Disinfo: NATO is American property used to justify every US intervention

Summary

After the end of the Cold War, NATO became US property and a tool, justifying every American intervention. Article 5 is perceived as NATO members’ obligation to America, while the USA has freed itself from any commitments.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation message about NATO as a geopolitical project of the US. NATO was founded in 1949 by twelve sovereign nations: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. It has since grown to 29 Allies who each took an individual and sovereign decision to join this Alliance. All decisions in NATO are taken by consensus, which means that a decision can only be taken if every single member accepts it. No member of the Alliance can order the deployment of armed forces of other member states. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty embodies the principle of collective defense where an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all. See similar pro-Kremlin disinformation cases alleging that NATO is fully subordinated to the USA and Baltic states, Moldova and Poland are NATO “hostages”.

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pl.sputniknews.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 174
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 19/11/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Polish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US
  • Keywords: security threat, Military, European Union, US presence in Europe, NATO
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Disinfo: There was a Ukrainian provocation in the Kerch strait

Russian border guards seized the Ukrainian military ships during a provocation in the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018.

Nov 18, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the Kerch incident. On the 25th of November 2018, border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen and arresting 24 members. Russia stated they were in Russian waters. However, according to the bilateral agreement between Ukraine and Russia, the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov are the internal waters of both Russia and Ukraine. The agreement gives both parties the power to inspect suspicious vessels. Furthermore, both the 2003 bilateral agreement and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provide for freedom of navigation. On the 25th May on 2019, the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled that Russia should release the sailors detained in the Kerch Strait and return the ships to Ukraine. Twenty-four military sailors returned to Ukraine on 7 September as part of a mutual release of detainees by Ukraine and Russia. On 18 November, 2019, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had handed three naval ships back to Ukraine. For further reporting see Bellingcat, DFRLab and Polygraph.

Disinfo: The US tries to weaken Russia by spoiling Moscow-Kyiv ties

Realising the critical role which Ukraine plays in maintaining Russia’s great-power status, US officials have long tried to drive a wedge between Moscow and Kyiv as a means of weakening Russia globally.

Nov 18, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation casting the US as a malign influence on European affairs, Ukraine as a quasi-state with little geopolitical autonomy, and Russia as a great power fending off Western efforts at destabilisation and encirclement. The relations between the US and Ukraine are bilateral relations between two independent countries. The USA recognised Ukraine as an independent state on the 25th December 1991. US policy is centred on realising and strengthening a stable, democratic, prosperous and free Ukraine, more closely integrated into Europe and Euro-Atlantic structures. See here and here for earlier claims that Ukrainian foreign policy is dictated by the West.

Disinfo: French authorities set up violence at peaceful Yellow Vests' anniversary rally

The strategy of order enforcement chosen by the prefect of Paris has been highly criticised. He wanted the Yellow Vests’ demonstration to start at Place d’Italie, an area under construction which contains construction equipment, often thrown by the thugs and who, surprisingly, were there since the early morning. Controversy is also growing over a video clearly showing “two people framing a third man, all dressed in black, who were behind the line of CRS [riot police] who let them pass whilst repeating: ‘This is the BAC, it is the BAC [branch of the criminal police in France]’,” as noted by Liberation’s CheckNews. That led to accusations about police infiltrators within the thugs. All this was wanted by the government only to destroy the anniversary of Yellow Vests. It’s worse than a fracture. It serves the dictatorship that is being put in place.

Nov 18, 2019
Disproof

Biased conspiracy theory coverage of the Yellow Vests' one year anniversary protests in Paris. Speaking about the video proving the presence of law enforcers in civilian clothes among protesters (assumed by the French police itself), the article quotes the French newspaper Liberation and its CheckNews service. The video is supposed to "feed the accusations" that the police infiltrated the thugs. In reality, Liberation states the contrary, debunking those accusations. This is what Libération actually writes:

"It should be noted that beyond the infiltration of police for intelligence missions and arrests, commentators also accuse police officers of infiltrating the rallies only to organise violence and to help to destroy the image of the movement in public opinion. This is particularly the case of the yellow vest François Boulo, who claims to have seen disguised policemen turning over a car, and he goes to imagine that 'police-thugs' were able to degrade the stele of Marshal Juin. No elements in CheckNews' possession support such accusations."

No evidence is given to support other claims that the Paris city hall conspired to tarnish the Yellow Vests' anniversary. It is worth recalling that the Yellow Vests presented their candidates' list for the European Parliament elections in 2019, which would be impossible under a dictatorship. According to Freedom House, the French political system features vibrant democratic processes and generally strong protections for civil liberties and political rights. See more disinformation cases linked to the Yellow Vests. The analysis of the Russian disinformation media's non-stop coverage of Yellow vests and also of the manipulated social media discussions can be read here.