying homage to the lefts (and this includes some members of the CPC) favourite group of victims. This has to do with what the motion requests the government should do.

The motion asks the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (Canada does not have any heritage according to Trudeau so why do we have a heritage committee but I digress) to study, among other things, to develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia in Canada The committee is asked to report back to the House within 240 days.

Since the government is in the business of making laws, this whole-of-government approach must be interpreted as including passing laws to make Islamophobia illegal or a crime. Of course the government has never defined exactly what Islamophobia is. And probably never will.

The Parliament of Canada has always had the bad habit of making certain activities illegal while failing to define exactly what the crime is. The most recent example was the Supreme Court of Canada decision regarding the crime of bestiality.

A man convicted of bestiality argued before Canadas top court that he was not guilty because he did not have actual intercourse with the animal in question. He was convicted on the basis that he engaged in inter-species sex but there was no evidence of actual penetration.

The majority of the court accepted his defence and quashed the conviction. Under common law bestiality is defined as having sexual intercourse with an animal. Parliament could have easily defined the crime as including all sexual activity with an animal short of intercourse but, since bestiality became a crime in 1890, no Parliament ever did.

The majority of the judges were wrongly criticized for appearing to see nothing wrong with people having sex with animals when the reality was Canadian governments never bothered defining the crime. They simply applied the law. The lone justice who dissented and ruled the conviction should stand was engaging in judicial activism rather than interpreting the law. She decided Parliament would have made sex with animals short of intercourse a crime if they had bothered to think about it. As true as that may be, she was usurping the function of the legislators.

So it is unlikely the Canadian government will define Islamophobia anytime soon. We already have general hate crimes laws that protect all races and religions; not just the governments pets. So any law that comes out of the Heritage Departments study will be broader than those currently on the books. The only thing left is to make criticism of Islam or Muslims short of what constitutes a hate crime illegal.

Islamophobia, of course can mean calling for the deaths of Muslims. But the made-up word can also include any criticism of Islam or describing certain terrorists as being Islamic even though that is the way they refer to themselves.

There is certainly evidence to suggest many Muslims and members of the left, including Trudeau, want special rights not just equal rights for Muslims. The prime minister does not even attempt to hide how he feels. After six Muslims were killed in Quebec City a couple of weeks ago, Justin ran to a mosque. He was quick to characterize the act as terrorism after he learned the shooter was a white French Canadian. He didnt run to a church a little over a year ago when six Christian Canadians were slaughtered in Burkina Faso by Muslims.

Earlier this week, it was revealed an imam in Quebec called for the annihilation of Jews in 2014. Not a peep out of the Little Potato even though under Canadian law this act would constitute a hate crime. There is no way M-103 does not reflect the views of Trudeau, his caucus and other members of the House that Muslims deserve special treatment. Justins CBC even said so.

To repeat, passage of M-103 will not result in a law. Any such law will be a long way off but a law to make any criticism of Islam is what Trudeaus preferred group wants. And if such a law does eventually pass, Canadians cannot look to the courts to protect their freedom of speech.

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Free speech in Canada: The beginning of the end? - Canada Free Press

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Veljo Tormis obituary | Music | The Guardian – The Guardian

Posted: at 9:03 am

Veljo Tormis achieved a breakthrough with the release of a double CD, Forgotten Peoples. Photograph: Eve Tarm/AP

The Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, who has died aged 86, wrote choral works based on the folksong and poetry of languages that are now disappearing or extinct. Those from the Finno-Ugric family that have established themselves in modern nations Estonian, Finnish and Hungarian have flourished, but several related tongues used to be heard on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. The rites, poetry and music of the people who spoke them never attracted attention at a national level: in taking them as the creative basis for his music, Tormis created a personal sound museum of a lost world.

