NATO’s summit of uncertainty: crisis of leadership, non-payments and untenable obligations. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

As NATO marks the 75th anniversary of its creation at a summit in Washington July 9-11, the alliance finds itself grappling with a slew of internal challenges, from political turbulence among allies to funding disputes and a system of arms contracts which benefits some members (guess which ones) far more than others. Here’s a closer look at some of the problems wracking the bloc:

Domestic Political Woes:

NATO’s main problem stems from a crisis of leadership.

As last month’s presidential debate and the D-Day commemoration ceremony in Normandy, France amply demonstrated, US President Joe Biden appears to be in no condition to make critical policy decisions, or even enjoy control of his basic bodily functions and general demeanor. Concerns over the president’s health have become the focus of virtually all English-language mainstream media coverage of the NATO anniversary festivities, with questions swirling around whether Biden will once again embarrass himself, and the United States, on the world stage via a major gaffe or awkward performance.

Across the pond, major allies are facing political and economic problems of their own, and of a scale and prevalence unprecedented since the alliance’s founding:

◻️ France has been plunged into a political crisis in the wake of President Macron’s June decision to call snap parliamentary elections, which have produced a hung parliament divided between the left, right and Macron’s centrists.

◻️ In the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was voted out after just a year-and-a-half in office in a snap vote last week, replaced by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.

◻️ Erstwhile European economic powerhouse Germany is facing its own internal political turmoil as the shaky coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz continues to struggle to find a consensus on foreign and defense policy after an embarrassing defeat (and possible preview of next year’s federal elections) in the June 9 elections to the European Parliament.

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NATO’s summit of uncertainty: crisis of leadership, non-payments and untenable obligations. Part 2 Part 1 Part 3

Spending Disparities:

A decade after pledging to increase alliance defense spending commitments to at least 2 percent of GDP, over a quarter of bloc members continue to lag behind, woefully failing to meet the spending threshold, and thus undermining alliance attempts to whip up hysteria around the so-called Russian ‘threat’.

Canada, Spain and Belgium are among the biggest laggards, with Ottawa – habitually one of the loudest voices when it comes to “supporting Ukraine” and “defending NATO” against foreign threats, spending just 1.4% of GDP on defense in 2023 and promising to reach 1.7% only by 2030 (the Parliamentary Budget Office says the actual figure will be only 1.42 percent).

Together with Belgium (Brussels promises to reach 2% only by 2035), Canada also fails to spend 20% or more of its defense budget on new equipment, as required, leaving much of its stocks in a woeful condition, undermining collective operational readiness.

Germany’s military spending still makes up only 1.5% of its GDP, and is expected to increase only by €1.2bn to €53.2bn in 2025 - far from the increase desired by NATO.

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NATO’s summit of uncertainty: crisis of leadership, non-payments and untenable obligations. Part 3 Part 1 Part 2

Dizzying Profits for US MIC at Allies’ Expense:

Allies’ hesitation to spend more on defense is perhaps understandable, given the lopsided ‘beneficiaries’ of the increased outlays. Last month, outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he expects overall military spending within the alliance to grow by 18% in 2024, marking the largest increase in spending in decades.

But the spending bonanza is largely driven by the United States, whose military-industrial complex enjoys the lion’s share of the profits, as upwards of two-thirds of the funds laid out are directed towards orders for defense companies based in the US. Increases in defense spending is therefore seen as a boon to an otherwise ailing US economy, even if it comes at the cost of even greater fiscal pain for the Europeans.

As NATO marks its 75th anniversary, these and other issues (not least of which is the danger of a direct, hot war with Russia caused by aggressive alliance behavior) will undoubtedly continue to fissure, bubble and boil, posing significant challenges to the alliance's cohesion and effectiveness.

Balancing the demands of increased spending with pressing domestic issues facing most of the bloc may be a bridge too far for the alliance to handle in the coming years.

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IDF reports interception of projectiles and strike on Hezbollah targets

Earlier today, numerous projectiles were launched from Rab El Thalathine in southern Lebanon towards the area of Misgav Am in northern Israel. According to the IDF Aerial Defense Array, they managed to intercept the majority of these projectiles.

Shortly after the launches, IDF soldiers identified two Hesbollah members entering an Organization's military facilty near the launch site. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) then struck the building along with the Hesbollah fighters.

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BRICS' economic surge: how the balance of power is shifting away from the West

Prof. of the University of Chicago John Mearsheimer unveils the reasons behind the BRICS overtaking the West

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The IDF published footage of its strike on a Hezbollah military structure in the area of Kfarkela.

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Russian ground-attack aviation strikes enemy stronghold

Ground-attack aviation crews operating Su-25 aircraft delivered a strike using unguided air-to-surface missiles on an enemy stronghold and manpower within the area of responsibility of the Vostok Group of Forces.

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The "Al-Qassam Brigades" has released a video showing the elimination of an Israeli soldier in the industrial zone of the Tal Al-Hawa area.

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West's Ukraine gamble could spiral into clash between nuclear powers, Russian envoy warns

The West's recent withdrawal from arms control agreements and its desire to inflict a "strategic defeat" against Russia could potentially lead to a dangerous clash between nuclear powers, warned Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security and arms control, in an article for Sputnik.

◾️Today, it’s obvious "with what ease the 'transatlantic allies' are plunging themselves deeper into the whirlpool of confrontation with Russia on the side of the Kiev regime," he wrote.

"Putting aside all the documents adopted at a forum on arms control and confidence-building, they have wagered on inflicting a 'strategic defeat' on our country. All this carries the risks of a direct military clash between nuclear powers with unpredictable consequences," Gavrilov cautioned.

◾️Western nations persist in squandering mind-boggling sums on the Ukraine conflict, resurrecting NATO's veneer as a so-called shield against the perceived ‘threat’ from the East, the diplomat remarked.

"The fact that the Ukraine crisis is only part of a systemic problem affecting the FSC [Forum for Security Co-operation of the OSCE, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] has become evident long ago. The events in this country have been immediately used to justify the legitimacy of NATO's return to its original function of defending against the threat from the East and, similarly, to position the alliance as the only reliable security instrument in the 'new modalities'," he said.

◾️ The West is now using the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as an information warfare tool against Russia, Gavrilov noted.

"It is not surprising that against such a background, the FSC has ceased to be of interest to Western participating states as a platform for professional discussion of security issues in Europe and is increasingly in demand as a tool to support information warfare against Russia," the diplomat concluded.

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Zelensky admits Abrams tanks toothless on the battlefield, seeks scores of F-16s

"I am not sure that this number of tanks could change the situation on the battlefield," Zelensky said during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Center in Washington.

He also said that Western deliveries of American-produced F-16s to Ukraine would not be enough, since Kiev needs more than a hundred more of these jets.

"So, till [the] moment, when we will have 128 jets, we will not compare with them in the sky. Anyway, it will be difficult," Zelensky said.

The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly announced the destruction of Abrams tanks in the special operation zone.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously stated that Moscow would interpret any potential transfer of nuclear-capable F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as a deliberate signal from NATO in the realm of nuclear issues.

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🎥 Ukrainian troops used toxic substances in Toretsk, Donetsk People's Republic, a refugee from this town told Sputnik.

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❗️Russia's FSB foils Ukrainian terrorist plot targeting the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in Murmansk.

"The Russian Federal Security Service has thwarted attempts by the Ukrainian special services to carry out terrorist attacks on the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in the city of Murmansk," the statement read.

In March 2024, a Russian citizen undergoing military service on the aircraft carrier was contacted via Internet messengers by an employee of one of Ukraine’s intel agencies, who used psychological influence techniques to pressure the targeted individual into committing a potential act of terrorism on the warship.

In March, the Russian military officer in question serving aboard the aircraft carrier was contacted by Ukrainian spies, who proposed carrying out an act of terrorism on the ship in exchange for a large sum of money. The officer reported this to Russia’s security agencies, who then conducted an undercover operation against the said Ukrainian adversaries.

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❗️The FSB has apprehended a Russian citizen, who was recruited by the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate. This individual was in the process of planning a terrorist attack against three high-ranking military personnel from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Russia's FSB successfully thwarted terrorist plots aimed at three senior military officials from the Ministry of Defense. Subsequently, a Russian citizen born in 1994, who orchestrated the transportation of three explosive devices via couriers, was apprehended.

