Winning a modern war does not rely only on combat victories field, but also the state of the economy, said the head of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer, quoted by Ukrinform. He stated this at a conference of the Alliance's Military Committee held in Prague, BTA reported.
NATO allies should support Ukraine and at the same time strengthen their defense system, he added.
„NATO's military authorities have two major tasks to deal with simultaneously. As we continue and increase our support for Ukraine, we must also strengthen our own deterrence and defense capabilities… The responsibility for freedom does not rest solely on the shoulders of men in uniform. To succeed, we need a much larger production capacity of the defense industry. Because, while the military may be winning the battles, it is the economy that is winning the wars”, said Bauer.
According to him, NATO currently has 500,000 military personnel on high alert and Allied Response Forces have been created.
„The more we coordinate our defense production, the more we increase our deterrence capabilities,” Bauer said.
The admiral emphasized that economic cooperation is a key factor of the Washington Treaty, signed 75 years ago. And while its Article 5 is often the center of attention, Article 2 is just as important because in liberal economies most of the power belongs to the “market”.
According to Bauer, it is necessary to realize that the prosperity of a democratic society is based on the security guaranteed by NATO.
He stressed the need to remove bureaucratic barriers in the defense procurement system and to strengthen cooperation between NATO governments and the private sector to increase the production of defense products.
The admiral recalled that NATO allies represent 50% of the world's economic power and 50% of the world's military power.