NATO must prepare for all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years. A top NATO official said this.
Rob Bauer, a Dutch admiral, has warned that large numbers of civilians will need to be mobilized in case a larger war breaks out in Europe, and governments should put in place systems to manage the process, The Telegraph writes.
Bauer is the chair of the NATO Military Committee and talked to the press after a meeting of NATO defense chiefs in Brussels.
“We have to realize it’s not a given that we are in peace. And that’s why we (NATO forces) are preparing for a conflict with Russia. We need to be readier across the whole spectrum. You have to have a system in place to find more people if it comes to war, whether it does or not,” he said.
Bauer praised Sweden for asking its people to prepare for war ahead of the country formally joining the alliance.
“It starts there. The realization that not everything is planable and not everything is going to be hunky- dory in the next 20 years,” Bauer said.