Other composers from the region most notably Sibelius have often used folklore from the viewpoint of western musical ideals. Tormis was a pioneer in letting the folklore dictate the course of the music, rather than trying to coerce it into the established frameworks of western music. His work is free in narrative fantasy, incorporating such features as the sounds of village life or birdsong, sparse in development and lavish in theatricality. The usual life of a composer, with its symphonies and operas, would have been too limiting for him. As he put it: I dont use folk melody it is folk melody that uses me.

He achieved a breakthrough with the release of a double CD on the ECM label, Forgotten Peoples (1992), on which the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir was conducted by Tnu Kaljuste. The opening track of the first choral cycle, Livonian Heritage, depicts birds waking in a dense forest; Livonians lived on the coast of what is now Latvia. Another cycle, Ingrian Evenings, recreates a festive evening of songs and dances in a village, and so is often presented as a staged work; Ingrians were Lutheran Finns speaking a south-eastern dialect of Finnish, who by the 17th century had moved to the St Petersburg region, at the eastern end of the gulf.

A further ECM recording, Litany to Thunder (1999), contains Curse Upon Iron, a work of symbolic importance for Estonians. It features the shamans drum of the Koryak people, living in the northern part of Kamchatka, on Russias far east coast, and denounces the destructive military uses of the metal.

Tormis was born the eldest son of a Lutheran parish clerk, Riho Tormis, and his wife, Johanna, in Kuusalu, east of the capital city of Tallinn. He was nine when Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union, and after organ and choral conducting studies in Tallinn (1942-51) went to the Moscow Conservatoire to study composition with Vissarion Shebalin (1951-56). When he returned to Tallinn, he quickly rose to prominence as a composer, initially producing works in a traditional vein, including symphonies and an opera, The Swans Flight (1966). His Overture No 2 (1959) was the first work by an Estonian composer to be performed at the Warsaw Autumn festival, in 1961. Two of the countrys other leading composers, Arvo Prt and Kuldar Sink, studied with him during his time as a teacher at the Tallinn Music high school (1956-60).

From the Khrushchev thaw of the late 1950s, when national music became a secret tool of anti-Sovietism, Tormis explored Estonian folklore, and then in the 1970s and 80s that of other Finno-Ugric and Baltic peoples. He produced more than 60 choral cycles, often including the names of native peoples in the titles, as with his Votic Wedding Songs, Vepsian Paths and Izhorian Epic, all also to be heard on Forgotten Peoples.

His music was taken up not only in Estonia, but in Latvia, Lithuania and other Soviet-bloc countries. Singing in general was a significant factor in public demonstrations in the years leading up to Estonias independence from Soviet rule in 1991, and Tormis drew on its power to express the forest pantheism that remains at least as strong in the national psyche as the Christianity that followed it. At the Estonian Song festival, held every five years in Tallinn most recently in 2014 thousands of people in amateur choirs sang Tormiss works, and he was an avid visitor to schools, keen to reconnect children with their ancient heritage.

Other parts of the world with a strong choral tradition started taking up Tormiss music, not least as a result of the global tours of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. During the Gorbachev glasnost period of the 1980s it found a particular following in the US and Germany, and the ECM releases brought it an audience throughout western Europe.

Tormiss political concerns extended beyond national independence to environmental issues, social exclusion, and the emptiness of modern politics. In 2000 he retired from composition. A very gracious man, he was revered by a nation that loves to sing.

In 1951, he married Lea Rummo, a theatre historian. She survives him, along with their son, Tnu, a photographer whose work appears on the cover of Forgotten Peoples and on many subsequent recordings of his fathers music.

Veljo Tormis, composer, born 7 August 1930; died 21 January 2017

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Officials Mull Proposal for Manned Mission to Refurbish Hubble Telescope – Wall Street Journal

Posted: at 9:01 am

Officials Mull Proposal for Manned Mission to Refurbish Hubble Telescope
Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump's advisers are considering an industry proposal to send a manned spacecraft to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope within the next few years, according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions are still ...

