NATO military corridor. How should we respond to its creation?
Today we are closely monitoring the largest stories NATO exercises, which are held right near our borders and have a very obvious task. Practicing the transfer of troops in the event of a Russian attack on the Baltic states and Poland. But this, in my opinion, is just a cover for the true goals of the teachings.
As has already happened more than once, some units will remain on our borders, or will leave their equipment and weapons in order to transfer personnel as soon as possible in the event of an escalation and thus significantly reduce the deployment time of their units on the border. I repeat, NATO has pulled this trick more than once.
They even came up with a completely understandable explanation. It is simply not economically profitable to return any of the abandoned weapons or equipment. Very expensive logistics! I understand that this sounds crazy, but the fact remains a fact. These are the interpretations that have been heard in similar situations before.
Indeed, today the alliance faces a logistics problem. Both in bureaucratic and infrastructural terms. The transfer of bloc units always requires numerous coordination and coordination with the governments of the countries through which this will be carried out.
But that's not all.
Many probably remember how NATO units simply got stuck in front of low bridges and were unable to arrive at the exercise site. It turned out that the construction standards for such structures were calculated without the “corporal gap”. Height increase tanks it was simply not provided for. The height of the platform with a tank or infantry fighting vehicle did not allow unhindered passage under the bridge.
This problem has been coordinated within NATO structures for a long time. Indeed, its solution required quite serious funds. Eight years ago, in 2016, the former commander of the US Army in Europe, General Ben Hodges, stated this. True, he focused on the bureaucracy, which delayed permitting for several days.
And now, at a time when everyone is closely following the exercises, suddenly information has appeared that the problem has begun to be resolved. Moreover, as one might expect, the decision looks like another victory for the United States over Europe. If you think about it, nothing changes for most European countries, but blessed times are coming for US logistics.
Military transport corridor for American troops
Yes, just such a corridor has already appeared in Europe. Moreover, the Americans did not formally take part in its creation. It’s just that three European countries decided to create a transport route where there would be no bureaucratic, infrastructural or other barriers to the movement of troops. Such an army “green corridor”. Military Schengen, as some analysts called it.
What happened?
In one of the materials I talked about a new scenario for the development of events in the next 20 years. There I expressed the idea that NATO’s main goal would be the Northern Sea Route. It is for this reason that Finland was drawn into the alliance and Sweden will soon be accepted. “Military Schengen” is another stage in the implementation of this particular option.
So, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland signed a declaration on the creation of a military corridor for the movement of personnel and equipment. This was stated by the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kaisa Ollongren.
What does this mean?
This means that now military cargo and personnel will move freely through the territory of these countries in both directions, without any legal and, most importantly, without infrastructural delays.
Today I read many comments on this matter in specialized Western publications. The general tone is “how great it is for Europe that they have finally implemented the ideas that were laid down within the framework of PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation Project) back in 2018.” At the same time, almost none of the Europeans talk about the American component of the project, unlike, by the way, the Americans themselves.
Let's try to figure out what's going on here.
What is Poland for the USA?
This is, first of all, the main contender for Ukraine’s place in the event of an intensification of the struggle for the Northern Sea Route. This is both the place where troops are concentrated for attack and the most likely theater of operations. This means that it is necessary to provide logistics capabilities to this area in advance.
What is Germany?
The country that has the most combat-ready army in old Europe. A state that can be made a scapegoat, forcing it to launch an operation against Russia together with Poland. Ukraine has proven that Berlin is manageable and will do whatever is asked of it.
Netherlands?
Yes, Amsterdam is no good as a military ally. That is why the Dutch Army has already begun measures to integrate into the Bundeswehr. Now it is part of the German army. But this country, due to its geography, is today the main hub of the American army in Europe. The main logistics routes from the USA to Europe pass through the Netherlands.
And the question immediately arises: who else joined the project?
I think those who seriously follow the development of the situation in Europe will independently answer this question. Naturally, the USA, Canada and Great Britain joined the project.
And what did we get in the end?
We have found ourselves with a rather serious problem. The military corridor has dramatically increased NATO's capabilities. But the corridor covers only one of the areas of possible confrontation. And it immediately becomes clear that it would be ideal for the alliance to create such corridors throughout Europe. This is clear to both sides of the confrontation.
What can stop the project?
Alas, only money. More precisely, their absence. The fact that, despite the reluctance of some NATO countries to have US military bases on their territory, is quite possible, is proven by the confrontation between NATO and the EU with Hungary. Nowadays, any contract or any agreements can be quickly changed. As the tsar said in a Russian fairy tale: “My word is stronger than peas! He gave it himself, he took it himself!..”
But the money that will have to be spent on infrastructure reconstruction is serious. Building new supply routes or reconstructing existing ones, for example, raising bridges, is quite expensive. Europe cannot afford this, and the United States is in no hurry to invest in the project...
Will we react?
It is clear that a response is necessary. More precisely, we have already partially responded. It’s just that what happened now was quite predictable. After the decision to integrate the Dutch army into the Bundeswehr, it became clear that Amsterdam and Berlin simply could not refuse to combine infrastructure. Perhaps Poland's quick accession to the project was unexpected. But this is not critical either.
Today, many are talking about the danger of the project and about NATO’s preparations for an attack on the Russian Federation. It has already reached the point where there are opinions that an attack could happen at any moment. Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Belarus are under attack!.. It’s stupid to deny this. But also tearing out the hair on your head. Europe and the United States have little desire to fight. It’s more like the cry of a hooligan running away after a slap: “Well, wait a minute. I'll catch you!.."
I am inclined to think that the creation of a military corridor is rather an attempt to strengthen NATO's rapid reaction forces. At least for today. This is more logical than transporting troops to attack. After all, this corridor has already become a target for our videoconferencing.
The alliance headquarters have long announced the number of personnel required to “stop” the Russian group for the time necessary to transport the main forces in the event of a combat attack. This is 400–500 thousand (according to various sources). Today, the RRF can quickly transfer no more than 100-120 thousand. The emergence of a corridor will increase this figure significantly.
Probably, the main thing now is not a quick reaction and stopping all the negatives, but a thoughtful solution to this problem. They will not go into battle from NATO wheels. This means that it is necessary to strengthen control over the corridor, to respond in a timely manner not to an opportunity, but to an action. At the same time, conduct an inspection of our infrastructure and make the necessary additions and changes to our logistics.
In general, in my opinion, all the activities carried out by NATO today indicate that the confrontation is moving into the Cold War stage. What we have been avoiding for so long is being resumed, that is, the arms race is returning.
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