The Western military alliance, NATO, has no justification for its existence because there is no immediate threat to the US and Europe, a former US Senate policy adviser and diplomat says.
“There is no power, there is no threat against which these countries need deterrence,” said James Jatras, who is also a specialist in international relations and legislative politics in Washington.
“This is simply another failed justification for the role of NATO which frankly should have gone out of business after the end of the Cold War,” Jatras told Press TV on Friday.
“It is an example of how bureaucracies try to justify their existence long past when such justifications were valid,” he added.
“This is simply more dangerous brinksmanship, more dangerous over-extension of American power into Eastern Europe to no good end,” Jatras noted.
On Thursday, a top US general said the United States and NATO are switching their defense doctrine from assurance to deterrence in Eastern Europe over Russia’s behavior.
US General Philip Breedlove, the top US commander in Europe, said in the Latvian capital Riga that the West faces "a resurgent and aggressive Russia."
"We are prepared to fight and win if we have to... our focus will expand from assurance to deterrence, including measures that vastly improve our overall readiness," Breedlove said after holding talks with Baltic region NATO commanders.
His comments come a day after the Pentagon said it would begin continuous rotations of an additional armored brigade of about 4,200 troops in Eastern Europe beginning next year.
Russia has repeatedly warned against the permanent positioning of substantial forces along its border.
The US and its allies accuse Moscow of supporting the Russian-speaking fighters in eastern Ukraine, and supplying their troops with military aid, reinforcements, and resources, allegations the Kremlin denies.