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Explosive, stinky star death captured by Hubble telescope – Fox 59

Posted: at 9:01 am

Fox 59

Explosive, stinky star death captured by Hubble telescope
Fox 59
The Hubble Telescope captured the spectacular death of a star -- an event that has rarely been seen by astronomers. The dying star, known as a red giant, in its final stages blows out its outer layers, leaving clouds of gas and dust, which is called a ...

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Explosive, stinky star death captured by Hubble telescope - Fox 59

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NASA’s Hubble Telescope, Astronomers Discover Comet 100000-Times Bigger Than Halley’s – SpaceCoastDaily.com

Posted: at 9:01 am

located approx. 170 light years away from Earth

This artists concept shows a massive, comet-like object falling toward a white dwarf. New Hubble Space Telescope findings are evidence for a belt of comet-like bodies orbiting the white dwarf, similar to our solar systems Kuiper Belt. (NASA, ESA, Z. Levy image)

(AOL BUZZ60) A team of astronomers in Garching, Germany, discovered a comet-like object in a distant galaxy that is similar in composition to the famed Halleys comet however, this one is about 100,000 times bigger.

Using NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, researchers discovered the massive object was rich in the elements essential for life, including nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur.

The comet is in the process of being ripped apart and scattered in the atmosphere of a white dwarf, dubbed WD 1425+540, which is located approximately 170 light years away from Earth.

Siyi Xu of the European Southern Observatory, who led the team that made the discovery, says this is the first time nitrogen has been detected in the planetary debris that falls onto a white dwarf.

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Using NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, researchers discovered the massive object was rich in the elements essential for life, including nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur.

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Nato has troops ‘shortfall’ in Afghanistan – US general – BBC News

Posted: at 9:01 am

UPI.com

Nato has troops 'shortfall' in Afghanistan - US general
BBC News
The commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan has said he needs a "few thousand" more troops to break a stalemate in the war with the Taliban. Gen John Nicholson told the US Senate Armed Services Committee he had enough forces for ...
US general says NATO needs more troops in Afghanistan to be effectiveUPI.com
Top commander: Russia 'legitimizing' Taliban to undermine US, NATOThe Hill
US commander asks for more NATO troops in AfghanistanDeutsche Welle
Reuters -Antiwar.com
all 153 news articles »

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Nato has troops 'shortfall' in Afghanistan - US general - BBC News

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Russia Gathers Stakeholders, Sans US or NATO, for Afghanistan Conference – Voice of America

Posted: at 9:01 am

ISLAMABAD

Russia is hosting a conference in Moscow this week that will bring together Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, India and Iran to discuss a possible solution of the conflict in Afghanistan.

This meeting is part of Russia's effort at playing a more pro-active role in Afghanistan for the first time since its invasion of the country in 1979. Its efforts, however, have encountered controversies at the very outset.

The last conference Moscow hosted on Afghanistan in December included only China and Pakistan, prompting a strong protest from the Afghan government.

The one this week is more inclusive of the regional stakeholders, but excludes the United States or NATO, leading to speculation that Russia is more interested in undermining the Unites States than in solving the regional problems.

At a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, chairman Senator John McCain said Russia is propping up the Taliban to undermine the U.S.

Given how troubling the situation is in Afghanistan, any efforts by any outside stakeholder to look for regional solutions to the war there should be welcomed, said Michael Kugelman, deputy Asia director at the Washington based Wilson Center. The question he asked, however, was what is Russia trying to do.

Is it genuinely trying to rally the key players to come up with an actionable plan to wind down the war? Or is it just trying to scale up its role in Afghanistan to undercut U.S. influence?

Other regional analysts, however, are looking at the development with more optimism.

This framework does include all the regional players that have a major stake in Afghanistan, according to Amina Khan of the Institute for Strategic Studies Islamabad, a Pakistani government run think tank.

Terrorism is a global phenomena but I think regional countries need to play a more pro-active role, she added.

At the last trilateral, Russias primary focus was on the presence of the Islamist militant group Islamic State in Eastern Afghanistan. Moscow does not want its influence to spread to the Muslim population in the Caucasus bordering Russia.

