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NATO Summit Kicked Off with Massive Demonstrations

TheDemSocialist

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[FONT=arial, sans-serif]Thousands of police and protesters flood downtown Chicago.
Very interesting intense gathering. Hopefully it does not turn really violent, only a few clashes between police and protesters have been reported.
Thoughts?
Comments?
Response?
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NATO served a useful purpose during a specific historical period. But NATO is in search of a purpose. Time to move on. America's focus must now be at home. Relations with Mexico and Canada are more important than relations with Europe. The West as a civilization is dying. All things pass in time.
 
NATO served a useful purpose during a specific historical period. But NATO is in search of a purpose. Time to move on. America's focus must now be at home. Relations with Mexico and Canada are more important than relations with Europe. The West as a civilization is dying. All things pass in time.

Well isnt that a bright and cheery forecast...isnt the USA, Canada and Mexico in the west
 
One must wonder...

Are these people actual NATO protestors...

Or just another group of young, self-indulgent, egomaniacal Occutards craving attention?
(And handouts! :baby1)





(I can't be the only one to notice the "No to war and austerity!" signs)
 
Well isnt that a bright and cheery forecast...isnt the USA, Canada and Mexico in the west

I apologize for my lack of charm. Btw, Mexico is not part of the West. As time goes by America is less and less of a Western nation. The demographics of the country dictate that America's Western orientation will decrease in the years to come.

With respect to NATO there is an article that eloquently expresses my view. I would like to submit it for your consideration. It represents a libertarian view of this matter. I am in complete agreement with it.

NATO As Nero: Alliance Postures While Europe Burns - Forbes
 
You will be surprised. There are veterans among the NATO protesters who threw back their medals.
 
With the demise of the Soviet Union as a land threat to Western Europe, the reason for NATO is probably no longer defensable. However, color me less than impressed with the demonstrations. They strike me as people who are just looking for some reason to get out in the streets and raise some hell.

I am somewhat curious as to the title of this thread. What constitutes a 'massive' protest? 1000? 10,000? 100,000? And this protest seems to be more of a 'Hey, you got something you wanna protest? Come on down!" kind of event rather than any coordinated protest against NATO. I'm willing to bet a fair number of the protestors couldn't tell you what Nato is or who the member nations are.
 
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New poll. 51% of US voters want all US troops out of Europe now.

"...A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters now believe the United States should remove all its troops from Western Europe and let the Europeans defend themselves. Only 29% disagree, but another 20% are undecided..."

Read more:
51% Think U.S. Should Withdraw All Troops From Europe - Rasmussen Reports™
 
With the demise of the Soviet Union as a land threat to Western Europe, the reason for NATO is probably no longer defensable. However, color me less than impressed with the demonstrations. They strike me as people who are just looking for some reason to get out in the streets and raise some hell.

I agree with both of your conclusions.
 
American support for NATO is melting away. NATO has no strategic mission. Check this out:

The Lost Alliance: NATO in Chicago | Atlantic Council
That article was a rally call to inspire new interest in NATO based on the fears of what is going on in Europe.
WHich was on the heel of this article
To Survive, NATO Must Globalize | Atlantic Council Sixty-three years after the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, binding the United States, Canada, and ten European states to consider an attack on one an attack on all, NATO is transforming itself into a twenty-first-century global security organization. The result will be a safer world.

In fact their goal is to expand and strengthen NATO: The NATO Chicago Summit: Outcomes and the Way Ahead | Atlantic Council
 
That article was a rally call to inspire new interest in NATO based on the fears of what is going on in Europe.

That's not the way I read the thrust of the article. I must respectfully disagree with you.

WHich was on the heel of this article

Different articles with different authors expressing divergent opinions.


The foregoing link is an invitation to join a panel presentation. The author of the article I linked disagrees with an organization whose rationale for being is trans-atlanticism. Once any organization is created it looks for ways in which to preserve its existence. In this sense there is no difference between the Chinese Communist Party and the Atlantic Council or the Texas Railroad Commission.
 
