Putin wants to destroy NATO, ‘not by attacking it but by splintering it,’ says head of U.S. forces
Justin Huggler, The Telegraph | March 5, 2015 | Last Updated: Mar 5 2:19 PM ET
BERLIN The commander of the US army in Europe has accused Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, of seeking to destroy Nato, and accused Russia of having 12,000 troops inside eastern Ukraine.
Speaking to military and political leaders in Berlin, Lt-Gen. Frederick Ben Hodges said Russia could seek to use the sort of hybrid warfare seen in eastern Ukraine against a Nato member to test the alliance. I am sure Putin wants to destroy our alliance, not by attacking it but by splintering it, he said.
He warned that Mr. Putin could try to destabilize a Nato member by using a rebel militia as in eastern Ukraine, or other forms of ambiguous warfare.
In the absence of an overt Russian attack, some Nato members could be reluctant to invoke Article 5 of the Washington treaty, under which an attack on one member is an attack on all.
* read more at the link...very interesting article*