However, Gen. John Nicholson, the man leading the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee recently that Russia is trying to publicly legitimize the Taliban with a false narrative that the Taliban is fighting Islamic State, not the Afghan government.

However, Russia is not the only country in the region worried about IS influence and using the Taliban as a hedge. Iran also has started supporting the Taliban to keep IS influence away from areas bordering Iran. China has had contacts with the Taliban for a while, hosting several secret meetings between the Taliban and Afghan government officials or peace envoys.

Expectations from the upcoming conference, meanwhile, are low at this stage.

The fact that three countries have been added to the list at this point for the first time means it's still going to be in the initial stages of getting to know each other, and getting to hear each others narrative and try to make sense of it. I dont see anything big coming out of this, said Omar Samad, former Afghan ambassador to the U.S.

Several similar efforts have fallen victim to the tension and mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Whether this process succeeds, will depend on whether Russia and China can persuade the two to work out their differences.

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67% of Russians view NATO as a threat poll RT News – RT.com – RT

Posted: at 9:01 am

Sixty-seven percent of Russians view NATO as a threat, a new survey from Gallup shows. Its the highest number recorded since 2008.

In contrast, back in 2012, only 38 percent of Russians perceived the Western military bloc as a threat.

Fifty-four percent of Belarusians also view NATO, the security alliance of 28 countries from North America and Europe, as a threat, a 19-point jump from four years ago, the latest Gallup poll has found.

Along with the Russians and Belarusians, more people in Ukraine (35 percent), Kazakhstan (31 percent), Kyrgyzstan (30 percent), Moldova (27 percent), Armenia (20 percent) and Tajikistan (34 percent) view NATO as a threat rather than a protection, the international survey says.

The number of Ukrainians who view NATO as a threat has increased in recent years, according to Gallup. In 2014, when the military conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainians were more likely to see NATO as a protection (36 percent) than a threat (20 percent), researchers says.

Last year, however, the percentage viewing it as a threat shot back up to 35 percent, as the Ukrainian population has grown tired of the ongoing conflict. Without a clear end in sight to the conflict, Ukrainians may be losing confidence in NATO's ability to help them in this crisis, the latest survey says.

Eastern European countries that see NATO as a source of protection are mostly members of the alliance.

Poland (where 62 percent see NATO as their protector) in January saw the largest deployment of US troops in Europe since the Cold War, while Lithuania (57 percent) has been bolstered by German, French, Belgian and other troops. Estonia (with 52 percent backing NATO) is hosting 800 NATO personnel, while Romania (where 50 percent approve of NATO) is expected to receive several Royal Air Force Typhoon jets in 2017.

The poll results are based on telephone interviews conducted throughout 2016 in the countries featured in the analysis, with a random sample of some 1,000 adults aged 15 and older, living in each country. In Russia, the sample size was 2,000 adults, Gallup says.

Russia has long been accusing NATO of staging a military buildup across its borders, saying it was undermining security in Europe. The alliance, however, justifies it by what it describes as Moscows aggression.

In response, Russia stationed its most modern weaponry and armaments in its western regions, including the exclave of Kaliningrad, which shares a border with Poland and Lithuania, and is carrying out large-scale military drills on home soil.

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Why NATO needs a European pillar – POLITICO.eu

Posted: at 9:01 am

George Visa

Trump is absolutely right and he should go ahead soon with the dismantling of NATO. We will get peace and save hundred of billions to be used by American children.. Russia is not anymore a threat other then in propaganda of extreme right, Eastern European corrupt regimes and evidently ..the neocons..

NATO is already obsolete and is an instrument of aggression. As well as of huge and unnecessary expenses and unbelievable corruption in the European Union countries and in Eastern European countries

NATO is controlled by the US neocons and the little European minikingdoms as Belgium , Denmark, etc., are happy with unexpected NATO leaders, these countries were nobody before 1989.

