The world indeed appears to be heading into a time of troubles. NATO appears getting read to deal with these troubles by using armed force against unruly populations.
This will be evident at NATO’s 60th anniversary celebration in Strasbourg/Kehl on April 3 and 4.
The cities will be turned into armed camps. Residents of the tranquil city of Strasbourg are obliged to apply for badges in order to leave or enter their own homes during the happy event. At crucial times, they will not be allowed to leave home at all, except under emergency circumstances. Urban transport will be brought to a standstill. The cities will be as dead as if they had been bombed, to allow the NATO dignitaries to put on a show of peace.
The high point is to be a ten-minute photo op when French and German leaders shake hands on the bridge over the Rhine connected Strasbourg and Kehl. As if Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy were making peace between France and Germany for the first time. The locals are to be locked up so as not to disturb the charade.
NATO will be behaving as though the biggest threat it faces is the people of Europe. And the biggest threat to the people of Europe may well be NATO.
Diana Johnstone is author of Fools’ Crusade: Yugoslavia, NATO and Western Delusions (Monthly Review Press).
She can be reached at diana.josto@yahoo.fr
