Atlantic Council Memo to NATO Leaders

April 21, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—The Anglo-American/NATO think tank, the Atlantic Council, reasserted its commitment to an all-out war against Russia, in an April 13 “Memo to NATO Leaders,” issued in advance of the NATO Summit in Vilnius scheduled for July 11-12. It was drafted by Ian Brzezinski, an Atlantic Council Senior Fellow; and Alexander Vershbow, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO, and Atlantic Council Distinguished Fellow.

What they demand is for an open-ended commitment to war against Russia, arguing that NATO leaders must not merely talk of winning, but must take measures to assure victory, as the executive summary says:

“Bottom line up front: NATO’s upcoming Vilnius summit has to produce more than an articulation of trans-Atlantic solidarity against Russian aggression and a rhetorical expression of support for Ukraine. Allied leaders must leverage the opportunity to drive forward a NATO defense and deterrence posture that substantially and materially reinforces European security and peace, underscores NATO’s resolve to support Ukraine, and begins the process of completing a Europe whole and free where Ukraine is fully integrated within the transatlantic community, including as a member of NATO.”

In discussing what’s at stake in Ukraine, they list the following points:

• Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence;

• the International order’s endurance;

• nuclear coercion’s effectiveness;

• Russia’s evolution as a democratic and international actor. On this point, they rely on Ian Brzezinski’s late Russian-hating father to make explicit their intent: “Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former U.S. national security advisor (and Ian’s father), used to observe that Russia cannot be a democracy if it continues to be an empire. If Putin’s aggression is not fully reversed, Russia’s own prospects of evolving into a more constructive international actor will be severely diminished,” i.e., Russia must be dismantled as a nation;

• NATO’s credibility. To accomplish that, NATO must: fortify its Eastern flank; fully endorse Ukraine’s war aims; significantly expand economic sanctions against Russia; increase NATO members’ defense capability production; move toward Ukrainian membership in NATO.

Given the highly provocative nature of this blueprint, the only thing they seem left out was their final, reality-based directive: “The climb into a bunker and kiss your ass goodbye!”