In These New Times

PressTV

3rd April, 2009

NATO would be better off if it sought an “immediate disbandment”, renowned American author and political analyst Professor Noam Chomsky says. 

“If the question was ‘How ought NATO to develop?’ the answer is ‘immediate disbandment’,” Chomsky told Russia Today when asked about the alliance’s development in the future. 

Chomsky said despite the costly maintenance of the US military, which spends half of the world’s military expenditure, and the financial crisis, President Barack Obama has shown no desire to limit the military spending. 

“In reality there is little sign of change. You may have noticed that despite the financial crisis there is no serious attempt to limit US military spending since (Barack) Obama became president,” he said. 

“They may cancel some expensive high tech projects like purchase of the F22 fighter. You don’t need those sorts of planes for the sort of wars we have now.” 

Chomsky also slammed the previous US administration for concocting excuses which contributed to NATO’s survival. 

The administration of George W. Bush “issued a defense strategy document that effectively said that the real threat was actually the advanced technological level of third world countries and the need to preserve the superiority of the US technological military industrial base…. So suddenly the original threat turns out to be a lie and it is business as usual for NATO.” 

The comments came ahead of the 60th NATO anniversary which marks its formation with the aim of providing collective defense for members. 

The body’s defensive capability rose to utmost standards upon accepting the then-united West Germany in mid-1990s. Moscow dropped its objection to the accession in exchange for the alliance’s promise not to expand beyond Germany’s border and close to those of Russia’s. 

In contravention of the pledge, however, the Bush administration threw its weight behind the membership bid of former Soviet Union states such as Georgia and Ukraine. 

“The United States wants to recruit Eastern European nations to join NATO because they think they will be prepared to send soldiers to fight in those sorts of wars,” Chomsky concluded.