We should always remember Yugoslavia, Irak, Libya, Afghanistan and the Eastern Europe will follow soon.

It should be disloved.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 6:52 AM CET

Sure, a European pillar sounds great. Im not sure you truly understand what obsolecence means, however. That Europeans have allowed their defensive strategies to wither so grievously that they are now almost completely dependent upon the US is not Trumps fault. Your defense will never mean as much to us as it should to you.

Meanwhile, for us there is a much bigger world beyond your provincial horizons that includes China, Iran, Venezuela, not to mention Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria. That you can bring up soft power after the barbarism of Aleppo and the humiliation of Samantha Powers shows precisely why you are obsolete from our perspective. Often times your soft power undermines our interests and those of our allies such as Israel and India making us question what is the benefit of this arrangement.

No, no. Go your own way with Canada. Trudeau and Junker will make formidable opponents to Putin

Posted on 2/11/17 | 7:32 AM CET

I read that the European members of NATO spend more of the military than Russia and China combined. I suppose that it diluted somewhat because it is split between two dozen countries, so some combining of resources and specialization makes sense. Nevertheless the total budget should be more than enough to defend the continent. And except for Russia, which in reality has an economy smaller than Italys or Canadas, what external threat is there?

Posted on 2/11/17 | 9:04 AM CET

I am afraid the worlds collective unconscious will never allow Germany to have what it seeks most.. as much as they try to usher it in through the back door. Somethings can never be forgotten.. For the first time, America can believe what they thought was impossible propaganda. This is documentary evidence of sheer mass murder murder that will blacken the name of Germany for the rest of recorded history. Germany, a nation of willing executioners are wanting to weaponise again through the cleverly constructed vehicle the EU

Posted on 2/11/17 | 10:04 AM CET

General Eisenhower had no trouble hating the Germans. He wrote to his wife, Mamie: God, I hate the Germans! Strange how Germany are ahead in the gold repatriation scheme, I think they are at 89% and 3 years ahead of schedule..

Posted on 2/11/17 | 10:14 AM CET

Why is the author attempting to re-invent the wheel? And a mini-NATO, to boot? Good grief!

NATO structure is in place for decades. The only thing that has sorely deteriorated on the European side is the political will and matching financial muscle.

The author repeats the Leftist lie of the deliberately truncated Trump statement: NATO is obsolete. The full statement was that it is obsolete in fighting I*IS.

The new American Administration is committed to a strong NATO, and now with the coming elections in France and Germany, the shoe is on the European side to commit to the same politically, including the financial strength. Period.

No mini-NATO needed.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 1:34 PM CET

A lot of anger go and an take a chill pill please stop with the conspiracy theory

Posted on 2/11/17 | 2:21 PM CET

This article is hilarious. The U.S. contribution to NATO in 2016 was 66 Billion Dollars. The next closest nation was the U.K. with 6 Billion. When Clinton left office the U.S. contribution was 54%. Now it is 72%. Nobody is bullying Europe. After 25 years of neglecting their militaries Europe is now defenseless against any threat. RAND estimates under any scenario a Russian takeover of any Baltic nation in 72 hours. 63% percent of Western Europeans believe that they shouldnt get involved if Russia invades a Baltic state. European militaries are underfunded, badly trained and poorly equipped. Now comes the sober realization that Donald Trump isnt going to ask for 6 Trillion Dollars and millions of men to fight a war against Russia. Stop poking the bear. The bear is constantly planning how he can devour you and Europe is trying to figure out how to get transgender bathrooms into the barracks.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 3:39 PM CET

Its a pipe dream. Of course in theory a unified European pillar of NATO would be fantastic. individual European armies are duplicating everything 28 times over. But the fact is that it requires a united foreign and defense policy. And this is simply not on the cards. Even recently the French bought German HK 416s for their army and then the Germans decided to not buy the HK 416 but to go for a new design, So even when the French decide to throw the Germans a bone in the hope of combining their defense the Germans are like..nahwell buy our own new type of infantry rifle. Its not even close to being cost effective just constant duplication and waste of limited resources.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 4:08 PM CET

