What are NATO's Weak Points? A Warographics Analysis

Unlock the secrets of NATO's vulnerability! Explore the Suwalki Gap, a 65 km-wide strip between Poland and Lithuania, revealing the alliance's weak spot. Discover the strategic concerns that keep NATO planners awake at night!
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[@Ryuzakku]

One day Simon will notice that there's 2 "in"'s in Kaliningrad

[@NoahGreene-pp5wm]

Right?? That drove me insane lmao

[@Bassquake76]

Its actually Königsberg. So still one n! 😄

[@PresidentKamalaHarris.]

You seem to like his voice and how it sounds in your ears. He’s a grown man

[@AdastraRecordings]

LOL

[@I_eat_taylor_swifts_ass]

It's russia who cares? Chances are it'll be all leveled to ruble in the next 50 years

[@micahistory]

last time i was this early, Sweden wasn't in NATO

[@fintonmainz7845]

You are SO February 27 th!

[@silentdeath7847]

Well they technically are still not in nato if im not wrong

[@ericjohnson5617]

No threat to the east

[@julianshepherd2038]

​@@silentdeath7847practically have been for uears

[@silentdeath7847]

@@julianshepherd2038 werry true aswell 😂

[@Nturner822]

As an Aussie all I’ve seen is bushfires, floods, covid and war for the last decade and I’m pretty freaking over it…we need a global chill pill

[@cassandrakarpinski9416]

Seems like everytime the universe hits the reboot button on earth, things get worse.

[@kohtalainenalias]

Gods of war are curious to see how this turns out

[@DawnchaserTheAdventurer]

unfortunately, basically the exact same sequence of events happened in the 1910s and 1920s, and we ended up with WWII The rest of this decade is gonna be one helluva ride

[@kohtalainenalias]

@@DawnchaserTheAdventurer BS, the world is very different in so many ways that comparison is not fair.

[@DawnchaserTheAdventurer]

@@kohtalainenalias oh, so, the dustbowl, deadly flu pandemic, an economic crisis, and the rise of fascism *didn't* happen between the 1910s and early 1930s? My mistake, silly me

[@luminyam6145]

I just watched a video on Times Radio with a British general who said that he asked Estonia why the UK received so much help from them. Estonia said they were doing it so that the British would remember this when Estonia gets invaded by Russia.

[@ComaDave]

Saw that as well.

[@user-oy5mm3pb2g]

And the British have no army to protect London talk more of Estonia.

[@michaelcoward1902]

That's foolish...Britain remembers nothing after 1945...and what it remembers before that is mostly bullshit. Trust the English at your peril.

[@pedroivantaveraferreira3037]

​@@user-oy5mm3pb2g UK is an imperialist force, of course it focus more on overseas military might than domestic protection

[@mareansim]

​@@pedroivantaveraferreira3037former imperialist. They're in a great decline currently...

[@TheLaughingcrow]

I love that this is out of date already

[@robertedwards2959]

Really it was out of date when Finland joined NATO. Even more so with the Defense Cooperation Agreement between Finland and America.

[@patrickuotinen]

Well, almost. Sweden becomes officially member of NATO when the president of Hungary signs the ratification paper and it is delivered to Washington. But the newly-elect president Tamás Sulyok hasn't yet signed it.

[@George83_Thomas]

may i pet your dog

[@ToBeIsWasWere]

I believe he even had a little bit of time between the news and upload.

[@ToBeIsWasWere]

how did you get into my house@@George83_Thomas

[@pharmdiddy5120]

Ah yes and now we can finally count in Sweden for 32 :)

[@SEAZNDragon]

I can imagine the collective "Goddamit" within the Warographics team when Hungary dropped its objections and they still have this in the pipe.

[@saltzkruber732]

30 members you mean because neither hungary or turkey would help

[@Janoip]

Yes + for Ireland, yes not in Nato true, but in EU with that article 42.abs7 (the EU's mutual defence provision) Ireland dont have to follow it, but the other members can use it + Ireland can just give the access, but also true, the nation would need a good reason to do so, but economical & political ties, as also strategic interest would be enough i think What is Article 42.7? Article 42.7 is the mutual defence clause of the Treaty of the European Union. It derives from the Article 5 of the Brussels Treaty that created the Western European Union, a mutual defence organisation which was incorporated in the EU in 2011. It states that: “If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power, in accordance with article 51 of the United Nations charter” By naming “Member States” as opposed to the EU institutions, it provides for direct country-to-country dialogue and support, rather than involving potentially cumbersome EU institutions. It was introduced into the Lisbon Treaty at the instigation of those member states who supported a bigger role for the EU on defence matters. Particularly prominent amongst those advocating such an approach was Greece which, although protected by NATO’s similar Article 5 mutual defence clause, wanted an additional level of defence against long-standing rival Turkey, which belongs to NATO but not the EU. Article 42.7 differs from Article 222 of the Treaty of the EU which pledges solidarity in the face of terrorism, and from Article 5 of NATO. What does it require member states to do? At the simplest level, member states are required to provide aid and assistance, although the provisions don’t apply equally to all countries. The article contains the provision that it: “shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States” This means that countries with long-standing traditions of neutrality, like Ireland or Sweden, are not required to break these.

[@chriswarr3676]

@@CRAZEDMARINE I agree, but strategically we need them.

