MICHAEL WALSH EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT AMERICAN FREE PRESS: On November 17, Vladimir Putin came straight to the point: “For many, like me, until 2014 it could not have occurred to me that there could be such a conflict between Russia and Ukraine. If you had told me before 2014 that this was possible, I would have asked: are you crazy,” the Russian president said.

Throughout Europe, more and more recognize NATO as a ‘destabilizing influence and a major perpetrator in escalating the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a full-fledged war.’

In 2022, the already eight-year-long conflict escalated into a full-fledged international war. Nearly two years later, the war is still raging and at least 9.0 million Ukrainians have been displaced.

Over 5.5 million Ukrainians fled to Russia. A further 4.5 million opted for refuge in Western Europe whilst 8.4 million Ukrainians, due to the Russian occupation (or liberation) of their territory, were seamlessly absorbed into the Russian Federation.

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If we add the estimated 1 million Ukrainians killed or missing in action, we can assume that Ukraine, until 2014 Europe’s largest country, is now 25 per cent smaller with a population loss close to 50 per cent. Percentages are irrelevant as the population displacement largely consists of the young lifeblood of the now-prostrate Ukraine.

Talking heads in Washington and Europe concede that the struggle between Ukraine and Russia is a NATO war waged for the futile purpose of weakening Russia. The military conflict is a military extension of the economic war being waged between the superpowers.

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Waking up to the dangers of a conflict that could spread across frontiers whilst at the same time bearing the brunt of economic consequences Europeans increasingly ask themselves if NATO is a bigger threat to Europe than it is to Russia. But at least Russia has the leadership and the resources to confront the risk posed by the military alliance’s insidious expansion.

Is there an antidote to Washington’s sinister manipulation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a means of enforcing United States foreign policy? On the face of it, Washington appears omnipotent.

During an interview with the YouTube channel Dialogue Works American publicist Paul Craig Roberts said: “European countries are essentially deprived of sovereignty. They are under the complete control of Brussels and Washington and do not determine their course on either foreign policy or economic issues.”

According to the American economist, “In such conditions, NATO becomes a tool for America to ensure support for its initiatives. Its member countries essentially act as prisoners who play the role of allies of the United States.

“I believe they are no longer sovereign states. And they are under the thumb not only of Washington – they are also in the power of the pro-Washington EU. They essentially gave up their sovereignty to the EU and Washington. Therefore, they do not have a foreign or economic policy independent of Washington.”

“If there is hope, it lies in the proles,” declares Winston in George Orwell’s novel 1984.

Alas, the proletariat of the European Union are as helpless as their counterparts were in the former Soviet Bloc. If there is hope then maybe it lies in a re-elected Donald Trump who claims to want to cut back on Biden’s far-flung military commitments.

Trump claims to have NATO expenditure in his crosshairs. He demands that the countries making up the 27-nation bloc bear much more of the costs of what is in effect an American Army of European Occupation.

In the struggle for NATO funding who will get the most bang for bucks? Will it be the Military Industrial Complex or fed-up American voters? The latter believe that their hard-earned taxes would be better spent on draining the swamp of warmongers and instead directing resources to save the flailing American economy. The elephant in the room is America’s Jewish lobby who overwhelmingly endorse Joe Biden.

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In June 2022, anti-war groups across Europe gathered in Madrid to protest the three-day conference attended by the heads of state of NATO member countries. At the conclusion a joint declaration was issued asserting that “NATO is a serious threat to world peace, having left a trail of destruction from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan.”

Anti-NATO organizations in Greece mobilized against the transfer of NATO arms and ammunition via Greek territory. NATO member Turkey also witnessed protests demanding the closure of NATO bases in the country. Their counterparts in Cyprus protested the cost-of-living crisis and denounced the intimidating presence of NATO in the Mediterranean, which has also derailed the Cyprus peace process.

In Italy, powerful lobbying groups protested the use of Italian airstrips and ports for transferring NATO arms shipments. In Belgium and elsewhere powerful pressure groups have taken to the streets demanding that the government put domestic economies in order before financing NATO wars.

In Berlin and several cities across Italy, anti-war groups organized major mobilizations calling for peace. Tens of thousands in Berlin demanded that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz encourage negotiations to end NATO’s war of expansion.

Meanwhile, far-right forces are also trying their best to exploit the situation and people’s anger. Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst: “Hungarians, Poles and Slovaks will no longer provide military assistance to Ukraine. NATO is falling apart.” BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST BY POSTING OUR STORIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA