By Scott Ritter
The secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, recently announced the US-led military bloc’s goal of expanding its so-called ‘Response Force’ from its current strength of 40,000 to a force of more than 300,000 troops.
“We will enhance our battlegroups in the eastern part of the Alliance up to brigade-levels,” Stoltenberg declared. “We will transform the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000.”
The announcement, made at the end of NATO’s annual summit, held in Madrid, Spain, apparently took several defense officials from the NATO membership by surprise, with one such official calling Stoltenberg’s figures “number magic.” Stoltenberg appeared to be working from a concept that had been developed within NATO headquarters based upon assumptions made by his staffers, as opposed to anything resembling coordinated policy among the defense organizations of the 30 nations that make up the bloc.
Confusion is the name of the game at NATO these days, with the alliance still reeling from last year’s Afghan debacle and unable to adequately disguise the impotence shown in the face of Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine. The bloc is but a shadow of its former self, a pathetic collection of under-funded military organizations more suited for the parade ground than the battlefield. No military organization more represents this colossal collapse in credibility and capability than the British Army.
Even before the current Ukraine crisis kicked off, the British military served more as an object of derision than a template of professionalism. Take, by way of example, the visit of UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to Zagreb, Croatia in early February 2022. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic accused the British of trying to incite Ukraine into a war with Russia, as opposed to trying to address Russia’s concerns over the existing European security framework.
Wallace flew to Zagreb for consultations, only to be rebuked by Milanovic, who refused to meet with him, noting that he only met with the defense ministers of superpowers, adding that “the UK has left the EU, and this gives it less importance.”
But London keeps putting a brave face on a sorry reality. Take, for example, the offer of written security assurances to Sweden and Finland made by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. These pledges were designed to bolster the resolve of the two Nordic nations as they considered their applications to join NATO.
But there was no substance to the British offer, if for no other reason than the British had nothing in the way of viable military capability to offer either the Swedes or the Finns. Even as Johnson proffered the proverbial hand of assistance to his newfound Nordic allies, the UK Ministry of Defense was wrestling with planned force reductions that would see the British Army cut from its current “established strength” of 82,000 to 72,500 by 2025 (the actual strength of the British Army is around 76,500, reflecting ongoing difficulties in recruitment and retention.)
Even these numbers are misleading – the British Army is only capable of generating one fully combat-ready maneuver brigade (3,500 to 4,000 men with all the necessary equipment and support). Given the reality that the UK is already on the hook for a reinforced battalion-sized “battlegroup” that is to be deployed to Estonia as part of NATO’s so-called enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) posture (joining three other similarly-sized “battlegroups” fielded by the US in Poland, Germany in Lithuania, and Canada in Latvia), it is questionable whether the British could even accomplish this limited task.
Last month’s deployment to Estonia of a battlegroup comprised of the 2 Rifles infantry regiment underscores the pathos that defines real British military capability. The 2 Rifles Battlegroup includes the three infantry companies and one fire support company integral to the unit, along with supporting artillery, engineering, logistic, and medical elements. France and Denmark provide a company-sized unit to the British-led battlegroup on an alternating basis. Altogether, the British battlegroup comprises some 1,600 soldiers, and is fully integrated within the Estonian 2nd Infantry Brigade.
Given what we now know about the reality of modern warfare, courtesy of the ongoing Russian operation in Ukraine, the British battlegroup would have a life expectancy on an actual European battlefield of less than a week. So, too, would its allies in the Estonian 2nd Infantry Brigade.
First and foremost, the units lack any sustainability, both in terms of personnel and equipment losses that could be anticipated if subjected to combat, or the basic logistical support necessary to shoot, move, or communicate on the modern battlefield. Artillery is the king of battle, and the British and Estonians are lacking when it comes to generating anywhere near enough tubes to counter the overwhelming fire support expected to be generated by any hostile Russian force.
Stoltenberg’s hypothetical 300,000-strong Response Force envisions the existing battlegroups to be expanded to brigade-sized formations, ironically tasking the British to generate more combat power at a time when it is actively seeking to reduce its overall manpower levels.
While the British may be able to scrape enough substance from the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, to accomplish this projected reinforcement, there would literally be nothing left to back up Boris Johnson’s bold offer of substantive military assistance to Sweden and Finland, leaving the British prime minister looking more like the captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg, issuing directives and acting as if his words had any impact, all while his ship is sinking.
Jonas E. Alexis has degrees in mathematics and philosophy. He studied education at the graduate level. His main interests include U.S. foreign policy, the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict, and the history of ideas. He is the author of the book, Kevin MacDonald’s Metaphysical Failure: A Philosophical, Historical, and Moral Critique of Evolutionary Psychology, Sociobiology, and Identity Politics. He teaches mathematics in South Korea.
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Same old story as in 1938-1971: Pretending to be willing to assist Finland by sending troops, but actually with th purppose of occupying North Norway and North Sweden so as to hinder export of iron ore to Germany. Now they want to co-öpt all of Scandinavia and Finland. The Finns however, are smarter then the dull Sweeds and the benighted Norwegians too.
“The bank of England founded in 1694 as a private company now exercising the functions of a state bank”.
Taken from the pyramid shaped silver jubilee information panel
in front of the Bank of England, Llyn Dain, Llan Dian, London.
England founded in 1694 as a private company now exercising the functions of a state.
Where do they come up with this absolute shit?
“Britain’s military” means it serves the British people, which means it is a military that is formed to protect the interests of the British citizens.
The last time the Bloody English had a military that actually served their interests was in the 17th century, the 1600s. Officially, the Rothschild banking family of England was founded in 1798, but they (Khazarian bankers) were running England during the American Revolutionary War of 1776-1783, and a bit before that. However, let’s just be fair and put the complete and total official takeover of England by a Khazarian mafia at Nathan Rothshild’s Bank of England in 1798.
Since then private shareholders (Khazarian Satanists) who care absolutely nothing for the English have been running their nation. Other 200 years of the English blokes purchasing “Kosher-certified ass-lube by the bucket” and giving over their guns and all their civil liberties with “big frosty smiles on their faces.”
The entire reason the UK began supplying Ukraine with weapons was a letter Nathaniel Rothschild wrote to the British Parliament demanding action. He writes a letter, and the UK parliament breaks out the ass-lube.
UK Citizens have a wide selection of prime candidate choices these days:
1. Rothschild cuck
2. Bigger Rothschild cuck
3. Adreno-junkie cuck
4. Just got out of a Milab session cuck
Youtube.Com/watch?v=WCoKYQFruqs
Britons are not looking like the captain of the Titanic, indeed, they are looking more like last 1945’s war days in Berlin Hitler’s bunker where the Führer was issuing directives over a map to their generals for move Panzer brigades and wehrmacht batlegroups that no longer existed anymore
NATO reminds me of Ian Fleming’s SPECTRE. A megalomaniac criminal organization with dreams of world domination.
where do you think comes from movie inspiration??
Yes, and Kolomoisky one of Zelensky’s Jewish Oligark bum boys who evidently kept a dirty big WHITE POINTER shark in an aquarium as a pet. I’m sure there was such a character in one of the 007 stories.
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