I'm John Batsch with my colleague Anatole

of the Quincy Institute for Responsible State Craft.

Steadfast Defender 2024 is the name of the NATO exercise underway until May, from now till May. 90,000 troops occupying parts of the Baltic states.

I'm told that Germany will be included in the exercise, Poland, certainly.

This is a way of reviving the capability

and asking questions about NATO's interoperability, who shows up with the right equipment.

I note that Brussels recently announced, NATO announced that it is approved to 1.X billion euro purchase of ammunition, some of which

won't be delivered until 2025. So NATO organizing itself, Why? Because there are headlines that look to me to be

unusual out of London Telegraph such as public face call-up if we go to war, military chief warns, or Ukraine

conflict shows calling up public can win war, says the UK Army Chief, or Rizunak saying we're going to stand by Ukraine

no matter what else anybody does it would appear Anatole that there's a war fever at least in the Conservative Party which dominates

Parliament is it genuine what's it based on does it connect a steadfast

defender are we looking at NATO all of a sudden gaining teeth?

Well, I think we are looking at NATO gaining more teeth when it comes to the defense of NATO.

And very important from that point of view

has been the deployment of German troops in particular to the Baltic states.

Because of course that means that if...

which by the way I don't think Russia has the slightest intention of doing, but if Russia attack the Baltic states, then German soldiers would be killed and then, you know, NATO would inevitably be drawn in.

And you know, at that point, yes, I mean, Russia would be at war with NATO.

And it's true that you know the European

NATO forces are pretty weak and symbolic. But then of course as we've seen in Ukraine, the Russian army was and remains

far weaker than anyone thought. I mean, you know, the Russians are inching forward and the war of

...