Earlier this week saw the leaking of German Defense Ministry plans by German daily Bildzeitung, which laid out the “path to conflict” that an upcoming war with Russia would supposedly take. While the scenarios and intentions ascribed to Russia are entirely fantastical—including the supposed large-scale amassing of troops in order to invade Eastern Europe and planned systematic cyberattacks on NATO countries—the policy response which they are meant to be the cover for most certainly is not. In other words, even though the Ukraine war is winding down, its Western instigators are making sure that NATO’s war with Russia is ramping up.
The Bild leak provides only the latest instance of a policy which is increasingly being admitted and implemented.
Daily Mail interviewed retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of the U.S. Army in Europe between 2014 and 2018, to get his response to the Bild leak. After making the point that Russia only respects strength, Hodges told the Daily Mail that World War III with Russia could begin in as little as 18 months if the Western Alliance does not prepare itself. He also praised the U.K. and Germany for their action: “The U.K. has always been aware of the threat from Russia, but now Germany [is] realizing that this is something that’s only going to get worse if they’re not prepared. So readiness—with all the right equipment and capabilities—is exactly what nations should be doing. And Germany is doing that.”
Hodges added that: “If the civilian leadership doesn’t think there’s a threat, they won’t be able to move quickly enough. Our leaders should talk to us like adults. It doesn’t mean you’re a scaremongerer, it means you’re taking precaution, which is exactly what we should be doing.”
Then there is Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who, while not responding directly to the German leak, expressed the same orientation in an interview with The Times on Jan. 15. Kallas claimed that Estonian intelligence estimates that war with Russia will occur in three to five years, depending “on how we manage our unity and keep our posture regarding Ukraine.” Again echoing the same narrative, Kallas said: “What Russia wants is a pause, and this pause is to gather its resources and strength. Weakness provokes aggressors, so weakness provokes Russia.”