The good message is that Russia isnt an enemy any longer and Nato hasnt any enemy at the moment. Until some new enemy is detected Nato can perform logistic tasks.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 4:19 PM CET

@Ray Martinez Germany doesnt want atomic weapons. Keep your Schmarren and Schrott for yourself. Atomic weapons are out of time and are the origin of unluck and unhappiness.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 4:30 PM CET

For most European countries NATO is rather pointless. So it is going to be hard to persuade them to spend more. For example, which countries threaten the security of, say, Italy, Portugal or Belgium? The Russian bogie doesnt particularly frighten them as there are several large countries (such as Germany and Poland) between them and Russia. There are also quite a few European countries which do fine without being a part of NATO such as Ireland, Switzerland, Austria. Theoretically, half of Europe could follow their lead and just say stuff Trump, quit NATO because they just dont face any external threats. Nevertheless most of them WANT (rather than need) to be allies of the US. Which benefits the US as it gives them more clout in the world a large bloc of allies, especially economically powerful ones, is a boon and free access military bases, airports and ports in those countries lets the US extend its reach.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 7:33 PM CET

Russia absolutely is a threat to stability in Europe and the US. Russia operates hybrid war strategy rarely does this involve direct military confrontation but instead is usually on the basis of disrupting disorienting and dispiriting its oppoents at the levels of values, beliefs and identity. In that context falls the annexation of Crimea (Ukraines territorial integrty had been guarunteed in exchange for handing over USSR nuclear weapons to Russia). So too does the ongoing pressure applied in eastern Ukraine. So too does the tremendous effort placed in alternative news (e.g. RT) to create an alternative narrative. So too does bombing Syria senseless so as to intensify the flow of refugees to Europe. So too are the constant intrusions into the airspace of the Baltic states and constantly calling the bluff of NATO to respond. So too was the interference in the US election. So it will be with the forthcoming presidential election in France.

Quietly Russia has redeveloped its military technology. Missile technology now deployed forward in Kalinigrad faces no counter capability. Russian offensive cyber capability is vast.

NATO structures already exist into which European forces are integrated. The problem is that the majority of NATOs European members have just neglected their responsibilities to develop the armed forces into genune capabilities: morally (the will to fight), conceptually (professional miitary knowledge and, critically building forces around the common (US and UK writen) NATO doctrine, and physically (kit, training etc). It can all be achieved but it requires a common vision and the resolve to do so. Herein lies the rub, apart from the Poles and the Balts, the Eastern and southeastern powers are all courting Russian good will (again partly the result of a very effective hybrid warfare campaign by Putin).

In terms of capability, honestly, only the UK and perhaps France have really got the experience of conventional operations, and the networked capability to work seamlessley and reliably alongside the US This has been hard won. This said there are still major capability gaps right now even with these forces. Several states have excellent special forces capabilities but this is not sufficient. The UK and (surprisingly) Greece do pay the target 2% of GDP on Defence. Nealy all the others have let the side down badly. No excuses if Greece can pay so can you!

Given that NATO structures already exist, developing the EU Army that Verhofstadt and Schultz have been talking about will be an immense distraction (and at this rate a pointless exercise). There needs to be a re-evaluation of the force structures required to defend against obvious Russian initmidation. The only role that I think the EU can play is in preparing member states to accept certain commitments to development of defence capabilty (no money if they dont do it). Actually forming an EU Army would, IMHO be a disaster, the EU is not structured politically or morally to achieve this; NATO is. In the very long run, should the EU be around this action would have helped it towards a more unified starting position for a sizeable common force. Personally I dont think it will be around though.

The European allies have to take Defence more seriously and spend more and train more. Do not forget maritime power (God how many ship does the one ubiquitious British Royal Navy now have?). Do not forget air and space power. Do not forget cyber capability. The core for Land capability will come from the old NATO allies, in particiular the UK, Germany and hopefully France with the addition of Poland.