[@saltzkruber732]

@@CRAZEDMARINEWe should not do anything for them as they wont for us

[@TheXevanosTM]

The fact that Norway wasn’t particularly mentioned really surprised me, more so that Canada was. We have however increased our military budget quite alot, purchasing newer tech in form of transportation, new bases and such here in Norway. Good on.. us?

[@jackdenihan5333]

Listen Germany and UK are the 2 and 3 contributors to NATO 68m and 65m most. Poland is 9 with 29.1m 10 Canada is 28.95m America 860m Basically it’s cute that your trying but don’t hurt yourself trying to pat yourself on the back when your showing up late to the party after years of warnings

[@TheCountess666]

It means this channel at least didn't see Finland as a weak point. neutrality also works best if you have strong military to act as a deterrent so Finland's always taken its military very seriously.

[@Amelia-vk4jt]

​@@jackdenihan5333 it's not about gross money invested in the military. It's about the %GDP, Poland's economy is smaller than Canada's, yet they spend 4% of their GDP on military while Canada does 1.3% which is obviously under the 2%GDP threshold.

[@jackdenihan5333]

@@Amelia-vk4jt bruh yes it’s about the GDP but it is also definitely about the gross. Full on your dumb to say this example. NATO cried when America threatened to cut funding by 1% and we dive over 3% while we appreciate your efforts of giving more GDP end of the day money is spent in dollars not GDP and the amount they put in dollar per dollar is 28.95 to Polands 29.1 Billion. These are just facts how about try not being poor . We also shouldn’t give Germany much praise for finally hitting their 2% as they had to be threatened by Trump to do so and took 10 years after 2014 to pay their share meaning they ignored the problem and should owe more. Cry about GDP and gross then also tell me why we should praise a person who paid rent off for one year but is behind a decade

[@T.Andronicus142]

Norway never produced a global pop sensation in the 1970s. That makes Norway significantly less important than Sweden in the minds of international military analysts.

[@MrEsphoenix]

"They could fall to Russia in days". I feel like we've heard that before.

[@atishayritulpatwa]

And the Russian military is vastly ahead of NATO is modern warfare with drones, Turtle tanks, fab 3000 and a dozen other things. Russian will basically bankrupt Patriot by launching hundreds of FAB 3000 on Critical infrastructure in Baltics and Gotland. Which will basically get rid of most of stock Interceptors in war zone, if the military command chooses to intercept them all. That will leave them vulnerable to future X-52 or isakander strikes crippling and destroying major important military targets and thus getting rid of NATO’s ability to respond in the short term.

[@MrBuckman420]

As a Canadian, I'm personally ashamed of Canada's lack of military investment

[@maxbrundle1599]

But no one wants to fight or invade Canada. Some reason they are neither loved nor hated by any country

[@maxbrundle1599]

But I get your concern

[@playaz7777]

Canada was neutral and should stay like that we dont want war and nobody gonna invade

[@justonecornetto80]

BAE Systems is building 15 state of the art Type 26 frigates for Canada at a cost of $60 billion. My brother in law gave the brass of the RCN a tour of Govan shipyard where the Royal Navy's Type 26 are being built.

[@gingernutpreacher]

As a brit I'm ashamed at what we feed our troops

[@elkouste]

As Lithuanian I could say - it’s a little bit worrying, but we are preparing. Lord and the history itself knows what happens when Lithuanians and Polish people joining forces together. ❤

[@drewwar9344]

serious question Has your country began to move your museums artifacts either. To the western end of your country or out of country altogether Because a lot of ukrainian museums have been looted destroyed and their artifacts stolen I'm just curious if you guys have plans on protecting. Your historical artifacts

[@user-qj3rk4tu5p]

​@@drewwar9344 думаете, что все поступают как англичане? Не ну украинцы то понятно. Французы ещё Африку грабили.

[@rubenvd3913]

@@user-qj3rk4tu5pНа этот раз разделится Россия. Ваши солдаты слабы, ваше вооружение плохое, и после двух лет неудач и бессмысленного бросания волн солдат в мясорубку вы так и не победили долбанную Украину. Россия - это шутка, и я надеюсь, что ваш идиот-президент совершит ошибку, напав на НАТО. Я буду смеяться, когда твоя шутка о стране окажется бесплодной. Польша ранее оккупировала Москву. Помните об этом.

[@_braileanul]

​@@user-qj3rk4tu5pnbody caares about anything you're saying. Stop speaking that language

[@Zman44444]

Heh, just don’t attack your fellow sisters! 😆 I know the e-girl will stay in her room, but don’t harm us, the pagan forest singers! 😂 love from Latvia 🇱🇻 🇱🇹 🇪🇪

[@JamesofQPR]

Good stuff and extremely interesting! Thank you!

[@nickg1789]

This is a really good in-depth analysis 👏 simplified..Thanks

[@AugustKling]

Protection of Nato is just a joke. Sweden was sold to the corrupt US empire. Now the US empire is collapsing and the Swedes have to pay for the lost war against Russia.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:05 - Chapter 1 - The suwaklki gap 5:05 - Chapter 2 - Closing the gap 8:00 - Chapter 3 - Defending gotland 11:50 - Chapter 4 - Ireland's unguarded waters 16:15 - Chapter 5 - The frozen artic

[@evanray8413]

Suwalki*

[@evanray8413]

Arctic*

[@evanray8413]

Capital G for Gotland. Lol.

