For the first time since the 1980s, the United States will deploy its long range missiles in Europe, which were banned by the INF Treaty, which the USSR and the United States signed in 1987.
The widely publicized NATO summit, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of its formation, was captured by parallel and more important events related to world security and the fate of the leader of this organization, US President Joe Biden. As for security, amid the summit, the United States and Germany issued a joint statement on the upcoming deployment of missiles in Germany in 2026, which will have a much longer range than those already deployed in Europe. We are talking about SM-6 multi-purpose rockets with a range of 370 km; Tomahawk cruise missiles range from 1,250 to 2,500 km and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, and hypersonic missiles still in the testing stage.
Thus, for the first time since the 1980s, the United States will deploy its missiles in Europe, which were banned by the INF Treaty, which the USSR and the United States signed in 1987. In 2018, Washington announced its withdrawal from the agreement. Still, Moscow proposed to impose a moratorium on deploying such missiles and that it is ready to adhere to such a moratorium unilaterally until Washington places its INF in Europe or Asia. Now, according to the White House, this is precisely what will happen in just a year and a half. Moscow has already responded with a statement by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and a call from Defense Minister Andrei Belousov to his counterpart in the United States, Lloyd Austin.
Reactions
Ryabkov stated, “The nature of our reaction will be determined in a calm, professional manner. The military has already started working on this issue. Of course, we will analyze which specific systems will be discussed…We will determine the military response to this new threat.” The details of the conversation between Belousov and Austin weren’t disclosed. Still, according to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, they reported that “The issue of preventing security threats and reducing the risk of possible escalation was discussed.”
“I think this is an unfortunate development,” said Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst at the Pentagon. “First of all, this is an escalation, and I would suggest that the Europeans themselves would be extremely uncomfortable because it puts them right on target in Russia’s response.” For example, moving its hypersonic missile systems closer to Europe could turn off the “launch pads” of any US offensive systems in case of escalation.
Joe Biden is poised more than ever before
Turning to the situation with Biden, for the media and everyone involved or just following the US presidential race, it was not the texts of the speech of the participants of the NATO summit or even its final resolution that was more important, but how many mistakes he would make during his speeches and at the press conference after the summit. Many viewed them as litmus tests to test the 81-year-old president’s mental state and ability to lead the country for the next four years. As a result, the number of those doubting this ability has increased significantly, even among the leadership and members of his Democratic party, the media traditionally supporting it, and its key sponsors. Even in Hollywood, which has always been considered a stronghold of the Democrats, the famous actor George Clooney, who recently held a Biden fundraiser, wrote a sharp article in which he called the president a dear friend but urged him to step aside for the good of the country.
Biden disagrees and tells his supporters in Michigan that “I’m not going anywhere, I’m running, and I’m going to win, and Donald Trump is a loser.” However, polls show that most Americans want him to step aside and give way to Vice President Kamala Harris or an alternative Democrat, citing doubts about his age and abilities.
Finally, here are a few words about the NATO summit. Many foreign and military experts, leading media and social networks, extensively analyzed the speaker’s statements and the summit’s final resolution. In my opinion, Consortium News editor-in-chief Joe Lauria summed it up in a few words: “The NATO SUMMIT: collectively losing their minds.” According to Lauria and many other commentators, NATO provoked the war in Ukraine and cannot afford to lose it. The constantly repeated lie that, if Putin wins, he will move further West serves only as a smoke screen for rejecting peace negotiations. They are worried about destroying their political careers if the peace treaty considers Russia’s conditions instead of inflicting Russia’s strategic defeat, which they promised. Therefore, the collective West will continue to supply Ukraine with money and weapons, and its illegitimate president, Zelensky, who has turned the whole country into a Western mercenary, will continue supplying Ukrainian cannon fodder.
In this situation, Russia has no choice but to achieve complete victory on the battlefield, while those in America and worldwide who hope to avoid Armageddon will look for a change in the White House after the elections, which are less than four months away.
Strange as it may sound, but an attempt to assassinate Trump significantly increases the chances of changing this course.