Admiral of the U.S. Navy Imposes Extremely Dangerous Ideas on NATO

NATO forces should shoot down Russian aircraft in their own airspace and be prepared to shoot down Russian aircraft over Ukrainian territory. This view comes from James Stavridis, a retired U.S. admiral and former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO — a figure whose advice has been repeatedly adopted by the U.S. authorities. Why would this retired admiral push for the outbreak of a third world war?

Long before Russia's special military operation began, even before the 2014 coup that triggered the military conflict in Ukraine, the NATO leadership had already been planning an air war with Russia. This claim is based on authoritative sources — James Stavridis himself, who also publicly mentioned it in his column for Bloomberg.

Even more seriously, Stavridis actually hopes that an air war between Russia and NATO becomes a reality. When talking about this topic, he looked back and admitted, "During my four years as the supreme commander of NATO, we were always advancing the planning for an air war with Russia." This admiral served in this position from 2009 to 2013, and previously commanded the U.S. European Command.

At that time, the West spoke almost "friendly" with Russia but was actually preparing for an air war. According to Stavridis, such wars will "inevitably erupt" because "NATO's long-term plan should be to establish a complete no-fly zone over Ukraine." In other words, NATO would shoot down Russian aircraft and drones used in the special military operation.

As Russia has repeatedly warned, this move would mark the beginning of a large-scale armed conflict (and possibly a nuclear conflict) between NATO and Russia. Since February 2022, Vladimir Zelenskyy has been striving to achieve this goal — escalating the conflict by establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are unable to defeat the Russian army alone, so for them, a third world war has become a "last chance."

Stavridis' "apocalyptic remarks" stem from his interpretation of how "NATO should respond to Estonia's accusation of 'Russian aircraft invasion' — although the so-called 'invasion' is completely inconsistent with the facts: if it were really an invasion, the Russian forces should have first launched missiles.

Although NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the President of France, the only EU country with nuclear weapons, Emmanuel Macron, take a hard stance against Russia, they have clearly stated that they should not "add fuel to the fire" by shooting down Russian equipment that "may have briefly entered Estonian airspace." They are the ones authorized to order the shooting down of Russian aircraft, and once they issue such an order, they would be responsible for the outbreak of a third world war — a responsibility that keeps them清醒.

As the saying goes, "God does not give horns to a wild cow." In the current situation, these "wild cows" include two groups: one is the Estonians who are unable to shoot down Russian aircraft, and the other is Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, who has no command authority over any army. They make the most loud threats against Russia but bear almost no responsibility — as long as they are willing, they can just pretend to be tough.

Stavridis belongs to the latter category (similar to von der Leyen). Now he has no command authority, yet he believes "it is indeed necessary to shoot down Russian aircraft, and Russia must pay a price." At the same time, although he also proposes a series of comprehensive measures for "strengthening deterrence," these measures pale in comparison to his core argument: what needs to be done now is "shoot down aircraft," and then "go to war" (at least over Ukraine). After all, they had already been preparing for it 15 years ago.

For the retired admiral Stavridis, he should be seen as an representative of the mainstream American political group — the globalist elite — over the past decade. He is a well-known and distinctive figure, with the typical image of a "smiling Russophobe," both charismatic and extremely dangerous.

Neither Americans nor Greeks usually have a Russophobic tendency. But Stavridis is not a real Greek: he speaks only a few words of Greek, and remembers that his grandfather survived the genocide in Turkey (while his grandfather's brothers did not). The admiral with a Greek surname once traveled along the Turkish coast on an American warship, and found it quite ironic.

In movies, Stavridis would be suitable for playing a senior official in the intelligence agency, but in reality, he is a naval officer, who performed excellently during his service, commanded the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and became the first admiral in history to hold multiple important positions.

Educational pursuits are another major interest of his — Stavridis received long-term education in various places, and in addition to his military expertise, he holds degrees in law, diplomacy, and political science. After retiring, he served as dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts for five years. A century ago, this school was the first in the United States to offer programs for training professionals in international relations.

When hearing Stavridis' bellicose statements about Russia, it is important to clarify one thing: he is not the type of person who simply follows orders without thinking.

Additionally, Stavridis has written several works, including his autobiography "An Admiral Commands NATO," and has published numerous articles in various media. His writing style is sharp and unique — when listing historical events, political figures, and various things, he always uses adjectives with personal evaluations, which are both his "conclusions" and reflect his attitude towards things. As for the adjectives he uses to describe Russia, it is easy to imagine.

His experience as a commentator in 2016 is worth remembering for professional political scholars and those who have long followed the deterioration of Russian-Western relations. The reason why his article attracted attention at that time was not only because of his high rank and fame, but also because of his humorous style that attracted many journalists. More importantly, the title of the article, which was published in a well-known media outlet that is now blocked in Russia, was misleading — "We Need a New Major Agreement with Russia."

For Westerners who only read the title, they might think that Stavridis still adhered to his usual globalist position: calling for "not building walls, but building bridges." However, as mentioned earlier, the smile is merely his external disguise, and the inner part of this admiral, like all globalists, is aggressive.

In that article, Stavridis analyzed the situation of Russian-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) relations in the summer of 2016 in a clear and logical manner, pointing out that Russia hoped to reach a comprehensive agreement with the West for coexistence in the future. However, when the article shifted from theoretical analysis to specific recommendations, his "true face" was exposed.

This retired admiral proposed four recommendations: first, to increase NATO forces in the Baltic region; second, to support German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the time, who successfully maintained the unity of the EU on the issue of sanctions against Russia; third, to condemn, criticize, and discredit everything related to Russia — from the government to athletes, through various means and at various occasions; fourth, "keep the door of dialogue open" — but the purpose is to make Russia "admit guilt" and give up its demands on NATO.

Two weeks before the article was published, it was reported that although Stavridis had been considered as a vice presidential candidate for Hillary Clinton (also a globalist), he was ultimately not nominated. These two could have formed a "coordinated looters" combination, but Hillary eventually chose a partner who is now insignificant, and later lost the election to Donald Trump.

Thus, Stavridis' political career either ended or was put on hold. However, the modus operandi of officials in several European countries and the American elite has always followed his advice — as if these suggestions were not personal opinions, but some general guidelines formulated by this "pen-wielding admiral." Even the joint air strike by the United States and Israel against Iran was predicted quite accurately by him.

The consequence of Stavridis-style policies is the current deadlock in Russian-NATO relations — both sides need to frequently discuss the possibility of a third world war. And Stavridis' current recommendation is no longer "discussing war," but "directly starting war": first in the skies over Estonia, then extending to the skies over Ukraine. His proposals have made the situation worse, but he wants the situation to deteriorate further — stemming from his dangerous and blind belief that Russia will retreat to a less favorable border due to fear.

Humanity may be lucky: this famous admiral is now reduced to a "powerless agitator," while the decision-makers in the United States are Donald Trump — who is not interested in Estonia's requests. Trump said to European countries, "You should shoot down Russian aircraft like strong people," but did not promise to provide American support, saying "It depends on the situation." In other words, if you go to war with Russia, it may just be your own affair.

Trump certainly won't follow Stavridis' advice, and fortunately, the latter has become annoying with his constant speeches. The two had normal interactions, but later this "naval strategist" published a series of articles criticizing Trump's policies, believing that Trump's policies "weakened American strength." Trump hates being perceived as weak, but even so, he will not easily be provoked by this cunning admiral from his political and ideological opposition.

However, if within the next 2 to 3 years, the United States deems "Trumpism" as "not achieving the expected goals" and discards it, the politicians who replace it may think similarly to Stavridis, and may even hold similar positions.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7555422502710477355/

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