The Revolutionary Socialist Network, Workers
NATO is a weapon of control that exists purely to forward capitalism and its markets
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- We wonder if Afghan workers and youth feel the same way, 20 years after NATO forces invaded their country.
- Russian economy entered free fall. Chaos reigned, and
NATO is a weapon of control that exists purely to forward capitalism and its marketsGliniecki 22 [Ben Gliniecki, 2-23-2022, "The Real Role and History of NATO: A Reply to Keir Starmer," Socialist Revolution, https://socialistrevolution.org/the-real-role-and-history-of-nato-a-reply-to-keir-starmer/, smarx, HHW] Recently, British Labour Party leaders, “Sir” Keir Starmer, published a cringeworthy love letter to western imperialism in the Guardian newspaper. His frothy excitement about NATO and his cartoonish patriotic chest-beating are an attempt to paint himself as a champion of the British establishment and an enemy of the left. But his article is a mess of lies and imperialist propaganda from start to finish. Starmer showers praise on the military alliance of western imperialists, cynically—and nauseatingly—comparing it to Britain’s National Health Service as one of “the great achievements of the 1945 Labour government”; a “transformational legacy” that apparently has Labour’s “proud,” “unwaverable,” and “unshakeable” support. “To condemn NATO is to condemn the guarantee of democracy and security it brings,” the Labour leader writes. We wonder if Afghan workers and youth feel the same way, 20 years after NATO forces invaded their country. Starmer says NATO is a “defensive alliance that has never provoked conflict.” But over the last 30 years, NATO has zealously participated in aggressive military action in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Libya. At the same time, it has continually expanded eastwards towards Russia, surrounding the country with troops and military equipment. Starmer’s fairy stories are akin to those that we are taught at school and force-fed by the media—about the good guys in the West and the bad guys in the East. Such claptrap is only fit for children, not thinking workers and youth. Western Aggression In reality, NATO was founded in 1949 not as an instrument of peace, but as a weapon to fight the Cold War. It has remained a weapon ever since. It is a military alliance, which gets three-quarters of its funding from the USA; and which says that if one member is attacked, then every other member must respond with force. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian economy entered free fall. Chaos reigned, and Russia was on its knees. The western imperialists seized the opportunity to expand their markets and spheres of influence eastwards. NATO has been a key part of this strategy. In 1999, former Warsaw Pact countries Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined NATO. In 2004, they were joined by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Slowly but surely, Russia’s borders were being ringed by members of a hostile military alliance. Starmer describes Russia as “the aggressor” and a “bully.” But which of NATO and Russia has hawkishly expanded into the markets and territories of the other’s former allies? Which has been placing troops and military hardware on the borders of the other for many years? NATO’s provocations towards Russia continued. In 2003, a rabidly pro-US government was brought to power in Georgia. US advisers helped train the Georgian army, and encouraged them to test the limits of Russia’s defensive capability. At a 2008 summit in Bucharest, NATO members agreed that Georgia and Ukraine, both bordering Russia, would join the alliance in the future. Whipped up by these events, Georgian president Saakashvili attacked the autonomous region of South Ossetia in 2008, where over 90% of the population are Russian citizens. NATO and its expansion exist for the purpose of benefiting the economic interests of US and exerting capitalism on the rest of the worldDownload 2.09 Mb. Share with your friends:
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