Disinfo: The USA will fulfil NATO’s Article 5 only if it is required by its national interests

Summary

The realist theory of international relations dominating the USA assumes that the national interest of the state is superior to the international law and treaties signed with its allies. In other words, Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty would be fulfilled by the United States only in a situation, when the US interests agree with its legal obligations.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on NATO and the US military presence in Europe - it claims that the United States may not protect its European allies if it goes against the US national interests. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is the critical component of the Alliance – it assumes that if a NATO Ally is a victim of an armed attack, every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked. In other words, Article 5 is the cornerstone of NATO – it has been invoked only once in history as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The United States is the founding member of NATO and plays a crucial role in European and transatlantic security – since the end of WWII, the US troops based in Europe guaranteed the security of its European allies. Currently, the US is increasing its military presence in Europe (particularly in Central and Eastern Europe) in order to protect this region against two primary threats: Russia's "malign influence" and international terrorism. Read similar disinformation cases: the US always abandons its allies and US troops will not defend Poland in case of a Russian attack.

Go to search

publication/media

pl.sputniknews.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 174
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 22/11/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Polish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US
  • Keywords: Military, European Union, US presence in Europe, Europe, NATO
see more

Disinfo: The US is behind the resignation of Evo Morales

We know perfectly well who is behind all the events in Bolivia, who has sought the resignation of Morales – the United States. They have long sought his resignation because naturally, Americans don’t like the left in Latin America.

Nov 21, 2019
Disproof

Conspiracy theory; no evidence given. This narrative falls within the broader pro-Kremlin disinformation efforts attempting to deny the existence of genuine grass-roots protests, portraying them as foreign-led efforts and fake colour revolutions. This is also part of a disinformation narrative about US-led regime change operations against left-wing governments in Latin America. You can see other examples of this narrative in the EUvsdisinfo database, such as the alleged presence of a US marine in the Venezuelan barricades and the promotion of a Ukraine-style 'colour revolution', the training of Venezuelan exiles in Guyana for military operations inside the country, preparations for a military intervention after forcing Brazil to join NATO, deliberate blackouts in South America caused by the US, or the existence of plans for the secession of oil-rich regions in both Venezuela and Mexico. Although the United States "applauds the Bolivian people for demanding freedom", there is no evidence to suggest that the US was directly involved in Evo Morales' resignation. Morales’ resignation came during mass protests in the country after the Organisation of American States (OAS) reported “extensive irregularities” in the election for his fourth term. Morales had invited the OAS to observe the vote, and the group called for the election to be annulled. Read the full debunk by Polygraph. Read the statement from the EU's High Representative/Vice President Federica Mogherini on the situation in Bolivia here. For further cases on the situation in Bolivia, see here.

Disinfo: NATO has created "spy affair" to disrupt Russia-Serbia relations

NATO has created a “spy affair” to disrupt Russia-Serbia relations. The affair was put into circulation through a Bulgarian journalist, a contributor to Bellingcat and the Atlantic Council of Bulgaria, which is the NATO Institute for spreading anti-Russian propaganda and spins around the world.

Nov 21, 2019
Disproof

Conspiracy theory, there is no evidence that NATO created a "spy affair" to disrupt Russia-Serbia relations. The controversy centres around a video showing a purported Russian spy handing a bag of cash to another man uploaded to YouTube by an anonymous user on 17 November 2019. The video shows the Russian diplomat giving the Serbian agent (whose face is blurred) a bag during a meeting in Belgrade. Serbia’s state television reported that Serbia’s intelligence agency has confirmed the authenticity of the video. This was even mentioned by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in an official statement: "The video showing a Russian intelligence officer handing over money to one allegedly highly positioned official of Serbia was not made by our agency." He added that the video recording was made on 24 December 2018 and that it shows the meeting between the Russian Lt. Col. Georgy Kleban with the retired Lt. Col of the Serbian Armed Forces whose initials are Z.K. This is part of a recurrent Russian effort to discredit the highly respected investigative site Bellingcat, which uncovered many elements in cases such as the downing of the MH17 flight or the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergey Skripal that contradict and expose Russian disinformation narratives. In our database, you can find other examples of false accusations against Bellingcat, such as it being anti-Russian, its instrumentalisation by governments to contradict proof of Russia's innocence or its alleged fabrication of evidence against Moscow.

Disinfo: The US organised a coup in Bolivia to control lithium deposits

A desperate attempt to seize power by a pro-American minority is driven by cynical rational, experts say. Bolivia possesses the largest lithium deposits in the world. A growing production of batteries and electric cars instigates an increased demand for lithium on the world market. In early November, the Bolivian authorities refused to cooperate with the Germans on lithium extraction. Instead, the Chinese and Russians could be involved in cooperation with Bolivia in this sphere. This is just a business: the US-educated Bolivian military is shooting civilians who protest against the preservation of power by the pro-US government. It is unlikely, however, that the interim government and their US patrons will swallow Bolivia so easily. The county is on the edge of civil war and chaos.

Nov 21, 2019
Disproof

This is a conspiracy and no evidence is provided to support the claim. It is an example of a recurrent disinformation narrative about US-led regime change operations against left-wing governments in Latin America. Other examples of this narrative include the alleged presence of a US marine in the Venezuelan barricades and the promotion of a Ukraine-style 'colour revolution', the training of Venezuelan exiles in Guyana for military operations inside the country, preparations for a military intervention after forcing Brazil to join NATO, deliberate blackouts in South America caused by the US and the existence of plans for the secession of oil-rich regions in both Venezuela and Mexico. This narrative also falls within the broader pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative attempting to deny the existence of genuine grass-roots protests, portraying them as foreign-led efforts and fake colour revolutions. Read an earlier disinformation case claiming that Bolivia became a US target because of its lithium reserves, that the US overthrew the Bolivian president by a military junta when Maidan techniques did not help, that the US Intelligence co-opted Bolivian security services and that the US waged hybrid wars against Venezuela and Bolivia.