Lord Cameron’s comparison of Putin to Hitler comes as the Foreign Secretary cautions that Europe is confronting a crisis reminiscent of 1938, sparking concerns about the world entering a ‘pre-war era’.
In a speech commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the intergovernmental military alliance, the former Prime Minister asserted that the West must once again assert the case for NATO.
The Foreign Secretary drew parallels between the present circumstances involving Russia and the situation Britain and France encountered during the 1938 Munich conference with Nazi Germany.
He said: ‘What we face today is as simple as then. We have a tyrant in Europe who is trying to redraw borders by force, and there are two choices. You can appease that approach or you can confront that approach.’
His remarks mirror those of Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, who contended that NATO allies must acknowledge that we are currently inhabiting a ‘pre-war environment’.
Shapps asserted that nations failing to allocate at least two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to defense are jeopardizing the future of the Western world, likening it to playing ‘Russian roulette’.
During his speech at an event held in Brussels by the Royal United Services Institute, Lord Cameron emphasized the necessity for NATO to showcase its ‘relevance’ to younger generations who did not experience the Cold War threat firsthand.
He continued: ‘I think we have to win the argument for NATO all over again with a new generation, a generation that can see, yes, look at the threat that Ukraine has faced from Russia, but I think we need to go back to a more foundational argument, which is this. Fundamentally, the greatness of NATO is it allows countries to choose their own future.’
He added: ‘I think that is the sort of incredibly strong, values-based argument that a younger generation can understand and see.’
In an article published in The Telegraph on Wednesday, Mr. Shapps made the case for “shoring up our defenses” and boosting military expenditure.
It has been a decade since NATO countries committed to allocating 2 percent of their GDP to defense, a target that 18 out of the alliance’s 32 members are projected to meet by 2024, a significant increase from just three members in 2014. Despite this progress, Mr. Shapps contends that it remains insufficient.
‘We must look beyond that target to shore up our defences. Yet some nations are still failing to meet even the two per cent. That cannot continue. We can’t afford to play Russian roulette with our future,’ he wrote for the newspaper.
