The 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, offers warmongers an opportunity to double down on their commitment to war and peace activists an opportunity to amplify their calls for nonviolence. David Swanson, co-founder and executive director of World BEYOND War and longtime peace activist, is a guest on this episode of Scheer Intelligence with host Robert Scheer. Swanson speaks with Medea Benjamin about his new book, NATO: What You Need to Know, and how it analyzes what NATO means today as the global enforcer of U.S.-led military power, having grown from a 12-member organization to 32 members and “partnerships” with more than 40 non-member countries and international organizations.
According to Swanson, NATO’s original function as a defensive alliance against the Soviet Union survived the fall of the communist state, transforming the organization into a rapidly growing extension of the U.S. war machine. “You don’t have to ask informed historians or intelligent peace activists. The Secretary General of NATO says so; they are now fighting wars, not just for defense or what they call deterrence.”
What was once intended to complement the United Nations in resolving issues of war and peace has now evolved: NATO has extended its sphere of influence far across the Atlantic and is forging partnerships with Asian countries to take the lead in a military response to the rise of China.
Swanson is not concerned about what this means for the future: “It is the end of everything. It is the end of all life on Earth. There is no small nuclear war. There is no tactical nuclear war, and yet we are heading straight for it.”
