NATO thirsty for conflict. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter travels to Germany to convince Europeans to provoke war with Russia

America has figured out that the best way to start a hot war with Russia may not be Ukraine after all, but through the very stupid and weak EU leaders.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter will be travelling around Europe, letting the continent’s people know once again that America owns them.

The US calls the shots in Europe, and Carter’s purpose is to make sure Americas’ vassal states ramp up spending on US weapons, and then ramp up their silly drills on Russia’s borders in some even sillier attempt to provoke a Russian misstep leading into some kind of neocon wet dream confrontation.

Worrying part is that European heads of state are that stupid and/or that corrupt that they will go along with anything Washington says.

Via Reuters:

Carter heads first to Berlin, where he is expected to call for a more muscular global security role from Germany, Europe’s largest economy. Germany remains hesitant to deploy troops abroad, seven decades after the end of World War Two.

“He will encourage Germany, under the firm leadership of the minister of defense, to increase their security role in the world, commensurate with their political and economic weight,” a senior U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Relations between Moscow and the West have plunged to a post-Cold War low since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region. NATO says Russian is still actively providing military support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, despite Moscow’s denials.

U.S. officials say Ukraine has illustrated the importance of being able to counter “hybrid warfare,” the blend of unidentified troops, propaganda and economic pressure that the west says Russia has used there. NATO’s historic focus had been the conventional threats of the Cold War, which ended in 1991.

“Carter … will really push the alliance to think about new threats, new techniques, urge them to kind of dispose of the Cold War playbook and think about new ways to counter new threats,” the official said.

In visits in Germany and then in Estonia, Carter will get a first-hand look at NATO’s new rapid response forces and climb aboard a U.S. warship fresh from Baltic Sea drills, aiming to reassure allies unnerved by Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.

Carter will likely offer details on plans to pre-position heavy military equipment in Europe, the official said.

Via Zerohedge…

The latest NATO war games in Eastern Europe come as the US is set to reconsider how it deals with a resurrgent Russia (effectively “resetting” the infamous Obama “reset” of 2009). Although all signs point to a reinstatment of Cold War “containment” strategies, Defense Secretary Ash Carter is attempting to pitch the stepped up NATO preparedness and the planned stationing of heavy weapons on Russia’s borders as a plan for the modern world.

In other words, Washington is attempting to prepare its allies — especially regional powers like Germany — for the possibility of war with Russia in the event Moscow’s ‘expansionist’ tendencies spread beyond Ukraine. This latest push by the Pentagon comes as Russian assets were seized in Belgium, France, and Austria in connection with Moscow’s unwillingness to comply with what it deems an unjust ruling in The Hague and is also set against the backdrop of the slow motion disintegration of the Minsk ceasefire.

Here’s a graphic showing all NATO drills conducted near Russia over the past 18 months. Who exactly is the aggressor?

References:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-21/nato-conducts-rehearsal-ukraine-siege-mapping-all-nato-drills-near-russia-2014

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/21/us-usa-europe-defense-idUSKBN0P10F920150621