The global expansion of the American agenda in Europe was indicated further in Clinton's remarks that "This partnership is about so much more than strengthening our security. At its core, it is about defending and advancing our values in the world. I think it is particularly critical today that we not only defend those values in the world. I think it is particularly critical today that we not only defend those values, but promote them; that we are not only on defense, but on offense."
And placing the current world situation in historical perspective, she said: "We are continuing the enterprise that we began at the end of the Cold War to expand the zone of democracy and stability. We have worked together this year to complete the effort we started in the 1990s to help bring peace and stability to the Balkans. And we are working closely with the EU to support the six countries that the EU engages through its Eastern Partnership initiative."
The Eastern Partnership is a U.S.-backed European Union program to pull six of twelve former Soviet repiblics that formed the Commonwealth of Independent States into the Western orbit: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. [11] Armenia and Belarus are members with Russia of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a potential counterbalance to NATO's drive into the former Soviet Union. Along with Serbia and Cyprus, those nations represent the last obstacles to NATO, and behind it the U.S., securing control of all of Europe.
Clinton also had the audacity to raise the issues of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), the first almost two months beyond its December 5 expiration and the other, in its adapted form, not ratified by a single member state of NATO, which - led by the U.S. - is exploiting its suspension for military buildups in new Eastern European nations.
"Two years ago, Russia suspended the implementation of the CFE Treaty, while the United States and our allies continue to do so. The Russia-Georgia war in 2008 was not only a tragedy but has created a further obstacle to moving forward...." The U.S. and NATO have justified their non-ratification of the Adapted Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty by demanding that Russia withdraw a small handful of peacekeepers it maintains in post-conflict zones in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdniester. Had those forces been withdrawn earlier under Western pressure, Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia in 2008, coordinated with an attack on Abkhazia, might have proven successful for its American-trained army.
Part of Clinton's self-serving interpretation of the CFE Treaty is "the right of host countries to consent to stationing foreign troops in their territory." That is, U.S. and NATO and decidedly not Russia troops. There can be no spheres of influence in former Soviet space - except the West's.
Her understanding of an autonomous Europe not "besieged" by Russia and Iran - and North Korea - includes not only stationing American troops on its soil but also nuclear weapons, hundreds of which are still housed in NATO bases in several European countries. "President Obama declared the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons. As long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure, and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and we will guarantee that defense to our allies.
"[W]e are conducting a comprehensive Nuclear Posture Review to chart a new course that strengthens deterrence and reassurance for the United States and our allies...." Clinton didn't indicate which European nations have requested to be placed under the Pentagon's nuclear shield.
After her presentation Clinton answered questions from the audience at the French Military Academy.
Her extemporaneous comments were even more revealing that her prepared text.
They included:
"When it comes to NATO, I think that greater integration on the European continent provides even more opportunity for the level of cooperation to increase.
"But I think, given the complexity of the world today, closer cooperation and more complementarity between the EU and NATO is in all of our interests to try to forge common policies economic and development and political and legal on the one hand in the EU, and principally security on the other hand in NATO. But as I said in my remarks, they are no longer separated. It's hard to say that security is only about what it was when NATO was formed, and the EU has no role to play in security issues."
NATO's new Strategic Concept lays particular emphasis on the advancement - indeed the culmination - of U.S.-EU-NATO global military integration. [12]
Regarding the implementation of that project, Clinton stipulated the issue of energy wars. "[I]t would be the EU's responsibility to create policies that would provide more independence and protections from intimidation when it comes to energy markets from member nations. But I can also see how in certain cases respecting energy, there may be a role for NATO as well."
When asked about what in recent years has been referred to as Global NATO "extending the boundaries of NATO to non-Western countries, emerging powers like Brazil, India, other democracies that might fulfill their criteria," Clinton advocated a series of expanding partnerships in addition to the Partnership for Peace, Adriatic Charter, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, Contact Country, Trilateral Afghanistan-Pakistan-NATO Military Commission and others that take in over a third of the nations in the world:
