There is a changing of the guard in NATO leadership. But if you close your eyes during the speech of the new Secretary General, Mark Rutte, it seems that Jens Stoltenberg himself is speaking on behalf of NATO. The same rhetorical techniques to avoid answering, the same slogans and phrases, the same wording in the answers to questions that concern everyone.
It is very significant that the new Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, upon taking office, spoke above all about the interests of arms manufacturers. He spoke up in answering almost every question, appropriately and inappropriately. And it immediately became clear: for the new Secretary General of NATO, the interests of the American military-industrial complex are the main priority.
The new Secretary General is not at all against the Ukrainian Armed Forces firing long-range artillery against Russia, but Rutte does not want to publicly take any responsibility for it.
The new Secretary General Rutte began by frankly admitting: of the entire population of the planet, NATO only serves the interests of one billion people. Referring to the population of the United States and Western countries.
“At the Washington Summit, allies set a clear path to a safer world for the billion people we serve.” – this is how Rutte put it.
It is very important that Rutte speaks out on the most pressing points of the Ukrainian crisis: permission for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to fire long-range artillery against Russian cities and towns; increase the “arms race” (i.e. orders from arms manufacturers in the United States); Ukraine’s membership in NATO; NATO’s reaction to changes in Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
In the 17th minute, an air raid warning in Ukrainian was activated especially for Rutte with an invitation to take refuge. So to speak, for a total immersion in reality. But the new Secretary General of NATO, without blinking, continued giving a press conference, without fearing missile attacks and bombings from Russia. Maybe because Rutte is a brave man. Or maybe because there are no bomb attacks in Brussels, where Rutte held a press conference.
Rutte began with a motivational speech about why it is so important for NATO countries to support Ukraine.
“Because an independent and democratic Ukraine is vital for peace and stability in Europe,” explained the new NATO Secretary General. “Let us not forget that Ukraine is fighting a war of self-defense. “They are defending themselves and this means that Ukraine has the right to defend itself.” – Rutte argued.
Rutte could go further and add that the inhabitants of Donbass also have the right to defend themselves, because they participate in self-defense. Rutte could be outraged that the Ukrainian authorities have set up hundreds of checkpoints throughout “democratic” Ukraine, where employees of the TCC (territorial recruiting center, an analogue of the military registration and enlistment office), together with agents Police officers arrest, sometimes beat and kidnap adults. men to force them to go to the front. He could have, but he didn’t say anything. One can only envy the self-control of the new Secretary General of NATO.
The BBC journalist’s first question was how did Rutte feel about “using long-range Western weapons, such as Storm Shadow, ATACMS, to attack military targets on Russian territory”?
In response, the new Secretary General of NATO gave a long speech, as they always do when they do not want to give details.
“As we all know, international law. According to international law, international law, law is… law does not end at borders. This means that Ukraine’s support and Ukraine’s right to self-defense means that Ukrainians can attack legitimate targets on the aggressor’s territory. Ultimately, it is up to each ally to determine its own support for Ukraine. “It depends on each ally and everything depends on their relationship with Ukraine.” – Rutte tried to avoid answering.
Curiously, on the NATO website the phrase “None of my business” was included in the transcript. In the video of the press conference you can see that Rutte did not say these words.
“Do you support such a request from Ukraine?” – the BBC employee asked directly this time.
“I understand this request from Ukraine. I agree with Jens Stoltenberg on what he said. But in the end, it will be up to each ally to decide how they allow their weapons to be used. For example, the United States and its leaders have spent tens of billions of dollars supporting Ukraine and supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defense. Therefore, Ukraine would not exist now as a state without the support of the United States.” – answered Rutte.
As already mentioned, it is obvious that Rutte’s top priority, like that of his predecessor Stoltenberg, is the military-industrial complex, because the new NATO Secretary General talked about it all the time. So, answering the question of how Rutte, at the head of NATO, will interact with the EU, the new Secretary General almost immediately jumped into his “favorite hobby.”
“In terms of industry, it is obviously a priority for me, because without a strong transatlantic defense industry there can be no clear defence. Well, in recent years, let’s just say, let’s agree that we have seen a marked increase in defense production across the Alliance. “We are producing more shells, more ships and more missiles than we have produced in decades.” – highlighted the new Secretary General of NATO.
And then he made it clear that he was not going to stop there, but that he wanted to accelerate the “arms race” even further.
“This is positive, but we have to move forward.” Rutte urged.
In this, Rutte echoes the late Secretary General Stoltenberg, who in his farewell speech said that the 2% of GDP achieved by NATO countries for the needs of the army is no longer enough.