[@the_lynx_himself]

​@@evanray8413 Сувальский.*

[@evanray8413]

@the_lynx_himself Could you type that again please? No asterisk. Google isn't translating.

[@ungainlytitan1460]

The importance of the Suwalki Gap is much lessened now that Sweden is in NATO, he could have waited a few days and this one would have changed.

[@herptek]

Germany, Poland and Denmark can deal with the Russian Baltic fleet from the south and Sweden can deal with it from the north. Finland is finally free to focus on the Gulf of Finland.

[@HelicopterShownUp]

And waste the dozens/hundreds of hours that went into creating, editing and fact checking the script and then filming and editing the video? Especially when it will generate views and revenues either way. Hahahahaha

[@Shoelessjoe78]

​@@herptekhonestly the local fishermen can deal with the Russian Navy at this point.

[@herptek]

@@Shoelessjoe78 They can threaten maritime routes by sea to attack logistics and hamper with troop transport if they are not checked. They can also threaten tactical troop landings in support of their land operations if they not contained. They can of course also bombard land targets. Letting them act freely during wartime would be a serious mistake. Ukraine has taken the threat seriously, but their situation has been helped by the fact that Turkey has blocked the entrance of any reinforcements for the Russian Black Sea fleet into the theater of operations.

[@Shoelessjoe78]

@@herptek you must be fun at parties... Every joke right over your head.

[@mmkrk4071]

Suwałki gap is actually not as a big problem as media say. Russians in their wargames predicted that Poland will take over Kaliningrad region in about 24-48 hours if there will be any hostile activity from Russian or Belarussian side near Suwałki gap, or if Russia attacks Baltic States. It seems that Kaliningrad region became more of liability for Russia than an advantage.

[@concept5631]

Seems legit. Russia can barely project military force onto its direct neighbor with a land border. It loses Kaliningrad in a day tops.

[@Bike_Lion]

[citation needed]

[@jonathanandrews3381]

Well done. I appreciate the comprehensive education.

[@chrisyoung9653]

The UK had to chase a russian submarine away from cork in Ireland on 2 month ago and the irish didnt even know it was there.

[@eddiebottom37]

Irish too busy drinking Guinness lol

[@ProbablyNotLegit]

Nobody messes with our mates (sorry about history though) 🇬🇧

[@finneire1282]

​@@ProbablyNotLegit As an Irishman, I appreciate that 😂👍

[@niallkelly2990]

​@@eddiebottom37the fact that Guinness is "Ireland" national drink shows how much fight or national pride Irish people actually have and it's pretty much fuck all, a people who gave up its land, language and culture can't be trusted to defend themselves but it's ok sure we have the brits and sky sport's outta giving up totally worth it 😂😂😂

[@Janoip]

I have to say Ireland is kind of annoying, sucking hard on Hamas and being the reason that Apple, Google++ only pay a small share of their taxes in the EU and they do the best they can to stay a tax heaven.

[@xVMouseVx]

severing the america europe internet cable will finally allow me to casually play counter strike

[@CL_Hat]

Fucking legend.

[@openlyracist8055]

Hmm

[@thomasridley8675]

Well your channel does look like it was made by a 12 yr old. And your comment confirms it.

[@DoubleGoon]

Hah, that’s what you think!

[@pootincopes]

Lol

[@jakubstrumillo]

I was in 2022 at Gotland, they held massive training plans and train dog fights in the sky whole days. They prep as much as they can.

[@Phace313]

“Ameriker and Canader”😂😂 0:18

[@Agiantpansy]

>"On the eve of the Ukraine war, Russian TV aired a documentary boasting about how in a wider NATO-Russia conflict Russia would snatch Gotland Island" This would rely on Russian paratroopers spetsnaz, in the opening of the Ukraine war they (spetsnaz) couldn't manage to seize an airport 90 miles from their own border. The Idea that they could seize a whole island, one which the Swedes have been preparing for attack for years is a ludicrous pipe dream.

[@user-pj5tl5gf6l]

Spot on

[@backcountry164]

Especially since they're all dead now...

[@gregs7562]

​@@backcountry164😈

[@tombrunila2695]

And the Russian spetsnaz that were supposed to take Hostomel were slaughtered by an Ukrainian reserve unit! That added insult to injury!

[@ColdWarWarriors]

Totally wrong, it was taken, and held for weeks until ordered to withdraw.

[@JallenMeodia]

You had to release the video literally just after Sweden got the green light. 😅 Edit: Obviously I know it takes time to script, film, and edit these videos, but that's why it's funny. If it was released say two days earlier it would have been more accurate.

[@_braileanul]

It's still accurate. Sweden isn't in yet

[@deanfirnatine7814]

US, UK and Finland all have mutual defense pacts with Sweden, the UK and US signed them the minute Sweden applied to NATO. Both Turkey and Hungary have approved Sweden's entry into NATO now, Turkey got promised its F-16's it wanted from the US so it voted yes and Hungary got a bargain on more Gripen fighter jets from Sweden and Ukraine re-instated special status to the tiny Hungarian minority there so they voted yes as well, just some bureaucratic formalities remain. As for Greenland they cannot become independent unless Denmark would agree to continue to support them, they are 100% dependent on Denmark.

[@stephenmoerlein8470]

Interesting geopolitical analysis. Thanks for posting.

[@nekot9274]

POTECT THE INTERNET CABLE, WE CAN NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT SIMON!!!

