https://sputnikglobe.com/20240802/inf-treaty-stood-in-way-of-plans-to-militarize-europe-hold-russia-back---ex-dod-analyst-1119600084.html
INF Treaty Stood in Way of Plans to Militarize Europe, Hold Russia Back - Ex-DoD Analyst
INF Treaty Stood in Way of Plans to Militarize Europe, Hold Russia Back - Ex-DoD Analyst
Sputnik International
The United States scrapping the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty five years ago was done to help NATO expand eastward, a former Pentagon analyst told Sputnik.
2024-08-02T00:52+0000
2024-08-02T00:52+0000
2024-08-02T02:32+0000
analysis
karen kwiatkowski
us department of defense (dod)
nato
inf treaty
russia
china
https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/1e/1116494398_0:106:3266:1943_1920x0_80_0_0_1457bfd6590f9be049944da76ff6b245.jpg
August 2 marks the fifth anniversary of the US's formal withdrawal from the INF Treaty. "This [the pullout from the treaty] was due to the US desire (led by neoconservatives in the State Department and elsewhere in the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations) to expand NATO eastward, as well to engage militarily on Russia's European border with both conventional and nuclear arms, specifically via Ukraine," Kwiatkowski said. The military and economic rise of China, a neoconservative theme for the past 30 years, required in the eyes of hawkish US military planners a nuclear offensive line in Eastern Europe to hold Russia "captive," Kwiatkowski explained. Russia had formally complained of continual US violations of the INF Treaty since 2014, but this was information most Americans and Europeans never saw, and most were not even interested in, Kwiatkowski noted. "The consequences have been straightforward and dangerous. First, both the United States and Russia are now actively engaged in an expensive competition in the INF field and other new missile technology arenas," she said. Unlike in 1987, Russian technological and economic capabilities in this space now exceed those of the United States, Kwiatkowski assessed. After two post-Cold War batch accessions to the NATO alliance in 1999 and 2004, the accessions of six new member countries since 2009 have created a larger "border" between Russia and NATO, Kwiatkowski cautioned. "Peace and diplomacy were now not only verboten, or forbidden but for five years have been institutionally impossible in Europe, thanks in part to the elimination of the INF Treaty and abnormally weak and intellectually impoverished US and NATO leadership over the same time frame," she concluded.The INF treaty, signed between the Soviet Union and the US in 1987, banned the countries from developing and possessing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges from 500-5,500 kilometers. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the treaty, accusing Russia of non-compliance. In response to the US decision, Russia suspended its participation in the Cold War-era accord.
russia
china
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
2024
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
News
en_EN
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
inf treaty, militarization of europe, escalation in europe,
inf treaty, militarization of europe, escalation in europe,
INF Treaty Stood in Way of Plans to Militarize Europe, Hold Russia Back - Ex-DoD Analyst
00:52 GMT 02.08.2024 (Updated: 02:32 GMT 02.08.2024) WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States scrapped the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty five years ago with the aim of expanding NATO further eastward, pressing Russia economically and militarily, and cementing America's global hegemony, veteran Pentagon analyst and retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.
August 2 marks the fifth anniversary of the US's formal withdrawal from the INF Treaty.
"This [the pullout from the treaty] was due to the US desire (led by neoconservatives in the State Department and elsewhere in the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations) to expand NATO eastward, as well to engage militarily on Russia's European border with both conventional and nuclear arms, specifically via Ukraine," Kwiatkowski said.
The military and economic rise of China, a neoconservative theme for the past 30 years, required in the eyes of hawkish US military planners a nuclear offensive line in Eastern Europe to hold Russia "captive," Kwiatkowski explained.
"The INF Treaty always stood in the way of this," she said.
Russia had formally complained of continual US violations of the INF Treaty since 2014, but this was information most Americans and Europeans never saw, and most were not even interested in, Kwiatkowski noted.
"The consequences have been straightforward and dangerous. First, both the United States and Russia are now actively engaged in an expensive competition in the INF field and other new missile technology arenas," she said.
Unlike in 1987, Russian technological and economic capabilities in this space now exceed those of the United States, Kwiatkowski assessed.
"Instead of US-Russia treaties that could engage and limit war preparation, we have NATO expansion, including an attempt to NATO-ize former INF signatory Ukraine," she said.
After two post-Cold War batch accessions to the NATO alliance in 1999 and 2004, the accessions of six new member countries since 2009 have created a larger "border" between Russia and NATO, Kwiatkowski cautioned.
"Peace and diplomacy were now not only verboten, or forbidden but for five years have been institutionally impossible in Europe, thanks in part to the elimination of the INF Treaty and abnormally weak and intellectually impoverished US and NATO leadership over the same time frame," she concluded.
The INF treaty, signed between the Soviet Union and the US in 1987, banned the countries from developing and possessing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges from 500-5,500 kilometers. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the treaty, accusing Russia of non-compliance. In response to the US decision, Russia suspended its participation in the Cold War-era accord.
