The Following text is Section 13 of

The 70 Years of NATO: From War to War,

by the Italian Committee No War No NATO

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Documentation presented at the International Conference on the 70th Anniversary of NATO, Florence, April 7, 2019

In the course of the next two weeks, Global Research will publish the 16 sections of this important document, which will also be available as an E-book.

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Contents 

1. NATO is born from the Bomb
2. In the post-Cold War, NATO is renewed
3. NATO demolishes the Yugoslav state
4. NATO expands eastward to Russia
5. US and NATO attack Afghanistan and Iraq
6. NATO demolishes the Libyan state
7. The US/NATO War to Demolish Syria
8. Israel and the Emirates in NATO
9. The US/NATO orchestration of the coup in Ukraine
10. US/NATO escalation in Europe
11.  Italy, the aircraft carrier on the war front
12. US and NATO reject the UN treaty and deploy new nuclear weapons in Europe
13. US and NATO sink the INF Treaty
14. The Western American Empire plays the war card
15. The US/NATO planetary war system
16. Exiting the war system of NATO

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1. The United States announced in February 2019 the “suspension” of the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) with Russia and the intention to leave it definitively within six months. They therefore feel free to test and deploy weapons of the category prohibited by the Treaty: short-range and intermediate range nuclear missiles (between 500 and 5500 km), based on land. The Pershing 2 and the Cruise deployed in the 1980s by the USA in European NATO countries and the SS-20 deployed by the USSR on their territory were eliminated by the Treaty on Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) signed in 1987 by Presidents Gorbachev and Reagan.

2. The INF Treaty was challenged by Washington when the United States saw their strategic advantage over Russia and China diminish. In 2014, the Obama administration accused Russia, without bringing any evidence, of having tested a cruise missile of the category prohibited by the Treaty and, in 2015, announced that “faced with the violation of the INF Treaty by Russia, the United States is considering the deployment of ground-based missiles in Europe”. The plan was carried out by the Trump administration. In 2018, Congress authorized the financing of “a research and development program for a cruise missile launched from the ground by a road-based mobile platform”. For its part, Moscow denied that its cruise missile violated the treaty and, in turn, accused Washington of having installed interceptor missile launchers (those of the “shield”) in Poland and Romania, which can be used to launch nuclear warhead cruise missiles.

3. In this context, the geographical factor must be kept in mind: while a US intermediate-range nuclear missile, deployed in Europe, may hit Moscow, a similar missile deployed by Russia on its territory may hit European capitals, but not Washington. Reversing the scenario, it is as if Russia deployed its intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Mexico.

4. The US plan to scuttle the INF Treaty was fully supported by NATO’s European allies. The North Atlantic Council declared in December 2018 that “the INF Treaty was in danger due to the actions of Russia”, which was accused of deploying “a destabilizing missile system”. The North Atlantic Council itself declared in February 2019 its “full support for the United States’ action to suspend its obligations with respect to the INF Treaty” and urged Russia to “use the remaining six months to return to full compliance with the Treaty”.

5. The European Union also contributed to the collapse of the INF Treaty. At the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018, the EU voted against the resolution presented by Russia on the “preservation and observance of the INF Treaty”. It was rejected with 46 votes against 43 and 78 abstentions. The European Union – of which 21 of the 27 members are part of NATO (as is Great Britain even after leaving the EU) – thus conforms totally to the position of NATO, which in turn conforms to that of the United States. In essence, therefore, even the European Union has given green light to the possible installation of new US nuclear missiles in Europe, including Italy.

6. The warning issued by President Vladimir Putin in February 2019 was once again ignored: “Russia will be forced to create and deploy weapons systems that can be used not only against the territories from which this direct threat originates, but also against those territories where the decision-making centers are located from which the order to use these weapons against us can come ”. In other words, if the US deploys intermediate-range nuclear missiles aimed at Russia in Europe, Russia will deploy nuclear missiles aimed at European territories where US missiles are deployed and, at the same time, against US territories where the command and control centers for these missiles are located.

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Sections 14-16 of the 70 Years of NATO, From War to War, forthcoming on Global Research

This text was translated from the Italian document which was distributed to participants at the April 7 Conference. It does not include sources and references.

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