Friday, March 6, 2015

Der Spiegel — Breedlove's Bellicosity: Berlin Alarmed by Aggressive NATO Stance on Ukraine

General Philip Breedlove, the top NATO commander in Europe, stepped before the press in Washington. Putin, the 59-year-old said, had once again "upped the ante" in eastern Ukraine -- with "well over a thousand combat vehicles, Russian combat forces, some of their most sophisticated air defense, battalions of artillery" having been sent to the Donbass. "What is clear," Breedlove said, "is that right now, it is not getting better. It is getting worse every day." 
German leaders in Berlin were stunned. They didn't understand what Breedlove was talking about. And it wasn't the first time. Once again, the German government, supported by intelligence gathered by the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence agency, did not share the view of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). 
The pattern has become a familiar one. For months, Breedlove has been commenting on Russian activities in eastern Ukraine, speaking of troop advances on the border, the amassing of munitions and alleged columns of Russian tanks. Over and over again, Breedlove's numbers have been significantly higher than those in the possession of America's NATO allies in Europe. As such, he is playing directly into the hands of the hardliners in the US Congress and in NATO. 
The German government is alarmed. Are the Americans trying to thwart European efforts at mediation led by Chancellor Angela Merkel? Sources in the Chancellery have referred to Breedlove's comments as "dangerous propaganda." Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier even found it necessary recently to bring up Breedlove's comments with NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg...

Uh oh. Dissension among the vassals. The report makes clear that Breedlove and other hawks like Vicktoria Nuland are either lying or stupid, and no one takes the latter alternative seriously.

Maybe Gen. Breedlove is a mole placed within NATO to break it up from within, as the US is complaining that Putler is trying to do.

No, it appears that President Obama is behind it, according to the article.
Indeed, US President Barack Obama seems almost isolated. He has thrown his support behind Merkel's diplomatic efforts for the time being, but he has also done little to quiet those who would seek to increase tensions with Russia and deliver weapons to Ukraine. Sources in Washington say that Breedlove's bellicose comments are first cleared with the White House and the Pentagon. The general, they say, has the role of the "super hawk," whose role is that of increasing the pressure on America's more reserved trans-Atlantic partners.
This article is about as close to a smack down as the usually circumspect Spiegel gets.

Breedlove further endears himself by doubling down  and telling them to stick it.
Breedlove sees no reason to revise his approach. "I stand by all the public statements I have made during the Ukraine crisis," he wrote to SPIEGEL in response to a request for a statement accompanied by a list of his controversial claims. He wrote that it was to be expected that assessments of NATO's intelligence center, which receives information from all 33 alliance members in addition to partner states, doesn't always match assessments made by individual nations. "It is normal that not everyone agrees with the assessments that I provide," he wrote.
Note "assessments of NATO's intelligence center, which receives information from all 33 alliance members in addition to partner states, doesn't always match assessments made by individual nations." Breedlove claims often reflect the narratives put forward by the Ukrainian government. One wonders whether they are just reading from a script they have been given.

Then comes the kicker.

