He added that the mere fact that such an “expansionist military instrument of US imperialism as NATO aimed at seizing ever new territories” is still seen by so many Europeans as their defender, “means that the Alliance has managed to hide its aggressive face from European and American public.”
Barış Doster also mentioned the success of attempts to add a flair of legitimacy to NATO in the post- Cold War period.
“With the Cold War finally over, they invented all kinds of imaginary threats and challenges, like international terrorism, political Islam, human rights violations, arms trafficking etc. to justify NATO’s continued existance and give it an aura of legitimacy,” he noted.
“Convinced about the need for NATO protection, many Europeans fell under the influence of a plethora of threats and challenges some of which were invented and others were partly stimulated by NATO in its bid to stay afloat,” Barış Doster said in conclusion.
The poll showed that respondents in Spain, at 33 percent, showed the strongest certainty that the European Union is capable of defending itself with NATO or US help, with 31 percent in the United States, 30 percent in France and 27 percent in the United Kingdom believing the same.
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