To give you an idea of who controls the internet websites, I had bookmarked a nice picture of the anti- NATO demonstrators, but Yahoo News purged it down the memory hole.

I am so proud of my fellow citizens for speaking up last weekend. Good job!

"Today the countries in NATO account for 75% of the world's military spending. "

* Multi-lateral War Crimes Are Still War Crimes, No Matter Who Commits Them** : Information Clearing House

________________________________________________________________________________

The Guardian reports:

“Police in Chicago have spent $1m on riot-control equipment in the last few months ahead of next month’s Nato summit, which is expected to attract thousands of anti-war protesters. Protesters from a coalition of organisations including unions, anti-war and Occupy groups are expected to descend on the city. National Nurses United, the largest nurses’ union in the US, is providing free buses to Chicago for activists from across the country even as its own plans to demonstrate were vetoed by the city of Chicago on Tuesday."


Chicago police spend $1 million on anti-Occupy Gear - The Daily Occupation
__________________________________________________________________________________


Oh those scary nurses, egads!
 
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That's not the way I read the thrust of the article. I must respectfully disagree with you.



Different articles with different authors expressing divergent opinions.



The foregoing link is an invitation to join a panel presentation. The author of the article I linked disagrees with an organization whose rationale for being is trans-atlanticism. Once any organization is created it looks for ways in which to preserve its existence. In this sense there is no difference between the Chinese Communist Party and the Atlantic Council or the Texas Railroad Commission.

The link that you provided was not to some news outlet, it was the Atlantic Council. You cannot just glean an article from such a site and pretend it is separate. Serously what do you think is the purpose of Atlantic Council? here read this, its an official Atlantic Council publication.

Anchoring the Alliance | Atlantic Council On the eve of the Chicago summit, a new Atlantic Council report argues for the enduring importance of NATO, and calls for renewed leadership from the Alliance's members to ensure NATO's vibrancy in the decade to come.
 
To give you an idea of who controls the internet websites, I had bookmarked a nice picture of the anti- NATO demonstrators, but Yahoo News purged it down the memory hole.

I am so proud of my fellow citizens for speaking up last weekend. Good job!

"Today the countries in NATO account for 75% of the world's military spending. "

* Multi-lateral War Crimes Are Still War Crimes, No Matter Who Commits Them** : Information Clearing House

________________________________________________________________________________

The Guardian reports:

“Police in Chicago have spent $1m on riot-control equipment in the last few months ahead of next month’s Nato summit, which is expected to attract thousands of anti-war protesters. Protesters from a coalition of organisations including unions, anti-war and Occupy groups are expected to descend on the city. National Nurses United, the largest nurses’ union in the US, is providing free buses to Chicago for activists from across the country even as its own plans to demonstrate were vetoed by the city of Chicago on Tuesday."


Chicago police spend $1 million on anti-Occupy Gear - The Daily Occupation
__________________________________________________________________________________


Oh those scary nurses, egads!

lol What are you trying to say? That Yahoo took a pic down and it was an conspiracy? Oh and considering the track record of the type of protesters that show up at these types of events I think it would be wise to prepare for them. After all if you just left it up to these so called protesters they would burn down the city. So one could easily assert that its the protesters that caused the police to show up. If there were no protesters present there wouldn't be anything going on and no need to close down streets and businesses. Oh wait that was the goal of the protesters.
 
i'm surprised it's only 51%. I can't think of any reason why U.S. troops should be anywhere in Western Europe, other than marine guards at the U.S. embassies.
 
lol What are you trying to say? That Yahoo took a pic down and it was an conspiracy? Oh and considering the track record of the type of protesters that show up at these types of events I think it would be wise to prepare for them. After all if you just left it up to these so called protesters they would burn down the city. So one could easily assert that its the protesters that caused the police to show up. If there were no protesters present there wouldn't be anything going on and no need to close down streets and businesses. Oh wait that was the goal of the protesters.

Down with the whitey corporate oppression! :mrgreen::peace

Uh huh, yeah
 
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