The NATO alliance was highly effective in deterring aggression during the Cold war and NATO military operations in the post Cold War era have been highly successful (note I am not saying that the intended political outcomes were necessarily achieved a key disinction). As a European I say clearly that whilst we have common cause with the US in so m ny regards, why should the US pay more and do more for Europes defence. We have to pull our weight.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 8:14 PM CET

What is actually needed is a real, common European Army with mixed units. Divide et impera is the oldest strategy in the world and Vladimir Putin has used it again and again against Europe.

A shared European Army would make one thing crystal clear: An attack on *any* military unit of the European Army would mean war with the whole European Union.

The risk for a war has increased dramatically because Donald Trump allowed Vladimir Putin to doubt NATOs committment to Article 5. We Europeans have to make clear: There is no doubt we defend each other.

Posted on 2/11/17 | 8:15 PM CET

We dont need or want NATO. Stop with this propaganda!

Posted on 2/11/17 | 11:51 PM CET

@Jacques

I cant see how my post is propagandist in the slightest. There are several posts in this stream from different political persuasions that present evidence and attempt some conclusions based on some sort of analysis of that evidence. Saying that we dont want or need NATO doesnt exactly lend any weight to your position. Who the hell is we? Not me. For all we know you are a stooge for Putin!. It works both ways. And unless you can generate a viable alternative to NATO (no evidence of that given parlous underspending and lack of focus on defence capability by continental Europeans and a collapsing EU then we all remain vulnerable to external aggression and we dont want or need that!

Posted on 2/12/17 | 8:18 AM CET

If Germans demonstrated their own commitment to European Security both delivering sound internal security and also contributed to Nato in proportion to their GDP, then and only then would NATO members accept this position, however, the whole precis for the authors position is seems rather disingenuous considering my two points. Forgive my cynicism but the author seems to be pushing the EU directive that Germany should take command and control of a European alliance, let us not forget the threat narrative of Russian aggression (Crimea: Propaganda and disinformation) is of the same rhetoric espoused by Hitler to vilIfy Stalins Communist Russia,resulting in a European military alliance in the form of voluntary SS divisions raised throughout the occupied countries. Those who forget lessons from history are bound to repeat the mistakes from the past

Posted on 2/12/17 | 5:21 PM CET

It is fundementally essential that Europeans take their own defense seriously. The US does not have the resources to protect us anymore. We need to be spending a minimum of 2% and probably an average of about 4%. That should be the first objective.

Spending that money efficiently and well should be the second objective. That means proper consolidations of European arms suppliers.

Posted on 2/12/17 | 6:24 PM CET

Recently Germany could not provide airlift for a battalion sized mission due to maintainence issues. The French are not the most cooperative allies when their commercial interests are effected. The British couldnt provide logistics for the Falklands without our help and have been downsizing their military ever since. Just where is the power to support this new pillar going to come from? Poland is the only NATO member taking defense seriously and they have no choice but to face this power east..

Posted on 2/12/17 | 6:24 PM CET

The only reason I like NATO because its a thorn in the undemocratic EUs side.

Of course the undemocratic EU wants to militarise, so they can prance around the world bringing democracy (aka forcing other countries to sign pro western trade treaties which is the real reason).

Posted on 2/12/17 | 8:59 PM CET

I love the way there are quite a few redneck yanks here dropping snide remarks about European defense spending and lack of cohesion. YOU GUYS HAVE DONALD TRUMP AS YOUR LEADER, YOU IDIOTS. Complaining that Europe is a waste of money is also hilarious, after spending trillions on completely f**king up the middle east. Youve become the penultimate global laughing stock, and the only reason you have respect is because youre unstable and holding the biggest stick. Everyone is waiting for you to cave in and hoping you dont take them down in the process.

Posted on 2/12/17 | 10:59 PM CET

Of course the undemocratic EU wants to militarise, so they can prance around the world bringing democracy (aka forcing other countries to sign pro western trade treaties which is the real reason).