[@johnmoorefilm]

Oh Simon! We really genuinely do love you! But it’s getting to be a good week for the cunning linguists amongst us : “Tan-ZAY-Nina”?!!! And now poor old Kaliningrad gets stiffed on a whole syllable!?😂❤

[@phizc]

I heard Tan-zania as just 2 syllables, but there might have been a "weak split" for the lack of a better word in the last part that I couldn't pick out.

[@Code_Exodus]

Neutrality only lasts so long as you make yourself such a costly target to engage that you become unappealing to aggressor forces. A porcupine without quills is just a free snack to everything else that comes by with teeth and a growling stomach.

[@iam5085]

Ukraine failed here.

[@Mortablunt]

This is why Ukraine should have signed the fucking neutrality agreement instead of perpetuating its Nazi war of aggression against the Russian people!

[@JetfireWithy]

I think Simon forgot about the Irish fisherman who banded together to tackle the Russian navy it's not much sure, But it's a good start. 12:50 Also this year the Irish and NATO are supporting each other for detecting, dirty Russian shenanigans with subsea cable. It's not a step towards NATO membership just cooperation.

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

As an American I appreciate that Poland and the Baltic states take defense seriously. I am a fan of NATO, but also find it frustrating that so much of Europe does not take it seriously.

[@Size12AdidasShoe]

thats bc the politicians are weaklings, to afraid to anger russia

[@Evolixe]

Its been mostly complacency I think. In the sense that the USA needs the EU for its economy about as much as the EU needs the USA for its military protection. I think both the EU nations and the USA have known this for decades and we've all been ok with it because there was never a thinkable scenario where NATO actually had to fight full scale conventional war with any adversary on continental Europe. The Ukraine invasion has woken up the peoples and the politicians prospects to defense.. we're just still trying to do it as painlessly as possible. Except for Poland and the Baltics, which is understandable because they *know* russian rule. I don't think the western EU is going to go into defense overdrive unless article 5 is invoked by a European nation to be honest. It still considers itself nigh invulnerable at present. The EU itself just has to be made to bleed first before it will treat its Defense seriously

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

@@Rexsuprime I stated that I appreciate all the states who take defensive seriously and it’s great to have some new members in the alliance who also make it a priority. The vast majority of Americans feel this way and just want everyone in the alliance to take it seriously, which is totally fair.

[@jeneden3533]

I think that is completely fair. As a resident of a country who is far below the 2%, I'm sure I would feel the same way if I were in your position.

[@kristofferhellstrom]

America also have a part to play why things are like this. Sweden for example was developing nukes but were told not to by the US. Sweden had the protection of the US.

[@clipmixhd4937]

Now we have NATO-Lake! Thanks Sweden!

[@user-po3ev7is5w]

It was before. Sweden was closely integrated militarily for quite a while. Swedish navy members and their families living in Hawaii...

[@kanoritaziuri]

Thanks for the video! I don’t know if it would an interesting topic for many viewers, but I’d also really love the same type of video about weak-spots and possible points of failure in Russia 😎😎

[@Cdr_Mansfield_Cumming]

I think that is actually called “Russia”.

[@TropicalBrick]

Just found the channel. These videos are so good.

[@charleskristiansson1296]

These videos are pro-war.

[@iainbarrowman9928]

Nagy comment. But, the background music is getting louder and more distinctive each video. Please, adjust the volume to allow better concentration on the actual content.

[@kyledabearsfan]

Agreed

[@hardheadjarhead]

Right? There was one video whose dramatic swelling drowned out what he was saying.

[@johnchristmas7522]

Remember, 1938 and Chamberlain and appeasement. We were so unprepared for WW2. HISTORY HAS A WAY OF REPEATING ITSELF WHEN YOU SHOW WEAKNESS. WE ARE VERY WEAK.

[@Atomy111]

Nobody reads the comments as they are too busy sweatshopping the other 80 channels simon is a talking head for

[@TheAmbex]

For Ireland. An EEC only acts as territorial waters below the surface. NATO would park a fleet of anti-sub frigates there.

[@baird5682]

Irelamd should still invest in it's navy, if anything. There's not many conscripts for navy because there's not that many ships.

[@bennettste]

@@baird5682 Ireland doesn't need to invest in its Navy. For all practical purposes its EEZ and airspace are protected by the RN and RAF.

[@baird5682]

@@bennettste it does not make sense to have your borders protected by your former occupier. I'm polish and I can't imagine poland relaying on german army to protect it borders from russia. And we are both Nato members

[@donkeysunited]

Ireland should definitely invest in its navy. And air force. And military radars. And army. Neutrality is no excuse - Finland and Sweden have extremely strong armies and they were neutral. Ireland has had economic success partly because it didn't have to invest in its military. The country is nearly broke now with massive debt and a crumbling health sector. It won't want to invest in military as well. But of the 6 ships available to the Irish navy, they only have enough manpower for 1 of them. Ireland has no military radar or missile technology. I think their aircraft have propellors. They have very good coast guard planes and helicopters at least. Britain's navy is also crumbling with limited firepower and manpower. And they are selling off early F-35 aircraft - surely those could be kept and used for interception of Russian bombers which usually have no escorts.

[@deancushen5822]

​@@baird5682Britain provokes countries and regularly goes to war. Let them foot the bill of protecting their "back door". Ireland is neutral and allied with as many countries as possible. Russia should be one and would be if we didn't have weak leaders kissing the arses of UK/US.

