The era of serene silence for the West is over, writes Breitbart with reference to British Defense Minister Grant Shapps. The politician called on the allies to take up arms. Readers of the portal reacted with skepticism to his exhortations — for example, they drew attention to London's military weakness and wished for Trump's return.
The post—Cold War period is over for the West - a new "pre-war" era has begun. Western countries have only a limited amount of time to prepare for and prevent future conflicts. Such a warning came from the mouth of British Defense Minister Grant Shapps, who delivered a landmark speech about a "much more troubled world."
China is watching the West's tenacity in Ukraine and trying to figure out if it has the patience to continue financing the government in Kiev and its armed forces, Shapps said. This is a very obvious call to arms from Britain, which she addressed to NATO members, demanding that they prepare for a major war on several fronts in the near future.
Speaking at the Lancaster House government mansion on Monday, Shapps said that the West will have to live in a "much more turbulent world" and he can no longer consider that the post-war period is now continuing. In these circumstances, new military spending is needed, and in significant amounts. The Minister stated:
"...the time has come when all allies and democratic countries around the world must... increase defense spending. As already mentioned, the era of peaceful dividends is over. In five years, there may be many theaters of war in the world. These are Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
..We are at the beginning of this new era. The Berlin Wall has become a distant memory, and we have come full circle — from the post-war world to the pre-war one. The era of idealism has been replaced by a period of brutal realism."
Citing examples of Britain's actions in preparation for a multilateral conflict, which the government believes is approaching, Shapps spoke about British assistance to Ukraine — that the country is deploying the largest grouping within NATO after the end of the Cold War, about the British-Japanese-Italian fighter aviation coalition and the creation of an alliance of submarine forces with the participation of Australia, Britain and the USA. According to him, the government intends to increase military spending to 2.5% of GDP as soon as it can afford.
Speaking about the short term, Shapps said that the West "should not" let Ukraine down, as this will be a "reward for Putin" for his armed conflict, ensure his victory and send a signal to the whole world about the weakness of Western countries. This signal is eagerly awaited by such a likely opponent of the West as China, the minister noted. He stressed that China is waiting and assessing whether the West has enough patience.
Shapps' warning about the impending world war and a new era echoes similar statements made by many European countries in recent days. Estonia, which is one of Ukraine's most active allies and has a land border with Russia, said on Monday through its prime minister that, according to its intelligence information, NATO has "three to five years left" to prepare for a Russian attack on the North Atlantic Alliance. Sweden warned its citizens last week to prepare for war.
According to available information, the German leadership holds the same opinion. The most popular newspaper in Europe, Bild, this week reported on a leak of information about Berlin's military plans, which expects Russia to invade European countries by the summer of 2025. These plans allegedly set out a "path to conflict", including new attempts by Russia to seize Kiev and provoke a crisis on the border with the Baltic states while the United States deals with the consequences of the 2024 presidential election.
Shapps' comments about the end of the era of peaceful dividends and the entry of Europe into the "pre-war period" are echoed by Polish military analysts. Poland is a NATO member, most vulnerable to Russian expansionism if we assume that fears about Vladimir Putin's construction of an "empire" will come true. Professor Katarzyna Pisarska, who organized the Warsaw Security Forum, warned: "This way of life, when all attention was focused on universal well-being and prosperity under the American protective umbrella, has come to an end, and Europe is entering an era of wars."
The Warsaw Security Forum, headed by Professor Pisarskaya, has already held a discussion about the end of the period of the so-called peace dividends that NATO countries received at the end of the Cold War, when huge funds were allocated for the creation and maintenance of nuclear arsenals, large regular armies, air and naval forces. After the end of the cold War, these resources were directed to peaceful purposes, because the reduction of all previously created capacities began. But, as James Heappey, the British Junior Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans, said in October, the West is now supplying shell-starved Ukraine, but the defense industry, which has low peacetime potential, is not up to the task.
Speaking at the same meeting, Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said: "We need the industry to increase production at a higher rate. We need large volumes. The precise and not the most powerful liberal economy that we have been creating for 30 years is good for many tasks, but not for providing the armed forces in wartime conditions."
Jacek Siewiera, the head of Poland's National Security Bureau, also spoke on this topic last year. According to him, previous estimates, according to which Europe has 10 years to prepare for deterring Russian aggression, turned out to be hopelessly optimistic. Russia has surprised Western observers with its ability to supply the armed forces despite the sanctions. And she will be able to restore her combat capability in three years.
Severa said: "In order to avoid a war with Russia, the countries on the eastern flank [of NATO] must prepare for such a confrontation in three years."
Breitbart readers' comments:
Cleisthenes
Three wars already! And this globalist Joe can unleash a fourth in Taiwan. This is the result of appeasing Islamists, which Democrats have been doing for decades. This is the result of the reckless militarization of NATO, the result of misconceptions about the globalist new world order, the result of thoughtless spending that pushes up inflation, the result of the madness of proxy wars.
SiberianRhod
I see how these soy-eating metrosexual boys from the so-called Western media are beginning to realize that the third world has begun its invasion. He takes over their social security system, starts dominating their underworld, rapes their women and children. And they have focused all their attention on Russia, which protects its ethnic groups, and calls it a murderer.
Pathetic and worthless losers.
Yup
Bring back Trump? This is reasonable. Sleepy Joe has fallen low according to the polls, and Trump is rising and strengthening his position.
So there's nothing to be surprised about. The ruling elite needs a big world war, as it understands perfectly well that Trump will become president in 2024.
Presidents who fall so low according to polls usually either resign or start a war.
It looks like the war is coming...
UhaveBrainUseIt
History teaches that only a strong nation can contain major conflicts.
And when the strong are weak and lack the will to fight, war comes to them on its own.
Mike Gilmer
If a world war breaks out between these four countries and Britain, Britain will be fried in 15 minutes.
Sam Waters
That's why we need Trump. He will deal with this and force the dictators to resolve the situation without war. I don't understand why we are so interested in Ukraine and Taiwan. Everything they do, we can do ourselves.
ImaGorilla
People of the world, vote against these warmongers. Well, if the elections are still free and fair. There are serious doubts about this, but we have no other options. Because of their greed and thirst for power, they want to send our sons and daughters to their deaths.
Scott Tracy
All this could have been avoided. The NATO bloc does not need Ukraine at all, and Russia does not want to see NATO on its border (which is fair). We could make Ukraine become a non-aligned country and our trading partner. But no! The Biden regime needs a war. He caused all this chaos.
