“Everything we do in Europe is based on the assumption that America is going to intervene forcefully, which we know is not really true anymore.. Europeans need to spend more than 2% of their GDP on defense.. NATO is going to be more European with more European commands…”

“Today, we are faced with a politically and militarily complex situation in Gaza, Ukraine, Haiti, and great power competition with China. These are the concerns people have in Washington, DC these days. But perhaps the MOST pertinent and substantial challenges we face TODAY are those of the HUMAN CONDITION in fragile and irregular spaces, which will be home to 2/3rds of the world’s poor by 2030 …… NGOs are increasing in size and complexity, and they are now concentrating in places where SOFs are. The military cannot fix what’s wrong alone, and neither can the civilian organizations working on the ground alongside them.”

“It really is important that people who are involved with NATO whether as employees or former employees or in the surrounding orbits of think tankers to not just exist within that orbit but engage and be involved with outside of that NATO orbit ……. I think NATO risks becoming less relevant in the policy debate outside NATO circles if  those who are involved with NATO do not acknowledge these threats and present solutions to them. I think one really important aspect that NAVI could help address is bring business executives into the conversation.  They have incredible insights that are rarely listened or heard or engaged with within NATO circles.”

… the measures taken against migration are, -for the reasons described above-, targeting more immediate consequences rather than the root causes which prioritizes the security of developed world. As mentioned earlier, the security-development approaches have their deficiencies, like prioritizing the securitization of the state’s border and sustaining the host nation’s regime rather than the individual. Emancipation, empowering and democratization of the region are not on the agenda when it comes to the migration-security-development nexus.

People like us… have served under NATO flag… we probably better understand not only the values that NATO brings to the table but also what it means to fight hand in hand, to have interoperability…

There’s an untapped goldmine of ex-military now civilian experts that can bring a lot to the table and contribute to the benefit of NATO.

NATO Summit was a clear success, and I will give you a number of reasons of why I think so.. First, Nato was united in its commitment of long-term support to Ukraine and future membership in NATO; second it remained united in its condemnation of Russia…

“I don’t think society can continue remain disengaged.. it needs people to help maintain the principles of democracy, civil liberties and human rights that frankly set the conditions for success and prosperity over 75 years since World War II.”

And there is a former president in the United States preaching from everywhere “America first” protectionism collective egoism. This is an absolutely counterproductive approach if you want an efficient, democratic, and balanced solution of the problems caused by Globalism and unfair competition. Democracies today show their vulnerability when voters give credit to their Darwinian instincts like egoism, aggressivity, nationalism, even war. Then, helping poor people is no longer their business. It is rather worrying.

Indeed, most Europeans, thanks to their ancestors, emigrated from Caucasia to Europe. So, we are all emigrants, and we are all immigrants, but it’s very difficult today to convince public opinion of that truth.

And indeed, why should NATO not tackle the immigration issue for reasons of common security and even propose some solutions in terms of integrating immigrants in some armies?