Free Press readers may know that Dennis Kucinich is the campaign manager for Robert F Kennedy Jr. He has had a long standing relationship with Bob Fitrakis and the Free Press. Recall that Congressman Dennis submitted articles of impeachment against George W Bush in 2008. His political career began as the youngest elected mayor of Cleveland, where he fought and won against privitization of the electric industry by First Energy. The Democratic party in Ohio assisted in removing him from office during a redistricting process which favored Marcy Kaptor. During his time in office, he advocated for creation of a Department of Peace, to counter the influence of the Military Industrical Complex.
We encourage readers to subscribe to Mr. Kucinich on substack, here. https://substack.com/@denniskucinich
This is a exerpt from today's post:
Kucinich on substack:
The proxy war of the US vs. Russia in Ukraine could easily develop into World War III. The litany of dangerous weaponry presaging a direct, full-scale war between the U.S. and Russia is instructive: The most advanced tanks, F-16s, depleted uranium munitions, cluster bombs, and even discussion of "tactical" nuclear weapons are thrown into an already toxic admixture, always open to further miscalculation.
This is not to absolve Russia of the invasion. One cannot ignore the dialectic of conflict, which left unchecked, will lead to a greater disaster than has already befallen the people of Ukraine.
Here are (at least) 10 reasons why NATO ought to be disbanded:
1. NATO, formally known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, (headquartered in Brussels, Belgium) was formed April 4, 1949, to protect Europe against the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union ended on December 25, 1991. NATO fulfilled its founding purpose thirty-two years ago.
2. NATO, has far exceeded the geographical boundaries of the North Atlantic. It has expanded its membership to include nations in the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea.
3. As an expansionist military organization, NATO has extended its military activities far beyond the North Atlantic to Afghanistan, the Gulf of Aden, Iraq, Libya, Darfur, Sudan, and off the Horn of Africa. It has even flown airborne early warning and control systems (AWACS) over United States air space.
4. The founding purpose of NATO was as a defensive alliance. Article One from the North Atlantic Treaty, which established NATO, reads as follows: “The Parties undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.”
5. NATO is an instrument of war, contravening the founding purpose of the 193-member United Nations, formed in 1948 “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”
6. NATO operates under the color of international authority, while threatening to bring “the scourge of war” to the world. It has aggressively asserted itself, in reliance on the assets of the United States of America, without which it would be a nullity. NATO’s rejection of diplomacy, its unbridled commitment to regime change, its support for ongoing escalation, is a threat to the peace of the region.
7. NATO’S global pretensions are on full display. On July 10, 2023, it presumed to deliver a warning to China. NATO’s Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg, said “The Chinese government’s increasingly coercive behavior abroad and repressive policies at home challenge NATO’s security, values and interests.”
8. NATO is not an independent body. More than 50% of NATO’s budget is paid for by the U.S., yet NATO’s Brussels leadership presumes to implicate the U.S. in wider war, a matter of Constitutional concern to the U.S. Congress.
9. NATO members are required to pay 2% of their GNP for NATO membership. This has turned NATO into an arms bazaar, at the expense of the social and economic needs of the people of its member states, leading to the militarization of Europe.
10. NATO is helpless to protest policies which are antithetical to European social and economic concerns. The destruction of the Nordstream Pipeline, has enabled US interests to price-gouge Europeans for energy. US sanctions policies have cut off European access to markets, further crippling economic growth.