Another Patriot mission for the Netherlands—this time aimed at Russia?


Our group, War Is No Solution (Oorlog Is Geen Oplossing.Nl) has a special relationship to the Patriot air defence units because our activity as a national group began with a a protest against the deployment of Dutch (and German) Patriots to Incirlik in Turkey in January 2013. That was an operation on a false pretext (a threat from Syria), which eventually was called off after the deployment had been maintained for a year, at enormous cost. These days there is talk of another Patriot mission, again on the basis of an imaginary threat, but with risks attached that are many times more serious. 


The Netherlands and Germany are engaged in setting up a joint air defence unit with Patriots. That unit would then be dispatched to either Poland or the Baltic states to ward off the Russian danger. 

Brigadier general Michael Gschossmann, commander of air defence of the German air force, in an interview with Reuters declared that deployment in those countries would send a 'political signal' in the direction of Russia. We must fear that it will do just that.

The spokesman of the Dutch ministry of defence, Jeroen de Vries, added to this that the unit can be deployed wherever NATO territory must be defended. Meanwhile, thanks to the steady advance of the 'alliance', that meanwhile is right on the Russian border. Because former Soviet republics such as the Baltic states, where millions of Russians are living who remained there after the disintegration of the USSR, and who who today are being discriminated against as second-class citizens, now are 'NATO territory' too.

In October the Dutch and the Germans are going on exercises in Crete, jointly with an American destroyer with air defence systems of the Aegis class. The system they will use has been developed by Airbus. Thus there is also economic advantage deriving from this European cooperation.

A few days ago the German government called on its citizens to make sure they have food for ten days stored, to be prepared for a major crisis. Is that because the financial system that had been resuscitated after the crash of 2008, will again collapse? Or should we, considering the continuing provocations on the Russian borders, prepare for a different crisis?

Kees van der Pijl

Geen opmerkingen:

Een reactie posten