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David Brookbank's avatar

Such an important piece. It should help Spokane, Washington understand its place in post WW2 history — home to Fairchild Air Force Base, for 40 years until 1994 home to nuclear weapons-carrying B-52 bombers and for the last 30 years home-base to more KC-135 aerial refuelers (at last count 69) than anywhere in the world, more than all Europe combined, and more than Russia, China, Saudis Arabia, and India combined. And we in Spokane may understand —if only our propaganda-addled brains would allow— how come our Gonzaga University and its Clinton-pardoned trustee John Hemmingson, combined with Lockheed-Martin and other corrupt warmongering corporations, are now trying to cement Spokane’s blood-soaked history and economy more solidly in this blackmailing weapons-of-war scheme.

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Archie1954's avatar

Wow, I didn't know any of this.

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Martin.'s avatar

Another insiteful piece Kit. You are expressing what those morons masquerading as politicians are fully aware of. Very well articulated, thank you.

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Reginald Duquesnoy's avatar

Quite pertinent, Kit, but if I may quote me French Historian friend Annie Laroix-Riz:" Neither the Atlantic pact nor Nato have in anyway modified the "peripheral strategy" clearly spelled out by Clarence Cannon in May 1949, that the USA will never intervene in Europe, either at the beginning of a war or at least until the carnage is sufficiently advanced to just pick up the remaining pieces ...Les Origines du Plan Marshall (2024) page 63/64. Ergo, 1917...La Fayette, nous voilà! and 1944...D-day when the Russians had already, single handedly, smashed their nazi friends, with whom the yanks were negotiating as early as 1942.

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Archie1954's avatar

Good grief!

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Kaïna Tamazight's avatar

NATO is just part of the American empire. WW2 was an imperial conquest, not a war for dumbocracy.

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Luís Nunes's avatar

One reason those ships full of GIs aren't cominh is that in current technological conditions, many would get sunk and most of the rest blown up on harbor. This has been the case for 40 years.

How have those gaggles of morons that pass as politicians here managed to miss that fact for all those décadas?

And having done it, why don't they shut up and quietly see to our defense?

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CHARLES KNIGHT's avatar

for a think piece by German military analyst Lutz Unterseher on how Europe can defend itself after Trump 2 see: https://comw.org/pda/fulltext/2502EUarmyEng.pdf

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Kit Klarenberg's avatar

This is fascinating, thank you.

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Digger B!'s avatar

The true position does sneak through occasionally:-

1   Western military stockpiles are nearly empty (British Armed Forces Minister);

2   Europe's military stockpiles are dangerously low (NATO Secretary General); and

3   Without American involvement, Europe could run out of ammunition within days of an attack, and rearming will take years (Bloomberg).

1:    https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/ukraine-western-allies-almost-nothing-left-weapon-stockpiles-z5z5v0z5j

2:    https://simplicius76.substack.com/api/v1/video/upload/a14506ec-2bec-446f-ad6d-b38f34d62f36/src?override_publication_id=1351274&type=hls

3:    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-03-06/europe-s-defenses-against-russia-invasion-would-last-weeks-without-trump-support

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Alec's avatar

Omg we must quadruple defence spending immediately 😉

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Archie1954's avatar

It would probably be easier and faster to make up with Putin and add Russia to Europe as a compatriot and a member of NATO. After all Russia is a capitalist, Christian, nascent democracy, so what's the hold up?

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Luís Nunes's avatar

Christian, that's a hold up. "Our" banksters want their resources as colateral, another.

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Scott Horton's avatar

Good times.

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Advocate for FREEDOM's avatar

"In 1977, it was revealed the company [Lockheed Martin] had for years bribed foreign governments and leaders to purchase its equipment."

Now: US cybersecurity capabilities, real-time intelligence and satellite surveillance...

Human life has been subordinated to a Bn-$$$ war machine for decades, if not centuries.

.

May fantasies of keeping conflicts grinding on finally crumbe. Amen. All of them!

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Kojo's avatar

The publication of the Politico article is not a revelation: its a piece of pure manupulation.....to boost the only thing the US is interested in exporting: gas and weapons.

Its great you noted the emotional jerker intro: thats s good tipoff as to the intent.

First the US is not withdrawing. NATO isnt the point. Because in fact the US has in the past 3 yesrs signed "bilateral defense cooperation agreements" with Norway, Finland and Sweden, which border on Russia. And has older existing ones with all of Europe.

Those agreements basically allow the US to " Ukraine" these countries one by one, using them to sap Russia but not commiting to war.

Its worth foing a study of those DCAs. They sre scandalously one sided. And involve invoking martial law and handibg over their sovereignity to the US.

Not coincidentally democracy rights in Norwegian public last week just barely managed to fend off their government enacting a new law thar would have made it chilldishly essy for their government to declare a state of emergency in which it unilaterly suspends democracy, suspebd human rights and property rights and give it the ability to impose forced labour everyone from 18-72 years into forced labour. Like Ukraine has now.. Except without even being at war.

https://www.altinget.no/artikkel/historisk-snuoperasjon-paa-stortinget-utloest-av-facebook-innlegg

The trigger for the proposed law could hsve been anything as simple as rhe electricity disruption that occuredin Spain, or even the Nordstream sabotage. Like THAT remote and with prrpetrator unknown. So one false flag and entire countries under martial law. ndefinitely.

I think everyone needs to start putting the pieces together on whats planned. This is well across administrations and countries in its scope and breadth.

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Ahenobarbus's avatar

Every article of yours is so well done, Kit. I promise I'll tip when I can. Keep up the good work!

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Melvyn Punymeyer's avatar

The worst thing about NATO is what I call the "yapping chihuahua" syndrome. I'm looking at countries like Estonia and Latvia which are clearly trying to provoke Russia, so far without result. Britain also falls into this category. Without NATO they'd keep their mouths shut which is how it should be.

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Archie1954's avatar

The Europeans have been shamelessly sucking the teat of the American nuclear cow for generations and are now hopelessly addicted to it. The US must bow out of NATO and Canada must follow, so that European defense is a totally European enterprise. Russia is no threat to Europe as a whole and it has been eager to join NATO for 20 years. It is only the foolish NATO reluctance that keeps them out. That has to change and the sooner the better!

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Kojo's avatar

Also WTF are the European mis-leaders spending theiir countries' time baiting and attacking Russia, when they dont even have the capability to withstand a response to their provocations? It's beyond stupid.

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Ohio Barbarian's avatar

NATO is a giant grifting operation to suck more euros out of Europeans' pockets to send to the US Empire's MIC. Why do you think Trump's been demanding more war spending from all NATO members?

Trump has no intention of pulling the US out of NATO so long as that particular scam is turning a tidy profit. But will the US militarily intervene if, say, the Barking Baltic Chihuahuas provoke a Russian military response?

No. Why should they?

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