You really need to look up the definition of democratic.

Posted on 2/12/17 | 11:01 PM CET

Just call it something else than NATO and Finland will be first to join in. We circle around NATO. Do everything else than actually apply for a membership in the fear of what Russia will do. But if its called something else, like Joint European Defence we are more than happy to be part of it.

Posted on 2/13/17 | 11:14 AM CET

@Jb

Id be interested to know what logistics help was provided to the UK during the Falklands War by whichever country you hail from. I am not aware of any. The US went to a great deal of effort back in 1982 to press the UK to desist from retaking the Islands so as not to let down its undemocratic Argentine trading partner. I think we may have acquired Sidewinder missiles from the US at that point I cant remember.

Posted on 2/13/17 | 11:31 AM CET

The suggestions in this stream that a common European Army integrated at all levels is the only way ahead is a bit naive. There is not the political will for a total unity. Whilst only the UK has so far voted to leave the UK, there are plenty of other states that want no further integration. Take Italy which has been royally screwed by the Euro.

Posted on 2/13/17 | 11:54 AM CET

@themanwithfangs Britain didnt want to get NATO involved in the Falklands for the same reason as it didnt want it involved in NI. National pride. Israel sold arms to Argentina with US explicit approval.

The EU doesnt need NATO which was always a vehicle for US involvement in Europe. We dont need to send our soldiers to fight in wars in Afghanistan and we dont need American soldiers kranking up the pressure in the Baltic states with their sword-rattling. When Trump fails, and he will fail, he will just like Bush start a foreign war to distract attention. Europe doesnt need to be involved in that. Europe doesnt need the US playing games in Ukraine and Georgia through NATO, trying to destabilise Russia.

Many EU states dont get involved in NATO so much because they know it means cowtowing to US foreign policy interests. Russia is aware of that, hence they feel obliged to increase their military presence on the borders. Without the US, Europe and Russia can seek a peaceful resolution.

Posted on 2/13/17 | 2:24 PM CET

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NATO: Russian Propaganda Up Since Crimea Offensive – Newsweek

Posted: at 9:01 am

NATO accused Russia of escalating a disinformation campaign since the Kremlin's 2014 seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region, saying Russian websites such as Sputnik and RT had posted false stories, the alliance's spokeswoman said on Saturday.

There is increasing concern among senior NATO and European Union officials over Russia's ability to use television and the Internet to spread what they say is fake news.

The defense alliance of 28 democracies says it has recorded more than a score of Russian myths in the last two years which it has attempted to knock down with factsheets, interviews, rebuttals and videos.

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Russian military helicopters fly in formation, with warships seen on the water, during celebrations for Navy Day in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Crimea, July 26, 2015. Reuters

"NATO has been dealing with a significant increase in Russian propaganda and disinformation since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014," spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in an email.

She said a website set up by NATO in 2014 "catalogs 32 Russian myths about NATO systematically used by Sputnik, RT and a range of other outlets owned or controlled by the Russian government."

Lungescu said the most recent disinformation occurred earlier this month when Russian news website life.ru published a fabricated voice recording of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg with a Russian prankster pretending to be Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko.

"Such a call never took place and this was an obvious example of disinformation," she said.

The Kremlin, Russian government, RT, Sputnik and Life could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Russian authorities have in the past denied seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of other states. Russian state-funded media deny acting as the propaganda arm of the Kremlin. They say they present an alternative viewpoint that is ignored by the mainstream Western media.

Lungescu cited another example of disinformation in July last year when Sputnik, RT and other Russian websites issued reports about a fire raging at a NATO base in Izmir, claiming it was a deliberate sabotage after the failed coup in Turkey.

"We engaged with Sputnik, RT and others to correct, as there was a forest fire at some distance from the base, but with no connection to it."

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NATO: Russian Propaganda Up Since Crimea Offensive - Newsweek

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