[@Makem12]

France, we need the Suwalki line built. I'd like to dub it Maginot 2: Electric boogaloo.

[@Shifticek]

Also France: "oh no, the russians walked around it by somehow going through Belgium"

[@Makem12]

@@Shifticek 😂😂😂

[@Gsoda35]

don't worry about that. I got a patch cable and some glue if anything happens.

[@rashkavar]

Ever since Ukraine was invaded, I've wondered how overstated the vulnerability of the Suwalki Gap is. NATO's logistical capacity is astounding, and Russia's has proven...rather lacklustre. There's also a lot of commentary about how the Suwalki Gap would become a chokepoint where NATO tanks and infantry are forced to cross under fire from both sides...which completely ignores the fact that NATO's military doctrine in historic practice has generally been to establish air supremacy as soon as possible and then bomb anything that looks vaguely threatening until the enemy are dead or hiding in caves and bunkers. This isn't to say NATO sees ground forces as obsolete, so much as they see the idea of sending ground forces into the teeth of artillery positions obsolete...because they've got the air power to flatten anything slower than a mortar team in pretty short order. Granted if the US has all their carriers and air force assets off elsewhere when Russia cunningly executes a surprise attack on the Baltics, a lot of that air power is gonna be spending some time getting there but...look up how fast these planes are. In that worst case scenario, the US would probably just have pilots fly themselves to air bases in Germany and Poland and tell them their stuff will catch up in a few days - that would cut the vulnerability window down to somewhere around 2 days. And if you're thinking "but they can't do that, Germany and Poland use different weapons systems, how will they resupply"...that's the entire point of the NATO standard munitions setup. It's all supposed to be cross compatible. I'm not saying "Russia please invade the Baltic countries" - very much please don't - and if they do, the first couple of days for the Baltic countries will be as harrowing as the first few days were for Ukraine...but then the hammer would come down on Russia, hard.

[@ryansauchuk7290]

How would Russia attack Ireland? Correction how would they attack Ireland in any way that wouldn't be immediately cut off and destroyed? Attacking the Baltics means taking the Suwalki gap which means fighting Latvia Lithuania Estonia and Poland simultaneously while contending with Sweden and Finland at the same time.

[@robertmax88]

I mean they probably could take that for some limited amount of time. but they certainly wouldnt hold it especially not without taking at least all the Baltic region

[@julianshepherd2038]

​@@robertmax88be easy to bring in an army and supply it with the British Navy watching Defence is easier than attack.

[@samuelsmith6776]

As Simon said its about the sheer amount of data cables running through its waters and their inability to defend it

[@Vaultboy-ke2jj]

Did you even watch the video?!

[@Larr3y]

The Russian where looking at cable to America

[@thomasroutson3046]

Excellent analysis!

[@devineartwork2827]

Canada has some new Type 26 ships being made, along with a new fleet of ice breaker military patrol vessels, but this is not enough. As of right now, the Navy here admitted that only ONE patrol vessel can be sailed at a time due to staffing issues. The problems run deep in Canada and it is embarrassing.

[@Cdr_Mansfield_Cumming]

The Type 26’s are mighty Frigates, or Corvettes as they appear.

[@ScentlessSun]

That scene in the video where it showed the light traveling through an undersea data cable, felt like it was going to give me a seizure. My head still feels funny after looking at that.

[@SeraphusInferis]

Missed Sweden (and the formation of Lake NATO) by only a few hours...

[@openlyracist8055]

The block has a simple issue, and I noticed it when we worked together. The top brass are ill-informed and are trained on old standards. They don't adjust and rely on the lower staff to address any issues that arise when out in the field. This means problems compound until an officer can address them, instead of being addressed directly.

[@eamonryan2198]

As an Irish person, I agree with your assessment of our defence capability, which unfortunately is a near zero as dammit. As a Polish friend of mine says, the "ah sure we'll be alright" phraseology is worthless. If our neutrality is important it's worth defending. I've been saying this to any member of the body politic who will listen, for quite a few years but I haven't had much success. We're happy not being a NATO member, but at the same time living in the shade of the NATO umbrella. The Russian cyber attack on our Health Service IT system should have been warning enough that there are hostile players out there who could make life quite uncomfortable for us with little enough effort. We need to get serious, improve and upgrade our defences and then join NATO.

[@ImplodingSubmarine]

As a fellow Irish national, I agree with everything you've said, except with joining NATO. Our membership of the PFP programme is enough.

[@HopefulNewGuitarist]

Ireland could spend all it's money on protecting those cables and it still couldn't protect them. The vast majority of the cables run through neutral waters

[@Plaprad]

One thing that's misunderstood was discussing Article 5. It's a lot more complicated than "You attack one of us, we all fight to the death." It was specifically written in a way that even in the event of an attack, no one is legally required to fight with you. If you go to NATOs webpage, they actually discuss this. When the Articles were written, most European nations wanted it worded so that any military attack would force the US to come fight for/with them. Meanwhile, the US didn't want to be required to fight in every war. So there's a bit of wiggle room with Article 5. It's also dependent on the nation. In the US, only Congress can declare war. The article is written so that if an attack occurs, Congress has the time to vote, and can actually vote not to get involved militarily. So each country has to go through their specific actions for declaring war, and has the ability to bow out if they feel necessary.

