Top NATO Leader Tells Companies to Make Changes to Prepare for ‘a Wartime Scenario’
In a recent address to business leaders in Brussels, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of NATO’s military committee, urged the private sector to adopt a “wartime mentality” amid escalating tensions in Europe. He emphasized the importance of ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of essential goods and services as a key aspect of national deterrence. Bauer highlighted that commercial decisions made by businesses can have profound strategic implications for national security. He reiterated the necessity for European nations to be prepared for defense and noted the increased reality of war on the continent.
Bauer’s remarks came on the heels of heightened military activity, including Russia’s deployment of a new missile capable of traveling at Mach 11, which prompted concerns across NATO. He asserted that effective deterrence requires substantial investment, advocating that NATO’s guideline of spending 2% of GDP on defense should be seen as a minimum rather than a maximum. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the importance of a strong global reaction to deter further aggression from Russia.
A top NATO military official delivered tough talk Monday to business leaders, saying it is time the private sector embraces wartime thinking.
“If we can make sure that all crucial services and goods can be delivered no matter what, then that is a key part of our deterrence,” Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, who chairs NATO’s military committee, said in Brussels at an event sponsored by the European Policy Centre think tank, according to Reuters.
“Businesses need to be prepared for a wartime scenario and adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly. Because while it may be the military who wins battles, it’s the economies that win wars,” he said.
Bauer voiced similar thoughts during a Nov. 20 speech at the Berlin Security Conference, according to a transcript of his speech posted on NATO’s website.
“Business leaders in Europe and America need to realize that the commercial decisions they make, have strategic consequences for the security of their nation,” he said in that speech.
“Ladies and gentlemen, war is back on the European continent. And over the past years, more and more people in Europe realize that war can happen to them too… again,” he said.
Bauer said European nations must be ready to defend themselves.
“One of the most commonly asked questions I get is: when will the Russians attack us?” he said.
Bauer’s response: “And my answer… is that to a certain degree that depends on us.”
“Deterrence is the seven-feet-tall bouncer in front of the nightclub that makes you think twice about going in. So if we make sure we are seven feet tall, we’re in a much better position,” he said.
Bauer said deterrence does not come cheaply, calling a NATO rule to spend 2 percent of a nation’s GDP on defense “a floor… not a ceiling. In reality, it’s more like a basement.”
Last week, Russia shook NATO by deploying a new missile that hit a target in Dnipro, Ukraine, according to Euronews.
Ukrainian officials said the Oreshnik missile hit a speed of Mach 11. It carried six non-nuclear warheads, with each sending forth six bombs.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin said the attack was a response to America allowing Ukraine to hit Russian targets with longer-range missiles than the U.S. previously allowed Ukraine to use.
“No one in the world has such weapons,” Putin claimed, adding that Western anti-missile systems could not stop the Russian artillery.
He said testing of the missile will go forward “including in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia,” adding that Russia has multiple missiles at its disposal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by saying “the world must sound serious in response – to make Putin really afraid of expanding the war and feel the real consequences of his actions.”
“There is no other way in war,” Zelenskyy said. “We must be aware that ‘comrade’ Putin will keep trying to intimidate us. That is how he built all his power.”
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