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One thing that jumped out at me this last week was the realization that I was watching the suicide of both NATO and whatever chance was left at restoring the special relationship with England. Both are entirely self-inflicted and frankly Vance’s speech (and I’ve heard was also in some other messages not public) was a warning (or appeal) to not jump.
Unsurprisingly, led by Germany, they are jumping. The only surprising thing is that under two-tier Keir (have a slightly different pronunciation/name I try not to use in public) England may well beat France and Macaroon in joining them.
The roots of current events go back into the 80s, when NATO became more a status assignment than a true check on the Soviet Union and communism. In fact, look at the politics in Europe in the 80s and you can see the socialists/WEF globalists forming up and moving out. Green was deadly and a lot of things went on that still don’t have public answers (SDI deaths among others). Fact is, however, that it was the time that the progressives/globalists began to move inside and start gutting NATO so they could wear it as a skinwalker.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, that has only progressed. Frankly, NATO ceased to be relevant per it’s founding, and there was fairly open discussion on repurposing it so as to maintain the form and build upon it for other purposes. One of the largest being to have the U.S. fund the welfare states for as much of Europe as possible. Discussion of ending NATO was washed away in a tide of open and black-budget funding. I personally think that the NGO model was first tried outside of USAID with NATO. If Elon and DOGE want a challenge, look into that history.
In his first term, Trump tried to get Germany and others to live up to their oaths and treaties in regards defense funding and funding to NATO. The absolute contempt with which he (and Richard Grenell) were showered — in public even — was intended by those involved to be a humiliation. Don’t think that went the way they intended. Even so, Germany just doubled down on that with recent statements by their minister of defense and vice chancellor.
That doesn’t even touch the EU and how that has impacted NATO (and even the US as our internal enemies tried to make use of the EU to censor Americans). Frankly, I’m more and more reminded on many levels of Larry Bond’s book Cauldron. It is worth noting that most of the Eastern European countries, having been forced minions of the Soviet Union, are not happy with things and have been stepping up to their commitments to NATO, and even going several steps beyond. More on that in a minute.
With the formation of the EU, NATO should have ended (as such) and the EU taken responsibility for it’s own defense. However, as noted above, keeping both allowed all sorts of interesting money (and weapons, etc.) transfers as well as ways for the different countries to use each other to control unruly citizens and dissidents. This was especially true for the progressives in the U.S. who used not only EU countries but the UK to spy, censor, interfere with elections, fabricate evidence for political purposes, and much much more. And if you don’t think EU leadership such as Ursula, Thierry, and others were not in on this up to their eyebrows…
Now think about this: for all that the so-called leaders in the EU can’t read the room (and they truly can’t), they could see that all the high-handed actions and efforts that were having a negative impact on average citizens might not go over well. Hence, Angela’s great immigration folly. Bring in a new population, used to less, to balance and frankly to keep the original population in line. Problem is, I don’t think they truly realized that the massive influx of Islamics could not be controlled like normal. That they, in fact, might have ideas and plans of their own, such as finishing what they started a thousand plus years ago and avenging the Gates of Vienna.
Fact is, most globalists/progressives are not that bright. They see things through an amazing array of filters and blinders. When you add to it that they are also seeing more than a hundred years of their own power going down the tubes, they are not handling it well. Since the time of the despicable Woodrow Wilson, they have been effectively in charge and unreasonably sure of their own brilliance and eternal power. They have long used catspaws/loyal troops to provide violence when needed (BLM riots were hardly the first, go back to the Wobblies and others in the early 1900s). They do indeed see violence as a tool with a rheostatic control. Problem is, not even their own tools see it that way, and a lot of other groups only see a toggle.
Which, sadly, brings us to England. We did have a special relationship with England. It took a while after the War of Jenkin’s Ear, but it did develop and we did some good and interesting things together. Quite frankly, we saved their bacon twice in the last century and had their back as their empire melted away like vapor in the sun.
Despite some issues, we managed to hold onto it even into the 1960s and 70s. Some turbulence started cropping up then, but it truly hit the rocks with the election of Obama, who hates England, Brits, and everything to do with them. That was made clear during his first two terms, and even more so during his unofficial third term under the Biden Regency.
Fact is, I think the last vestige of the England with which we had the special relationship died with Queen Elizabeth. With her died the England of Churchill and WWII, and all that came before it. That there were and are still hopes for such can be seen in the return of the Churchill bust to the White House. But, there are two things against it.
One is Charles and The Firm. My thoughts on Charles I will leave aside for now, but even if William is much more than his father it’s not likely to matter for two reasons. The first is two-tier Keir, who would be a perfect fit in 1984 as a leader, and the demographics of England’s own invasion of Muslim immigrants.
