On May 6, soldiers from Georgia and NATO listened to a military exercise at the Wajani military base near Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Georgia’s Ministry of Defence announced on May 6th that participants from some NATO member countries and partner countries have started military exercises in Georgia. Xinhua News Agency/Reuters
On May 6, a Georgian soldier (right) and a Turkish soldier exchanged military exercises at the Wajani military base near Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
An exotic exercise we need to pay attention to.
Today I want to talk with you about NATO’s military exercises in Georgia.
On May 11th, NATO held the launching ceremony of a military exercise in Georgia. The exercise was divided into two parts, one called "Cooperation Longbow 09" and the other called "Cooperation Lancer 09". This military exercise lasted for a long time, from May 6th to June 3rd, nearly one month. Around this military exercise, the media reported earlier that the United States, NATO and Russia had a series of wrestling movements. These actions have attracted a lot of international attention. However, I noticed that in our country, especially among military enthusiasts and netizens, it did not cause particularly great repercussions, and everyone’s attention was not very high. Why is this happening? Perhaps everyone feels that this is normal, because in recent years, the United States, NATO and Russia have often struggled and wrestled, and everyone is used to it. On the other hand, most people may feel that this happened in Europe, which is very close to Russia and far from China, so they feel that this military exercise is not within the scope of concern. In fact, although this matter is far away from us geographically, it is not completely irrelevant to us, but needs our high attention.
Unlike NATO exercises
We can look at the countries participating in the military exercise, including the United States, Canada, Albania, Croatia, Spain, Britain, Greece, Hungary, Turkey, Czech Republic, United Arab Emirates, Georgia and Ukraine. Several other countries also wanted to participate at first, but later refused. These countries are Armenia, Latvia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Serbia. From the list of such a country, it can be seen that although this military exercise claims to be a NATO exercise, the taste of NATO is not very heavy. The main European countries in NATO, such as Germany, France and Italy, did not participate, and the relevant people in Germany also publicly expressed their opposition. Conversely, a considerable number of countries participating in this military exercise are republics of the former Soviet Union, such as Georgia and Ukraine; There are also some former Warsaw Pact countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, and even some Gulf countries, such as the United Arab Emirates.
Looking at these participating countries, we simply don’t feel that this is a NATO military exercise, but more like a multi-regional and multi-national military exercise led by the United States. Some of these countries are very close to us. Although Kazakhstan rejected the exercise, it was actually included in the original plan, and Kazakhstan is already our close neighbor.
After reading these, we will have a feeling, is NATO today still the original NATO? The full name of NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Open the map and have a look. The North Atlantic is the two sides of the northern Atlantic, with North America on one side and Europe on the other. Now, we can see that the participating countries are far more than these two regions. NATO has actually come to our doorstep. For example, in the ongoing Afghan war, NATO is actually one of the parties in the war, and it has reached the border areas of China. Judging from the current situation, NATO’s eastward expansion is far from taking Russia as its border. If it goes further, it will approach China’s doorstep. Some analysts believe that NATO’s eastward expansion may have been pushed all the way to West Asia, and even East Asia can see "shadow NATO" (which actually refers to the military alliance of the United States, Japan and South Korea). Therefore, although this military exercise was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, and its geographical location is far away from us, the countries involved are getting closer and closer to China. NATO is already a military force that we should pay close attention to.
"Wolf Coming" Outlines American Strategy
On the surface, these things have happened frequently in recent years, and the outside world may feel accustomed to it. Shout "Wolf" every day! The wolf is coming! " It seems to be a normal thing that the wolf has never come. But I think in the international strategic game, this way is exactly what big countries are used to: that is, through activities that have never touched the bottom line and caused conflicts, a normal state has been formed for everyone. For example, this military exercise, if Russia does not make a series of reactions, then coming down once, twice and three times will actually become the default or recognition of this reality. Once this happens, the strategic intention of the leading country in the military exercise can be realized peacefully and easily.
You may also feel that the current NATO is not the NATO of the past, and the current NATO has become a tool for the United States to promote its global strategy to some extent. The military exercise under the name of NATO is far from NATO’s military exercise during the Cold War. From the participating countries of this exercise, we can vaguely see a sphere of influence outlined by the United States.
For more than half a century from the end of World War II to the end of the Cold War, Europe was the most stable region in the world. But after the cold war, Europe has become the most turbulent and changeable region in the world. As long as you open the map, you can see that from the end of the Cold War to today, the changes in the map of Europe are the most dramatic among all regions in the world.
The United States has always regarded itself as the winner of the cold war, and now it is trying to digest the achievements of the cold war and at the same time to further expand. In fact, this military exercise reflects the blueprint of its future sphere of influence in the eyes of Americans. This blueprint has been extended not only to the former Soviet republics and the former Warsaw Pact countries, but also to the Gulf region and even to West Asia. If we contact the so-called "shadow NATO" in East Asia, we can also feel the impact of this power expansion on Asia and East Asia.
It is too early to talk about the decline of the United States.
Many people say that after the end of the cold war, the United States seems to have been going badly. From a series of events such as the September 11th incident, the Afghan war and the Iraq war, some people say that the United States is on the decline. Actually, whether it is the rise of a big country or the decline of a big country, it is a long process. I’m afraid it’s too early to conclude that the superpower of the United States is on the decline.
On the contrary, at least Americans or American strategic decision makers believe that American power is at its peak. Because they have just won a "cold war" victory that lasted for more than half a century. After winning, the United States will continue to move forward and try to win in a wider range. Then in this larger scope, we can vaguely feel it in this NATO military exercise in Georgia. Therefore, this military exercise should be said to contain too many subtext.
From a military point of view, the significance of this military exercise is not great. It is very difficult for so many countries to hold a substantive military exercise, because the organization is quite difficult. Moreover, the actual number of officers and men participating in the competition is only over 1,000, which is out of proportion to the number of participating countries. But military weakness does not mean political weakness. Therefore, although the military significance of this military exercise is limited, its political significance is extraordinary. It gives us a sketch, or reveals a world map in the minds of American strategic decision makers in the future. This pace of expansion in the United States is bound to bring pressure and threats to other countries, and it is bound to trigger vigilance and rebound in other countries.
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