NATO's 75th-anniversary summit will conclude today (July 11) at the famed Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. This iconic venue was where the NATO Treaty was originally signed in 1949 and where the 50th-anniversary summit was also hosted.
In his inaugural speech 75 years ago, President Harry Truman had stated that the treaty aimed to prevent the kind of aggression that had led to the two world wars. He emphasised that the pact was not an act of aggression but a commitment to peace, democracy, and the rule of law - a commitment that is being put to test today.
NATO was established as a collective defence mechanism to counter the Soviet Union's growing influence and perceived threat to Europe post-World War II. Seventy-five years later, Europe feels it is on the brink of another world war, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, near NATO's eastern borders.
In his address to the summit leaders, US President Joe Biden warned that Russia intended to take over all of Ukraine and that Putin might target Poland next. Biden assured Ukraine of more material and military support, pledging to help defeat Russia. He particularly mentioned supplying Ukraine with five sets of Patriot missiles to protect itself from aerial attacks by Russia.
Western leaders, spurred by media rhetoric, are determined to defeat Russia militarily. They believe that only war can bring peace, and that arming Ukraine further is the right thing to do. They believe that aggression must be met with aggression. This stance explains the hostility and disapproval towards those urging peace talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, or those who advocate for peace over continued conflict.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for peace is a notable example. Modi's visit to Moscow for a........