With wars winding down in Ukraine, and the Middle East, the Pentagon is looking for a new setting for the next proxy war. Taiwan seems to be the favoured location, with China the opponent. That ought to keep the War Industry inventories moving. But what about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? How do they fit in the South Pacific?
Pentagon names biggest threat in ‘secret memo’ – WaPo
A newly issued internal Pentagon document setting priorities for the US armed forces reportedly calls for focusing on preparing for a potential conflict with China and leaving all other potential “threats,” such as Russia and Iran to America’s allies, the Washington Post has claimed.
The nine-page paper, dubbed the Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance, effectively narrowed down the US defense strategy in the Indo-Pacific region to a single scenario that would require the American military to prevent Beijing from establishing full control over Taiwan through military means, according to WaPo.
How does Taiwan fit under the classification of National Defence?
“China is the Department’s sole pacing threat, and denial of a Chinese fait accompli seizure of Taiwan — while simultaneously defending the U.S. homeland is the Department’s sole pacing scenario,” the “secret” document obtained by the media outlet said. According to WaPo, Beijing was named as the only potential enemy in a “major power war” that Washington needs to plan contingencies for.
That's an amazing dismissal of the great threat of Russia invading Europe? Is anyone in Europe paying attention?
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously described China as the main defense priority for the US. Beijing also expressed its concerns about a shift in Washington’s approach to Taiwan after the US State Department dropped from its fact sheet a statement on not supporting the island’s independence. China considers the self-governing island an inalienable part of its territory and most of the world adheres to Beijing’s stance.
Apart from a potential conflict with China, the paper also tells the military to focus on the threats from the “near abroad” and be “ready to defend American interests wherever they might be threatened in our hemisphere, from Greenland, to the Panama Canal, to Cape Horn.” The US Army should also shift its counterterrorism activities to fighting groups capable of striking the US directly and deprioritize those that are only active in far away regions, the WaPo reported.
Other potential “threats” supposedly posed by nations such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea should henceforth be dealt with by US allies, the document reportedly states. In particular, it says that Washington is unlikely to provide any substantial assistance to its allies in Europe in case of a confrontation with Russia.
Astonishing! 75 years of agreements between allies just dismissed. Who would ever make another agreement with America without a gun to their head?
The document calls for European NATO members to significantly increase their share of the collective defense burden that would supposedly “ensure NATO can reliably deter or defeat Russian aggression even if deterrence fails and the United States is already engaged in, or must withhold forces to deter, a primary conflict in another region.”
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention to attack the US-led bloc but warned that NATO’s active involvement in the ongoing Ukraine conflict poses a risk of a direct confrontation with Russia.
NATO needs Romania to launch WWIII
– Georgescu
Calin Georgescu, a former Romanian presidential candidate whose bid was controversially invalidated earlier this year, has claimed that NATO wants to “launch World War III from Romania.” In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, he said his staunch pro-peace stance was among the main reasons why he was barred from running for president.
The right-wing politician, known as an outspoken critic of NATO, the EU, and Western support for Ukraine, scored a surprise win in the first round of November’s presidential election, receiving 23% of the vote. However, the country’s Constitutional Court swiftly moved in to annul the result over alleged “irregularities” in his campaign. Later, Georgescu was stripped of his right to run for office.https://twitter.com/i/status/1910377980519493985
Appearing on Carlson’s podcast on Thursday, the former Romanian presidential candidate alleged that NATO wants to “launch… World War III from Romania.” The politician cited the fact that the “largest military base of NATO is in Romania,” coupled with the 380-mile (612 km) long border that his country shares with Ukraine.
“In this situation of course Romania is the asset for [the] European Union, for [French President Emmanuel] Macron in order to launch the war,” Georgescu insisted.
“They want to turn NATO [into] an offensive force” and are “pushing for war,” he alleged, adding that “my position was exactly against them.”
According to Georgescu, “all my campaign was just concentrate[d] on peace[.] When I said… the word ‘peace’, they immediately alerted… because they need war.”
The right-wing politician went on to say that the “majority of Romanian people… have this position against any intervention and any participation [in] war.”
“I was denied [the right to run for president] by the globalist mafia,” the former candidate alleged, further claiming that the people behind the invalidation of his candidacy were the same people who attempted to derail Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the US, using similar smear tactics.
Appearing on ‘The Shawn Ryan Show’ in January, Georgescu similarly suggested that NATO military infrastructure in Romania could be used to launch a major offensive against Russia.
Bucharest, a NATO member since 2004, has been expanding the MK Air Base to make it the largest NATO installation in Europe.
Moscow has described the base as “anti-Russian” and warned that it would be among the first targets for retaliatory strikes in a military conflict.
Germany leads allies in $24B military aid package for Ukraine
April 11 (UPI) -- Western allies want a "militarily strong Ukraine," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Friday, as his country pledged $12.4 billion in military aid, part of a larger combined $24 billion allied commitment.
The new allocation of funds runs until 2029 and includes a $5.8-billion commitment from Britain, which was announced at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Belgian capital of Brussels.
The UDCD is made up of all 32 NATO members, plus 25 other countries and the European Union which all support Ukraine's defense militarily.
"We need a militarily strong Ukraine," Pistorius said Friday.
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"Only then can negotiations lead to a just and lasting and peace settlement."
Much of Germany's contribution will go towards air defense, guided missiles and ammunition for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
British Defense Secretary John Healey called 2025 a "critical year" in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, adding that allies see no end in sight to the war, which has been going on for more than three years.
U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to negotiate a cease-fire has so far not come to fruition.
Earlier in the week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country has evidence of at least 155 Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in the conflict.
Britain and Norway's commitment relates largely to radar and air defense, with Healey calling it a priority Friday.
"In our calculations, 70% to 80% of battlefield casualties are now caused and inflicted by drones," he told reporters.
The money will also help buy drones and anti-tank mines and fun vehicle repairs.
Britain's commitment announced Friday is part of a larger $5.8 billion package announced earlier in the year.
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