It looks like NATO is aiming for yet another Guiness World Record (not “longest occupation of Afghanistan in modern history”; it already enjoys all the honors and privileges that come with this distinction). No, NATO will make history in a different, almost equally useless way:
The largest war game in eastern Europe since the end of the cold war has started in Poland, as Nato and partner countries seek to mount a display of strength as a response to concerns about Russia’s assertiveness and actions.The 10-day military exercise, involving 31,000 troops and thousands of vehicles from 24 countries, has been welcomed among Nato’s allies in the region, though defence experts warn that any mishap could prompt an offensive reaction from Moscow.
Now let’s translate the newspeak: “NATO is holding massive ‘defensive’ military exercises on Russia’s border. Even the slightest slip-up could provoke an ‘offensive reaction’ from those dastardly Russians. Why did Russia put its country so close to our military bases and peaceful international war games, anyway?”
These military drills sound like a real hoot, but here’s another fun exercise that everyone should try: Pull up a list of the world’s largest “defense” spenders. On a piece of paper, make two columns and label them as such: “NATO/Freedom Lovers” and the other “Axis of Evil”. Now place all the NATO countries and their yearly “defense” expenditures in the freedom-loving column, and Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, ISIS, Darth Vader, etc. in the second column (they’re all allies, right? Right.). Now tally up the total military spending of each side. Observe.
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