Dismantle NATO, or At Least Get Out
Jacob G. Hornberger / The Future of Freedom Foundation

(July 13, 2023) — The United States and other countries are debating whether to admit Ukraine into NATO which, of course, would virtually guarantee an all-out nuclear war between the United States and Russia. I’ve got a better idea: Dismantle this old Cold War dinosaur, or at the very least, the United States should withdraw from it, which would undoubtedly lead to its demise anyway.

NATO was formed after World War II to ostensibly protect Western Europe from an invasion by the Soviet Union. The organization was part of the overall Cold War campaign of anti-communist fear-mongering that was used to convert the United States to a massive national-security, military-intelligence nation.

The Soviet Union, which — let us not forget — was a partner and ally of the United States during World War II, was totally devastated by the end of the war, owing to the massive deadly and destructive invasion of the country by Nazi forces. Thus, the notion that the Soviet Union intended to invade Western Europe was always ridiculous, especially since it was a virtual certainty that the United States would come to the defense of Western Europe. Why would the Soviets want to go to war against the only nation that had nuclear bombs and the willingness to use them against populated cities?

The notion that the Soviets were going to invade Western Europe was based on the refusal by the Soviet Union to terminate its brutal military occupations of Eastern Europe and East Germany. What U.S. officials conveniently forgot is that President Franklin Roosevelt had agreed that the Soviets could maintain control over those countries in order to serve as a buffer against future German invasions of their country.

Regardless of where one stands on the Cold War racket that so greatly benefited the Pentagon, the military-industrial complex, the CIA, and the NSA with ever-increasing power and taxpayer-funded largess, one thing is crystal-clear: When the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union dismantled, the justification for NATO came to an immediate end. At that point, the old Cold War dinosaur should have been put down.

But as everyone knows, that’s not what happens with big, long-standing bureaucratic entities. Instead, they will fight tooth and nail to remain in existence, desperately searching for new justifications for doing so. That’s what NATO, which, of course, was operating under the control of the Pentagon, did.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the NATO-Pentagon bureaucrats were not willing to settle for mere continued existence. They were dead-set on reviving their old Cold War racket, especially since they knew that their new “war-on-terrorism” racket was likely to begin fizzling out down the road.

That’s when they began using NATO to absorb former members of the Warsaw Pact, which would enable them to install U.S. military bases, missiles, troops, and armaments ever-closer to Russia’s borders. They knew that at some point, Russia would react and — voila! — they would have their old Cold War racket back, along with all the anti-Russia hatred and fear-mongering that they would, once again, inculcate into the minds of the American people.

No one can deny that that has been one great big new Cold War “success” story. The only thing missing is another anti-communist crusade. But, hey, don’t fret — they have Red China for that.

Jacob G. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. He was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and received his B.A. in economics from Virginia Military Institute and his law degree from the University of Texas. He was a trial attorney for twelve years in Texas. He also was an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, where he taught law and economics. In 1987, Mr. Hornberger left the practice of law to become director of programs at the Foundation for Economic Education.  

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