[@drewwar9344]

True , but article 5 also states that a country does not have to help out Military wise it states that a country could and should help in a way they deem fit for themselves. Meaning supplies equipment food medicine. All these things would be considered. Fulfilling the article five Obligation I haven't read it in a while, but I'm pretty sure even A.condemnation of a enemy country attacking a fellow nato member is considered acceptable under article 5

[@sushimuncher282]

Given the state the current world is in, and the info y'all provided here, Article 5 seems like a weak link for NATO. Under the assumption that NATO is exhausted of munitions for Ukraine, Article 5 can do nothing if Russia wakes up one day and decides to conquer Europe.

[@kevinmurray7789]

@@sushimuncher282 It seems to have escaped you that Russia is also exhausted of munitions for their murderous actions in Ukraine, to the extent that they are begging them from the likes of North Korea.

[@Hattonbank]

@@kevinmurray7789Maybe so, but Russia is producing 40$ more artilery shells than all NATO countries combined, even the US. North Korea tops up that amount. For every shell that Ukraine fires, Russia can fire ten. They are on a war footing, NATO is on a peacetime footing.

[@eroche913]

As an Irishman, I wouldn't argue with any of this. If we aren't to join NATO (and opinion polls suggest we aren't anytime soon), then at a minimum we need to upscale to be able to protect all of our own yard, including the extensive seas and skies.

[@oxtristynxo583]

I live in TN, USA and i fly all three flags on my wall Tennessee, USA, and NATO there is none of the 3 i see more of my ally than the other I will defend Vilnius LITH as much as Dayton TN

[@holdforth724]

The cohesion of NATO has never been tested versus an adversarial super power, that's what concerns me.

[@pgbrown12084]

I think our biggest trial will be choosing the right allies to get behind. Our historical allies are just simply not reliable. I hope U.S leaders are smart enough to figure that out and choose to back the Eastern and Northern European countries.

[@K1forMVP]

They were just tested and immediately unified and came together as a strong unified block. If Russia was stupid enough to attack a NATO State America would most definitely respond militarily .

[@justinfowler5761]

Ukraine has been holding off Russia for two years. I think we can manage.

[@1adamuk]

Yeah, that's the real potential weak point.

[@user-po3ev7is5w]

Well, there is no other superpower than the USA so...

[@TheAidanodian]

We’re at such a rapidly evolving point in history that this video, which no doubt was written within the last week, is already outdated less than 10 hours later.

[@aaroncrowe3529]

In Ireland of those 6 patrol ships we only have the manpower to man 1 at a time, the other 5 are sitting in port in cobh

[@jessesandoval7326]

So many thousands of video uploads form Simon, and the best we get on this one is “Kalingrad”, instead of “Kaliningrad” 😂

[@user-fp2gr4ic3x]

u did a spelling mistake to!!! from and not form should it be ha ha!

[@yootchoobe]

Kalingrad and Villy-noose 🤣🤣 _and_ "mare nostrum" was mispronounced too 😏

[@ChristianConrad]

@@user-fp2gr4ic3x : Difference being, @jessesandoval7326 did it _once_ in a frigging _YT comment;_ not tens of times over in a 20-minute video that he's making his living from. Do you have any more stupid non-equivalent parallells to go "ha ha!" over?

[@bikeman9899]

I am beyond frustrated with Ireland's policy of neutrality. The govt want to do more, but the public is opposed to substantial military spending or even alliances. Perched on the western edge of Europe, ppl don't see any real threat. Unlike our friends in Scandinavia , the Baltics, and Poland, the Russian threat seems remote to the man on the street. This despite the multiple suspicious Russian ships of the Irish coasts, the snooping around the data cables , the apprehension of Russian spies on the west coast where the cables come ashore, and a brazen plan to expand their embassy in Dublin to a size completely inconsistent with normal consular activities. IRL needs to begin educational efforts to make ppl aware, so the military can be made task ready. It is beyond embarrassing that we rely on the UK for defense in deeo water and air intercepts.

[@WjfhdhShshshsh]

Key word Friends We aren't your friend, the only country to ever invade us I'd uk and still owns our land why tf would we side with them

[@sean_d]

I agree that our maritime capability is embarrassing. We cant even protect against drug smugglers properly. I would love to see a major upgrade, however let's be clear, there is no way we could achieve a military capability that would change the outcome against a major power. And to become a part of NATO with the required spending would be unacceptable politically. Perhaps an investment in drones and maritime monitoring with bouys and a satellite would be a cost-effective way to up the game.

[@kylewilliston3835]

As a Canadian, I'm glad we are building the arctic partol ships but that's us playing catchup. I'm a big proponent of Canada trying to get in on what AUKUS has planned with nuclear-powered submarines. Those are badly needed to protect our arctic territory. Could certainly be used elsewhere if the need arises too.

[@drewwar9344]

Or get rid of your Current constitution tear down your government structure and petition to join the US I mean you have a lot to offer maple syrup, moose and Poutine And the last point might be the only one. You have to make because it is too delicious😂😂😂

[@SueFerreira75]

@@drewwar9344 If Trump regains the White House, the US will leave NATO and side with Russia. Also, with the chaos in the US, most countries are planning to move further from the US, not closer.

[@IRBry]

i like the guitar loop near end

[@hardheadjarhead]

This was released 6 hrs ago. Sweden has been in NATO now about 48 hours.

