Is NATO itching for war or just playing game of chicken?

Let's take a quick look at the some of the headlines that have appeared in the western media.

·  According to CNN, NATO jets scrambled more than 400 times this year to intercept Russian fighters.

·  NATO to hold largest ever cyber war games

·  NATO chief reassures allieson Baltic tours

·  Russian war games scaredthe hell out of NATO

·  And many more ..............

The western media is exploding with articles that blame Russia by obfuscating truth, creating alternative reality by turning truth on its head. Why NATO is so hell bent on demonizing and taking on Russia will be the topic of future article but for the time being, consider the following article which appeared on volatairenet. (For full article, please on the link.)

Which makes explicitly clear what kind of military NATO is facing and why President Obama has ruled out lethal military aid or confrontration – although covert military aid through proxies is continuing.

What frightened the USS Donald Cook so much in the Black Sea? Voltaire Network | 8 November 2014 ….......   The State Department acknowledged that the crew of the destroyer USS Donald Cook has been gravely demoralized ever since their vessel was flown over in the Black Sea by a Russian Sukhoi-24 (Su-24) fighter jet which carried neither bombs nor missiles but only an electronic warfare device. This video shows the USS Donald Cook sailing into the Black Sea to position itself near Russia’s territorial waters. On 10 April 2014, the USS Donald Cook entered the waters of the Black Sea and on 12 April a Russian Su-24 tactical bomber flew over the vessel triggering an incident that, according to several media reports, completely demoralized its crew, so much so that the Pentagon issued a protest. The USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) is a 4th generation guided missile destroyer whose key weapons are Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, and capable of carrying nuclear explosives. This ship carries 56 Tomahawk missiles in standard mode, and 96 missiles in attack mode. The US destroyer is equipped with the most recent Aegis Combat System. It is an integrated naval weapons systems which can link together the missile defense systems of all vessels embedded within the same network, so as to ensure the detection, tracking and destruction of hundreds of targets at the same time. In addition, the USS Donald Cook is equipped with 4 large radars, whose power is comparable to that of several stations. For protection, it carries more than fifty anti-aircraft missiles of various types. Meanwhile, the Russian Su-24 that buzzed the USS Donald Cook carried neither bombs nor missiles but only a basket mounted under the fuselage, which, according to the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, contained a Russian electronic warfare device called Khibiny. As the Russian jet approached the US vessel, the electronic device disabled all radars, control circuits, systems, information transmission, etc. on board the US destroyer. In other words, the all-powerful Aegis system, now hooked up - or about to be - with the defense systems installed on NATO’s most modern ships was shut down, as turning off the TV set with the remote control. The Russian Su-24 then simulated a missile attack against the USS Donald Cook, which was left literally deaf and blind. As if carrying out a training exercise, the Russian aircraft - unarmed - repeated the same maneuver 12 times before flying away. After that, the 4th generation destroyer immediately set sail towards a port in Romania. Since that incident, which the Atlanticist media have carefully covered up despite the widespread reactions sparked among defense industry experts, no US ship has ever approached Russian territorial waters again. According to some specialized media, 27 sailors from the USS Donald Cook requested to be relieved from active service.

The incident was so serious that Pentagon launched a formal protest with Moscow.

Pentagon Protests Russian Jet Buzzing Antimissile Ship in Black Sea April 15, 2014 ….............   The Pentagon on Monday criticized a Russian jet's repeated buzzing of a U.S. antimissile ship sailing in international waters in the Black Sea. The action happened on Sunday and involved a nuclear-capable -- but unarmed -- Su-24 fighter aircraft that made a total of 12 flying passes close to the Aegis-equipped USS Donald Cook while it conducted patrol operations in the western Black Sea, the Defense Department told reporters. "The aircraft did not respond to multiple queries and warnings from Donald Cook, and the event ended without incident after approximately 90 minutes," department spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren was quoted as saying in a Pentagon press story. "This provocative and unprofessional Russian action is inconsistent with international protocols and previous agreements on the professional interaction between our militaries." A second Su-24 accompanied the first Russian fighter jet but did not make any passes, Warren said. …..............

Which makes this article that appeared in RIA NOVOSTI  (now SputnikNews) in August 2008 quite interesting.

Russia 'could destroy NATO ships in Black Sea within 20 minutes' ….... MOSCOW, August 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Black Sea Fleet is capable of destroying NATO's naval strike group currently deployed in the sea within 20 minutes, a former fleet commander said on Friday. ….... "Despite the apparent strength, the NATO naval group in the Black Sea is not battle-worthy," Admiral Eduard Baltin said. "If necessary, a single missile salvo from the Moskva missile cruiser and two or three missile boats would be enough to annihilate the entire group." "Within 20 minutes the waters would be clear," he said, stressing that despite major reductions, the Black Sea Fleet  still has a formidable missile arsenal. However, Baltin said the chances of a military confrontation between NATO and Russia in the Black Sea are negligible. "We will not strike first, and they do not look like people with suicidal tendencies," he said. ….....

No wonder EU and US have ruled out any military intervention on behalf of Ukraine. All the posturing and daily beating of drum of Russian intervention in Ukraine – though unproven - seem to be nothing but hot air. 

Even though NATO is hell bent on playing the game of chicken with Russia to test Russia's responses to their moves, they are not that stupid or suicidal to start World War III. But with the expansionist view and a desire to preserve the choke-hold of the Anglo-US financial system - with dollar as world reserve currency - on the world, you never know.

The incessant needling of the Russian bear is bound to have an angry reaction. And, if that happens, humanity is at stake.