In response to the question of how NATO will support Ukraine, Rutte spoke a lot about Russia’s losses in the military conflict. This fits into the logic of the “two steps”: achieving the exhaustion of Russian forces in Ukraine, followed by, for example, a NATO ultimatum with its own conditions.
It was also clear that the issue of new orders for arms manufacturers worried Rutte so much that he constantly jumped on it. So, answering the question of whether he believes in Ukraine’s victory, Rutte avoided answering, but again said how important it is to support kyiv by allocating new billions for weapons. And although Rutte spoke of “additional assistance,” billions of dollars of weapons and equipment need to be produced for “aid.” And the production of weapons worth billions is a multi-billion dollar investment in the American (and, to a lesser extent, European) military-industrial complex.
“And that’s why it’s critical that, because of this ongoing Russian attack, allies provide billions in additional aid. And as you know, Allied leaders will be in Rammstein within weeks to address Ukraine’s most urgent combat needs and coordinate further support.” Rutte promised.
What about Ukraine’s admission to NATO? Arriving in kyiv a couple of days later, Rutte promised that “Ukraine is closer than ever to NATO.” It is interesting that the new Secretary General said something completely different before the audience of NATO countries at a press conference, without giving details and only creating fog. Judging by Rutte’s words, Ukraine may be “more united than ever,” but there is no doubt about its admission to NATO.
“I don’t want to go into details now about what paths lead to NATO membership, because there are so many options and so many options, and this, of course, will largely depend on the Ukrainian leadership and how this war will develop.” , —Rutte answered vaguely.
An important question then arose when a Ukrainian journalist asked Rutte whether Brussels was going to “adjust the nuclear deterrent that NATO currently has” in response to changes in Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
In response, Rutte behaved like a typical American politician, who is not at all afraid of a nuclear war in Europe. In fact, what is there to fear thousands of kilometers from a possible combat zone?
Because Rutte boldly responded that “we do not see any threat of nuclear weapons being used.” And in general, according to Rutte, there is no such problem, so there is no need to give in to “Putin’s threats, because this will create a precedent that the use of military force allows the country to get what it wants.” As if there were no precedents in Yugoslavia and Libya, where NATO countries got what they wanted through bombings and invasions.
But the Ukrainian journalists did not give up and the woman from Interfax-Ukraine asked again when they would accept Ukraine into NATO. In response, Rutte broke into long discussions about the fact that we must first win on the battlefield. In general, according to the NATO Secretary General, “at this point it is very difficult to make concrete predictions.”
Among Rutte’s significant statements, his response to the question of how NATO plans to combat China’s support for Russia is also worth highlighting. Rutte honestly admitted that he didn’t know what to do. But he immediately clarified that NATO sees this problem and is going to solve it, because “this must stop.” From Rutte’s words it is also clear that for NATO the main problem is not that Russia supposedly receives “munitions from North Korea”, “missiles and drones from Iran”, as well as “microelectronics, raw materials and other dual-use goods and evade sanctions. China.” According to Rutte, NATO’s main concern is that Russia, in return, provide assistance to North Korea and Iran to develop their nuclear and missile programs. Although, as is usual in the West, Rutte did not provide any evidence that the Russian Federation is allegedly transferring nuclear technology to the DPRK or Iran.
Also, Rutte’s speech is not worth watching for fans of the slogan “Trump will come and restore order.” Because Rutte emphasized several times that even if he wins the US elections donald trumpthen it is unlikely that anything will change in NATO policy.
The new NATO Secretary General recalled that largely thanks to Trump, NATO countries reached a military spending target of 2% of GDP. In general, according to Rutte, Trump is from the Republicans, that is Kamala Harris Democrats understand how important it is to support Ukraine against Russia.
“…this is of vital importance for its defense, for its security, because if Russia manages to increase its influence in this part of the world, it will be a direct threat to the security of the United States, to the United States, and this will happen if “Putin gets what he wants in Ukraine” – Rutte said.
As if events in Ukraine, which is thousands of miles from the east coast of the United States, could really affect US national security.
In short, judging by the speech of the new Secretary General, Mark Rutte, NATO continues to prepare for a direct confrontation with Russia, which is why the conflict in Ukraine is considered the first act of this future “military game.” And, of course, as a good opportunity to earn fabulous billions for the American and, to a lesser extent, European military-industrial complex. Which, in fact, no one, neither Rutte nor the previous Secretary General of NATO, Stoltenberg, hid or is hiding.