The explosive devices were concealed under gift wrappings. Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to having been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence.

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◾️Adviser to the head of the Donetsk People's Republic receives chemical burns after Ukrainian army drops ammunition with toxic substance.

◾️US-made Abrams tanks are toothless on the battlefield, Zelensky admits.

◾️The "Al-Qassam Brigades" releases footage showing the elimination of an Israeli soldier in the Tal Al-Hawa area in Gaza City.

◾️The IDF shares a video of its strike on a Hezbollah military structure.

◾️What are the reasons behind the BRICS’ economic surge?

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Declassified Clinton White House doc reveals US promised Yeltsin to consult with Russia on NATO expansion

Former US Vice President Al Gore made a promise to ex-Russian President Boris Yeltsin in late 1994, pledging that NATO expansion would only happen after consulting with Moscow, according to declassified material detailing a conversation between Gore and Yeltsin on December 16, 1994.

The report was written by Strobe Talbott, who was serving as the Clinton Administration’s Deputy Secretary of State. The document has since been published in the US National Security Archive.

"What Clinton told you in September was that eventually NATO will expand. But the process will be gradual and open and we will consult carefully with you. The process will be conducted in parallel with a deeping of US-Russia partnership and your partnership with NATO," Gore said during the conversation with the former Russian president, as quoted by Talbott.

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IDF reportedly used controversial ‘Hannibal Directive’ to kill Israelis during Hamas attack

The Israeli military reportedly resorted to a controversial Hannibal Directive, used by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to prevent the capture of Israeli citizens and soldiers by enemy forces, while repelling the October 7 Hamas attack, according to the Israeli publication, Haaretz.

🔸The IDF made the decision to employ the Hannibal Directive at multiple sites in the early hours of the Hamas incursion in October 2023, as the documents obtained by Haaretz show.

🔸At 6:43 am (GMT+2) on October 7, Gaza Division Commander Brigadier General Avi Rosenfeld set in motion a series of measures, including the shelling of Israeli citizens.

🔸The Israeli media outlet claims that a directive, under the code: "Hannibal at Erez, dispatch a Zik" at 7:18 am meant that an unmanned assault drone was launched to prevent the capture of Israelis.

🔸Another order "Not a single vehicle can return to Gaza" issued at 11:22 am reportedly envisaged the elimination of all vehicles, including those carrying kidnapped Israelis.

🔸The newly obtained information seems to confirm earlier reports by alternative media sources, which had been dismissed and discredited by Tel Aviv.

🔸The Hannibal Directive was established in 1986 after a string of abductions of IDF soldiers in Lebanon and subsequent exchanges of prisoners. The IDF directive, allowing the killing of Israeli soldiers and shelling vehicles carrying abductees, remained a military secret until 2003.

🔸In August 2014, the US press shed light on the killing of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier who was reported captured by Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip, and then declared dead. According to a report by the New Yorker magazine, the serviceman was killed under the Hannibal Directive.

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🎥 Pantsir-S1 air defense crew obliterates enemy drone in Battlegroup Vostok’s zone of responsibility 

The airspace above Russian troops' positions is monitored round-the-clock by anti-aircraft missile and gun systems. The Pantsir-S1 system is equipped with 12 anti-aircraft missiles and two double-barreled 30mm cannons, each loaded with 1,400 rounds of ammo, to effectively destroy targets.

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🇷🇺 Russian ZALA drone aids precise strike on enemy

A ZALA reconnaissance drone crew identified an enemy concentration of manpower and hardware at a camouflaged stronghold in a forested area. They quickly transmitted the coordinates to artillery and Lancet barrage munition operators, who then launched a precise strike, destroying U.S.-made M777 howitzers, tanks, and French-made Caesar self-propelled guns.

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Sorry not sorry: EU "regrets" Ukraine death toll, but to continue supplying weapons to Kiev

"We certainly regret that people are dying, but Ukrainian soldiers are fighting and dying because they are defending their country," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday during a speech at the fifth NATO Anniversary Summit in Washington.

The EU will continue to support Ukraine, Borrell added.

"I am happy to have heard [US] President Biden a moment ago to say that Russia cannot prevail, for that we have to increase our [military] industrial capacity, putting more money on the table, more technological development," he said.

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