He says that NATO's strategy is to "release clear, accurate and timely information regarding ongoing events." He also wrote that: "As an alliance based on the fundamental values of freedom and democracy, our response to propaganda cannot be more propaganda. It can only be the truth."
The reaction?
The German government, meanwhile, is doing what it can to influence Breedlove. Sources in Berlin say that conversations to this end have taken place in recent weeks. But there are many at NATO headquarters in Brussels who are likewise concerned about Breedlove's statements. On Tuesday of last week, Breedlove's public appearances were an official item on the agenda of the North Atlantic Council's weekly lunch meeting. Several ambassadors present criticized Breedlove and expressed their incredulity at some of the commander's statements. 
Method to the madness?
Berlin sources also say that it has become conspicuous that Breedlove's controversial statements are often made just as a step forward has been made in the difficult negotiations aimed at a political resolution. Berlin sources say that Germany should be able to depend on its allies to support its efforts at peace.
Looks like they are figuring it out.
Although President Obama has decided for the time being to give European diplomacy a chance, hawks like Breedlove or Victoria Nuland are doing what they can to pave the way for weapons deliveries. "We can fight against the Europeans, fight against them rhetorically," Nuland said during a private meeting of American officials on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference at the beginning of February....
No wonder, then, that people in Berlin have the impression that important power brokers in Washington are working against the Europeans. Berlin officials have noticed that, following the visit of American politicians or military leaders in Kiev, Ukrainian officials are much more bellicose and optimistic about the Ukrainian military's ability to win the conflict on the battlefield. "We then have to laboriously bring the Ukrainians back onto the course of negotiations," said one Berlin official.
This is a very damning report and it is certain to add fuel to the fire in Germany, which is already upset over the revelations about US spying on them. Now europeans are going to have to face up to the US and its poodle the UK are provoking a hot war in Europe with nuclear armed Russia in defiance of the Cold War principle that nuclear states don't face off militarilly.

Spiegel Online International
Breedlove's Bellicosity: Berlin Alarmed by Aggressive NATO Stance on Ukraine

7 comments:

Dan Lynch said...

I never cease to be amazed at US foreign policy.

Thanks for posting this.

Tom Hickey said...

I think this might be just the first salvo. There's a lot more they could say and if the US continues to slouch toward war with Russia, I suspect that they will inform the German public about a lot more in order to prevent another European war that would almost certainly involve Germany directly. In a worst case scenario, Germany would cease to exist. No one there thinks that Ukraine is worth the risk or that regime change in Russia is a priority.

Unless the US provokes a war quickly the like result will be a rise of the right which opposes US policy. as well as the loss of sovereignty to the EU-EZ.

There are no good alternatives in sight here. The left is out to lunch, leaving the field open to the right.

Magpie said...

If Der Spiegel is right on that, this General Breedlove (and Ms. Nuland) looks like a re-incarnation of Ahmed Chalabi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Chalabi

After the damage is done, and the magnitude of his bullshit is revealed, everybody will turn their backs on him (even his greatest sponsors).

So, why don't we do something smart for a change and reverse the order of things: why don't we just turn our backs on him now, and save lots of money, efforts, human misery in the process?

Tom Hickey said...

Flaks like Breedlove and Nuland, and Chabli before them among many others, are just reading from a prepared script that was handed to them, or at least speaking from talking points they were given. Same with Colin Powell
s speech at the UN that destroyed him.

And exactly like the "news" people at Fox get their daily message and talking points to repeat from Roger Ailes, which the media echo chamber then picks up and repeats and pundits then chatter about on the talks shows and in their columns.

The European leaders seem to have figured this out.

Dan Lynch said...

Agree with you about the Chalabi comparison, @Magpie, but Breedlove, Nuland, and company are not loose cannons, but instead are taking orders from the White House. There is no other explanation.

So how do we stop the White House, given that the political opposition is even more hawkish than Obama?

This is like watching a horror movie, and also reminiscent of the Cuban missile crisis, and of my 1st grade class practicing nuclear drills by hiding under our desks (as if the desks would protect us from a nuclear bomb). All we can do is hope that either Germany or Russia force the NeoCon/Zbig crowd to back down, as happened with the Syrian WMD false flag incident.


Tom Hickey said...

my 1st grade class practicing nuclear drills by hiding under our desks (as if the desks would protect us from a nuclear bomb)

Remember it well; in fact, it is seared into my mind.

Dan Lynch said...

Moon of Alabama shares my view on Breedlove just following Obama's lead:

The buck stops at his desk and Nuland as well as General Breedlove and other official hawks concerned about their precious bodily fluids are under Obama's direct command. He can make them shut up or get them fired with a simple 30 second phone call. As he does not do so it is clear that he wants them to talk exactly as they do talk. Obama is the one driving the neocon lane.