Keir wants absolute power and an effective police state for all the original population of England, with some control over the immigrants. He and his cohorts are working hard to undo Brexit and return England to the EU, though I suspect he wants to return as an equal (a thing to which the EU will never fully agree).
So, he courts power within the progressive/WEF crowd by his actions and shows his loyalty to same by threatening America with this and that, including ending intelligence and military cooperation.
The truly sad thing is that I don’t think it matters in regards them, Germany, or France. Demographics is destiny. As noted before, that huge influx of Muslim immigrants allowed in legally and illegally has already set up multiple Sharia courts across England, which the politicians have stupidly allowed. The immigrants already wield outsized power in England, Germany, France (and elsewhere). My personal opinion is that unless something very unexpected and kinetic occurs, all three countries are not three, but one generation from becoming Islamic states. It’s purely a numbers game, and the immigrants have the numbers along with the effective approval/support of those currently in power.
Yes, I do think that was part of the plan here. Topic for another day, but it was and is much the same. Thankfully, we had a very different outcome last November and Trump came in prepared and loaded for bear. We have a chance, an opportunity, to save ourselves and our Republic. Under current leadership, Europe is fracked. And it is likely to stay fracked, or fall into violence.
As Vice President Vance correctly noted, the EU and it’s member states have started ignoring or overturning elections they don’t like. It’s not just Romania, but France as well. Macaroon refused to acknowledge a rather clear vote by the people and has refused to dissolve the government or to put in place the government (and parties) for which the people rather significantly voted. Germany is currently trying to ban the ADF in Germany and even banned them from the Munich conference. Want to make a bet that if the ADF wins in the upcoming elections as expected, Germany and the EU will refuse to acknowledge the win?
Final thought in this part, particularly on the part of the so-called leaders not being able to read the room. I don’t think they truly understand where their own people are right now. I don’t think they get that they are legitimately and rightfully angry. I know for a fact they don’t have a clue about the American public and the flat-out anger that is close to breaking out. They think it is business as usual, that their buddies and co-conspirators will get back on top again and all go on as before. I don’t see that happening, and I do see efforts to force such resulting in violence and turmoil the world has never seen. I think they might even get a taste of that out of their own people if they don’t wake up and wise up. And I fear they are too stupid and too desperate to cling to the only power structure they know to do so.
Now, let’s face that NATO is not working and most members are not honoring their commitments. It is also not needed for it’s original purpose and the United States has no real vested interest in most of the issues that now face Europe. Fact is, in conventional terms Russia is no threat to a prepared Europe or to the U.S. In nuclear terms, Russia is no threat to a prepared Europe or the U.S. I stand by my previous remarks in regards the twenty percent option. I will skip China for now, but will note that I think it would not survive war with the U.S. or other power block, for all that I suspect most of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and far too many other forces will be either on the bottom of the Pacific or dead in the process.
Frankly, this old Cold Warrior finds himself in a position he never expected to be. I have to agree with Mike Lee and I think we need to be out of NATO. If they can’t and wont honor their commitments, why should we continue to fund them. To protect them and to pledge the blood of our young for their authoritarian and anti-democratic governments? For governments that hate and despise us even as they demand more from us?
I do think it would be wise and prudent to look at some framework with the Baltic states and other members (Poland, Hungary, etc.) who are stepping up. There are a lot of issues there, a number of which Larry Bond covered in his novel Cauldron. There are also some issues that tie into work by Cdr. Salamander, John Konrad, and others in regards the dismal state of our fleet, the beyond abysmal state of our logistics, support/repair, and merchant fleets, and related issues (we need seaplanes in the Pacific if for no other reason than that we can lose ships and planes, but can’t afford to lose pilots and crews because we have no means to currently rescue them). That’s a post for another day.
Right now, if a new framework with the new Europe can be worked out, I would say pull everything we can out of Germany and elsewhere, and move them there. England has been a good staging ground, but future use under current leadership is doubtful (and I have not forgotten past times they refused to let us use forces/assets in England to defend our interests, something that has happened more than once since the 70s). Keir wants to play chicken with those assets and long-standing cooperation? Let’s take that card out of his hands right now. Again, they have not lived up to their commitments, so what do we owe them?
The American public is sick and tired of supporting authoritarian deadbeats who do not honor their word. The American public is sick and tired of spending the blood of our sons and daughters for unappreciative snots, and that is a fair assessment of the current leaders of the EU, Germany, France, and England. The American public is sick and tired of paying for your welfare state instead of taking care of our own. The American public is sick and tired of your whining bullshit.
Time to leave. Let the chips fall where they may.
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UPDATE: The post on what I think should replace NATO is up here for those interested.
UPDATE II: I highly recommend this post NATO RIP at L’Ombre de l’Olivier
