Britons ‘better learn to speak Russian’ without major defence spending hike, Nato chief warns

There was a time, a generation back, when the word was: “better dead than red”. This referred to the Soviet Union, bordering the internal German border, separating West and East Germany with a wall of nuclear weapons.

Indeed, this word referred to two political systems, on the one side the Communist Dictatorship under Soviet iron rule, on the other side the Capitalist System with democratic local decisions and local people’s control, under US/NATO protection.  The Capitalist System prevailed and was powerful enough to allow a continuation of local democracy and people’s control. The Soviet Union collapsed, adopted a super-Capitalist System, but local democracy and people’s participation was not implemeted fully. Some say that the former Capitalist System of the West has lost some of its democratic aspects, as elections are canceled, opposition leaders persecuted and large opposition parties to be forbidden … and so the West is approaching the status of today’s new Capitalst System in the former Soviet World with all the same democratic deficiencies. The two Worlds converged and have not many comparative attractive differences left, be it ideological.

In this context, and referring to the conflict in Ukraine, the NATO General Secretary Rutte claimed that the UK has the choice between increasing defense spending or learning Russian.

Well, learning Russian would not be a bad thing but Rutte’s slogan refers to a widely spread fear that Russia plans to invade and occupy Western Europe and the UK.

This fear resulted from the escalation over the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine, a former Soviet Republic of 30 years ago and constituted as independent state with some old Russian territories and a large chunck of Soviet industry and resources, including the strategic Crimea (for which Russia fought for more than 300 years) has always been under Russian influence and control – but the West has tried by different measures to integrate Ukraine into the European Union and NATO. Lately, with a putsch in Kiev in 2014, followed by a civil war between Eastern Ukrainians (Russians) and Western Ukrainians (west-slavic, catholic, non-Russians). This NATO expansion to the East has been successful with regard to other former Soviet satellite states (Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary etc.), but faced opposition from Russia regarding Ukraine, Belorussia, Georgia e.a. Russia invoked its own security requirements and opposed to a further NATO eastward expansion – an opposition which NATO is now trying to overturn by a proxy war in Ukraine.

It may be impossible to imagine that Russia may invade and occupy Western Europe or even the UK. Russia seemingly struggles to occupy some small parts of Ukraine. Such fear is not well founded and moreover a fake story, considering the factual evidences.

But this fear is helpful to divert huge money spending into a certain industry. That it is what it’s about. Europe, and all leading Germany, have arranged for huge debt spending for its military industrial complex. Huge sums, hundreds of billions of Euros to be raised on the public debt markets for these endeavors.

The UK has not that convenient financial reach. Staying outside the EU and only having the British Pound, raising debts is much more difficult and huge sums, billions to be raised will have negative implication on the currency, interest rates and rating. Debt raising in the UK is therefore, limited and the UK Government had to redistribute allocations from social spending to military spending, while raising taxes at the same time. The consequences of these redistributions will be felt by large parts of the population and the raising taxes make businesses and wealthy individuals leaving the country. All in all a negative outlook for UK. And Rutte acknowledged the UK’s Dilemma, saying you may keep social spending, NHS or pensions at high levels, but you need to learn Russian.

Rutte said: “… if you would not go to the 5%, including the 3.5% core defence spending, you could still have the National Health Service, or in other countries their health systems, the pension system, etcetera, but you had better learn to speak Russian.”

But Rutte is somehow right. The European armies have been neglected over decennies. US generous protection promises incentivised Europe to spend less on defense and more on social wellfare. In Germany, the army is malfunctioning, in the UK its numbers hugely reduced. Spending in new technologies is important … and Russia may not be the only enemy on the horizon, there may be real enemies out there.

As such, Rutte could also say – either increase defense spending, or learn Chinese, Arab …