[@Fluxwux]

Sweden is not yet in NATO… Hungary’s president and speaker of the house must approve the parliament vote, then send that document to Washington via airplane where officially the US in return can “invite” Sweden to join NATO - which Swedens government and NATO leadership must sign. Then Sweden is in NATO. This process will happen next week and take about 2-3 days but if Russia attacks tomorrow, Sweden still lacks protection by NATO.

[@nielsdaemen]

*Kaliningrad not Kalingrad!*

[@DanBeech-ht7sw]

Konigsberg

[@rock280258]

I am glad you pointed out the Irish people do not particularly care about NATOs security. In a world where Russia losing means WWIII, you can all continue worrying while we Irish will drink and enjoy our peace.

[@blazedonakayak5053]

Funny thing I actually work on an old air base(McClellan in North Highlands, California if u wanna look it up) and the military has been moving a bunch of aircrafts over seas from the base 🫢

[@LGM1994]

You should rename the video “tips on starting ww3”

[@jfiery]

Having Irish ancestors it pains me to say it, but neutrality is one thing but refusing to invest anything in your defense makes you parasitic.

[@LeMerch]

We literally didn’t have money.. you know we went bankrupt in 2008…

[@jfiery]

@@LeMerch that's unfortunate. It doesn't change the facts. You went bankrupt despite not spending on defense. When a nation relies on others for 100% of their protection they are either a parasite or a colony. And in Ireland's case it's a bit of both I guess regardless of the chest thumping.

[@kingslayer3796]

Lol "Kalingrad" and "Canader" are really getting to me

[@WoJackHorseman24]

These shared vulnerabilities affect both sides. Kaliningrad and Gotland are proximate to each other. With Sweden joining NATO, the US might already be strategizing to establish a base on Gotland, enhancing its defenses and providing surveillance over Kaliningrad. While the Suwalki Gap might be thinly populated and offer tank-friendly terrain, it also poses challenges for Russia to maintain control. Kaliningrad finds itself encircled by NATO, raising the specter of potential siege if conflict were to erupt

[@olivere5497]

What I like about NATO is that it sounds like a Scotsman saying to doctor where the pain in his foot is occuring. 'Nae, toe!'

[@FrankSchweppe]

Well... As of yesterday, 7 february 2024, Sweden is officially a NATO country and its flag is now flying in front of NATO headquarters.

[@satakrionkryptomortis]

in terms of spending money for military there should be a coefficient reducing that for neglect of citizens.

[@kegemac]

Is that pronunciation of Kaliningrad used widely? (In this video, I only hear one "in" - Kalin instead of Kalinin)

[@raptor1672]

NATO seriously needs to think about about expanding past the Atlantic part, adding say South Korea, Japan and Australia would help them massively.

[@baddbabylon]

All of those countries have mutual defense agreements with the U.S. - that would be the sole reason they would join & they already have that. Why would Japan want to send troops to war over Albania or Estonia? NATO gains far more by them joining then they gain; if they did join, Europe would just continue to rest on it's laurels

[@raptor1672]

@@baddbabylon You do realise Russia extends to the Pacific right? Also Article 5 would be really useful in controlling China.

[@justonecornetto80]

There used to be a Pacific equivalent of NATO called SEATO but it was dissolved in 1977. The collective defence treaty however still exists to this day. Expanding NATO to the Pacific would be a non starter because many current members have no strategic interests there. Resurrecting SEATO and including in it the right countries in it so it doesn't shake itself apart like it did the last time would be more sensible.

[@stevenburgess2856]

Ireland? Don't make me laugh. That lot sent condolences to Germany on the death of Hitler.

[@ciaranloughran9314]

And?

[@stevenburgess2856]

@@ciaranloughran9314 And? Ireland should stick to do what it does best. Moaning and jew-baiting.

[@fredyellowsnow7492]

@stevenburgess2856 That was Dev, a strange individual.

[@malahammer]

And as for Londongrad offering a safe haven for Russian oligarchs and looking after trillions of dollars for them. Do not be a hypocrite.

[@shaneryan9076]

Yes the actions of Devalera in 1945 sums up the entire country, guessing your welsh by your flag so you must go around banging sheep all the time

[@damop4420]

It feels like I've watched this before, like a number of months ago.

[@lance2465]

The main weak point of NATO is reliance on USA. Europe needs to ramp up their military infrastructure. They need to produce everything they need. They must act like the USA does not exist anymore and need to learn to defend themselves. The USA is an unreliable ally and will leave NATO if Trump becomes president of the USA again. The EU and NATO need to learn to defend themselves without USA’s help.

[@christopherhennings6615]

Currently, NATO is a paper tiger.

[@consti9641]

Still less of a paper tiger than Russia or China probably, although I do agree when you compare most of European countries to the US

[@malahammer]

Russia and China don't even want to think about this paper tiger of yours. Some paper tiger ffs!

[@ZombieMurdoc]

Whoever edits your audio needs to adjust your settings, every time one of your videos starts it's like being trapped in a box with the Metatron

[@RusselTanTing-kf8zm]

You should also mention the White Sea canal that can connect the Russian Arctic Northern Fleet with the Russian Baltic Western Fleet.

[@toadof66.58]

Great video

[@tylerharris6137]

The GDP of Florida (2022 1.4T) is almost the size of Russia’s GDP (2021 1.7T)… I know we’re talking Billions of dollars difference but still just remarkable none the less. It opened my eyes to just how much distance there is between the US and most of the world.

[@rextidashi1585]

The social media GDP instead of real stuff, you fool

[@yermanoffthetelly]

You're not comparing like for like, When you adjust Russias GDP for different price levels (Purchasing Power Parity) the figure is $5.2T, that's roughly x3 times Australias. It's still only around a fifth of the US but it's not an insignificant figure either.

[@doctorbjones2283]

"Most scenarios see the Baltic capitals falling within days." These are probably the same scenarios that predicted the fall of Kiev within days. And I was one of them, but seriously every military prediction made before 2022 has to be thrown out. And even if Russia and Belarus were able to open a corridor to Kaliningrad, so what? Finland and Sweden come charging in from the North, Poland and Germany (there's an odd combination) from the south and the Russians are wiped out in a Smolensk-level disaster.

[@tommarney1561]

We can't count on Russia repeating the astonishing military incompetence that they displayed when initially invading Ukraine.

[@operaatio5117]

My problem with NATO has always been HOW article 5. is written. It really leaves to the helper to decide what kind of help they give. So technically 500 hot dogs per day as military aid is sufficient.

[@Dominyk1000]

Suwałki Gap is less of an issue since Finland joined NATO and once Sweden officially soon joins too it will be even less of an issue.

[@user-pe9qg3hg3k]

Amazing, i live exactly where this arrow points between two major cities.

[@matthewhattersley1286]

There's a lot of alarmist bs around those cables BTW. Just go looks at the subsea cable maps. There are many many alternative routes. Disruption yes. But not much beyond.

[@jfurl5900]

Two weeks before the Ukraine invasion the Russians held an "exercise" in Irish waters in the area around the cables . They were mobbed by fishing boats and then they left but I have always wondered about what went on in the background.

[@DAH-ss1nu]

How about turning it around? I'd like to see a video showing the strategic weak points of Russia and China. If the US/NATO is going to counterattack - where would they do it at?

[@scott3017]

I think a major weakness is the fact that the NATO treaty doesn't cover sovereign territories in the Pacific. If China attacked Hawaii, for example, NATO is not obliged to respond.

[@keatedespain4045]

If you were thinking of Guam I would agree with you but the island chain of Hawai’i is a US State, not a sovereign territory.

[@MisterKnightly]

I absolutely knew that at some point Simon was going to mention Canada! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🍁🍁🍁🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🥞🥞🥞

[@jackuzi8252]

Improved infrastructure through the gap sounds good, but a rail line can be taken out with missiles and glide bombs (or even artillery if it's close enough). To keep the damage from being quickly repaired, this could be followed up with remotely-deployed mines at the strike sites. To delay things even further, the sites could be hit with some kind of persistent skin-absorbed chemical weapon (mustard agent). Combined, this might buy Russia a week before significant forces from Poland can be brought in.

[@coinneachreid8971]

Interesting to note the problem with the data cables in Irish waters. Telegraph cables in the same part of the world played a pivotal role in WWI (The Zimmerman Telegraph)

[@consti9641]

Hungary and Austria would have been interesting as well. If Orban would allow tanks to go through or choose not to defend against Russia, Austria being very weak militarily and not in NATO would loose its territory for sure.

[@zoltancsernus67]

And then comes Liechtenstein as a next victim of Russia. Switzerland may have better chances.

[@henryjoe4477]

Listen to this dude at your own peril 😂😂 This was the dude so excited about storm shadows as the game changer last year 😂😂

[@googlehomemini2059]

Hey Simon, here on continent island, we laugh at your “biggest island on earth..” 😜❤️

[@Mistaking03]

Cellphone service out last week. It was pandemonium. Just waiting for the power and water next.

[@Provocateur3]

Chyna in Greenland is what's called the ever so very thin edge, of the wedge.

[@justskip4595]

6:43 HEY a foreigner said it correctly this time! Greetings from Finland. Not a single time in my life have I heard here us being described as neutral by anyone because we were speaking of us as militarily non allied as we definitely weren't neutral. I seem to remember this guy calling us neutral before but looks like his script writers, some other member of staff or he himself corrected that. Nice!

[@greybuckleton]

A high speed rail network seems like the kind of thing that would get hit on day 1 of any war?

[@ockie50]

Simon, big fan of your videos. Would just like point our that you called the enklav Kalingrad which is not correct.It should be Kaliningrad (KalinINGgrad).

[@goofixful]

great content as always, but could you please lower the volume of the background music or ideally get rid of it entirely, it just distracts

[@calebbrooks1037]

11:41 I feel like you probably should have annunciated the "r" in Ireland a little better considering you were just talking about Gotland. I think you were talking about Åland for a bit there

[@gssbcvegancat2345]

So I'm not sure if people watching this understand but small fast approach vectors that limit space are actually part of American doctrine when it comes to war fighting. Essentially any military or group that has to move their troops over ground presents an opportunity for air dominance. Basically look at what America did with movement during desert storm. Or what do we call it the highway of death? Just imagine if say Russia did one of their 10-mile long columns with a Hunter group of a10s and f-22s/35

[@oldreprobate2748]

It all really depends on who has the air and artillery superiority doesn't it..

[@seandavies3282]

Simon, as a Canadian. The American subs have been under our northern waters for decades. Not a fan of them as of trump, Bidin has helped lol. If anything happens at or under the water, pretty sure we will all know brother. Their capacity for detection is surely affective. I have no fears of our waters for the submarines. Bless those people ❤