Nato is the real barrier to peace

IF NATO was dissolved tomorrow, you’d be amazed how peaceful Europe would become. The reason for its existence – the USSR – vanished decades ago. We don’t keep up a huge alliance to protect us from the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Ottomans, or any other powers that have disappeared. So why this one? It was preserved to save the jobs and pensions of its staff. It was only expanded because American arms manufacturers were afraid they would lose business when the Cold War ended.

So they spent huge piles of cash lobbying the US Senate to back eastward expansion, as the New York Times uncovered. Having survived and expanded, it needed something to do, and began to infuriate the Russians, and so that is where we now are. If you look for trouble, you get it.

Here’s a true story from the days when we were bringing feminism and comprehensive schooling to Afghanistan, or whatever it was we were trying to do by sending troops there.

It is Christmas Day in a forward position. A young, idealistic officer, recently arrived from Sandhurst, says to a grizzled sergeant: ‘It’s jolly quiet today. Surely the Afghans don’t observe Christmas?’ And the sergeant replies: ‘No sir, it’s quiet because we’re not going out there and annoying them.’

I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere.