NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has played a key role in rallying allied support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and has even been an inspiration in shepherding Sweden and Finland into NATO membership. He is now publishing a new intelligence strategy for the Western nuclear posture.
NATO officials, fearful of appearing too provocative to Russia, have for decades downplayed the nuclear component of their defense strategy, relying on submerged stealth operations to remain invisible to potential adversaries and the rest of the world.
But last week, a day after a Russian Northern Fleet flotilla arrived in Havana, a U.S. Navy fast attack submarine surfaced at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The submarine “Regular port visits… carrying out global maritime security and national defense missions.”
Asked about the incident, Stoltenberg cited the current world situation, namely the declared Strategic Partnership Russia, China and Vladimir Putin Frequent threats — Western nuclear transparency is now necessary; and Praised The Netherlands recently decided to invest in dual-engine fighter jets capable of carrying US nuclear weapons.
“Transparency is something we, of course,Nuclear AllianceNATO’s goal is a world without nuclear weapons, but as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will remain a nuclear alliance. Because:Russia,Chinaandnorth korea“A world with nuclear-weapon states and NATO without nuclear weapons is a more dangerous world.”
Despite NATO’s focus on European security, Stoltenberg has been hesitant about China’s The rapidly growing nuclear arsenal, He said he expects it to arrive. 1,000 Weapons Within 10 years, China support Russia’s war in Ukraine makes the risks exponentially greater.
“That means that in the not-too-distant future, NATO may be faced with something it has never faced before: two potential adversaries with nuclear weapons, China and Russia. Of course, this has consequences.”
Unfortunately, President Biden has made transparency a serious security liability for the West, starting with his apparent fear that helping Ukraine thwart Russian aggression would be viewed by Putin as an escalation. And“That’s World War III.” Former President Trump is happy to jump on Biden’s Armageddon paralysis, saying his national security policies are already“Dragging America into World War III”
Even more disappointing, Trump is likely to avoid a confrontation with Putin. give in to his demands At least on part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine.
Last week, Biden reiterated his administration’s fear of angering Putin, Instead of “making it easier” He said that for Ukraine to join NATO, it “must meet the same standards as other member states.”
Of course, Ukraine is not one of the “other member states.” Ukraine is the only one that has voluntarily agreed to give up the Soviet nuclear weapons stationed on its territory in exchange for security guarantees from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation. 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
Ukraine is bearing the brunt of Europe’s first major invasion since the Nazi insurrection of the 1930s and 40s, and it is the only country directly defending the West against the threat of a joint attack by an authoritarian axis of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
Instead, Ukraine deserves special treatment from NATO. I said the same thing He said so during a visit to the US last week, without directly contradicting Biden. ““Once there’s an agreement, Ukraine will become a NATO member, but we need the consent of all the allies. In the meantime, we’re building that bridge and helping bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership.”
He added, “We removed the requirement of what’s called an Accession Action Plan, which can actually take years. We said Ukraine doesn’t have to go through that stage and can go straight to the next step and invitation. So we changed Ukraine’s whole accession process from a two-stage process to a one-stage process. This will bring it closer to NATO membership.”
Under Stoltenberg’s approach, Ukraine would join NATO sooner or later, and Article 5 would require the allies to become directly involved in Ukraine’s defense, pitting a much stronger NATO against a much weaker Russia.
Strategic clarity is essential not only to prevent further Russian aggression, but also to protect China’s Expansionism In the South China Sea. Ukraine, but also Taiwan and the Philippines, must hope that the next president, Democrat or Republican, will adopt Stoltenberg’s clear-sighted policy rather than Biden’s fear or Trump’s callous indifference.
Joseph BoscoHe served as Director for China Affairs for the Secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2006, and as Director for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief for Asia and the Pacific from 2009 to 2010. Korea-US Institute He is an advisory board member of Global Taiwan Institute.
