Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)

NATO is America’s killing machine, an alliance for offense, not defense, other members and partners pressured to serve US interests, harming their own.

Whatever reasons justified NATO’s existence during Cold War years vanished when Soviet Russia dissolved in December 1991.

Yet the alliance remained, provocatively expanding east near Russia’s borders, surrounding its territory with bases, installing so-called missile defense systems intended solely for offense, threatening its security.

Putin promised to “be ready to respond quickly and adequately to any potential threat” from the alliance.

As long as it exists and expands, endless US-launched imperial wars will continue. Peace and stability will be unattainable. Possible nuclear annihilation will remain humanity’s greatest threat.

Bipartisan neocons infesting Washington make the unthinkable possible, believing America can win a nuclear war - unwinnable by any nation if waged.

Believing otherwise is madness. The only way to prevent nuclear war is by eliminating these weapons entirely.

Instead, Obama approved a $1 trillion program to upgrade America’s arsenal over the next 30 years.

Trump earlier tweeted “(t)he United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”

He pledged to upgrade it to assure it’s the “top of the pack,” ludicrously claiming America fell behind in its nuclear weapons capability.

He wants other NATO members increasing military spending at a time none face any external security threats - none from Russia, China, Iran or any other country.

In early June at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Vladimir explained Russia in vain tried establishing constructive dialogue with the alliance, including creation of a Russia-NATO council.

Their security officials want cooperation with Moscow, but US-led political opposition prevents it.

Putin’s call for joint Russia-NATO cooperation in combating terrorism was rejected. America and its rogue allies support the scourge Moscow and freedom-loving people everywhere oppose.

US-dominated NATO remains an instrument of its imperial agenda, Putin explained.

On Friday, Sergey Lavrov said NATO always sought to expand its geopolitical space - at the expense of world peace and stability.

When NATO increasingly expands to “our…borders, when new units are sent there, under the slogan of permanent rotation, (it) means permanent deployment in all practical senses. We understand very well that pretexts used to justify such steps are far-fetched,” Lavrov explained.

“If there had not been (a US-orchestrated) coup d’etat in Ukraine, after which we were forced to defend those people who refused to obey neo-Nazi perpetrators of the coup, then something else would have been invented” to bash Russia.

“NATO’s plans have never changed, and with (reckless) intensity” expanded near Russia’s borders.

When Moscow earlier proposed an agreement “to refrain from attempts to ensure one’s security by” harming other nations, the alliance said only NATO members “will receive legal security guarantees from the West.”

US-dominated NATO threatens humanity’s survival. As long as it exists, endless imperial wars will rage.

Peace and stability will be unattainable. Catastrophic nuclear war could become reality. US plans were drawn long ago to wage it - madness if launched.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

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My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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