At the same time, tensions in the Middle East have continued to rise. Israel's assault on Gaza continues; hostilities with Iran-aligned Hezbollah in Lebanon increase; and the US and the UK launched bombing raids on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen to halt raids on shipping in the Red Sea.
What are politicians and generals saying?
Adm Rob Bauer, the chair of Nato's military committee, said last month that it was "not a given that we are in peace" and that was "why we are preparing for a conflict with Russia and the terror groups if it comes to it" before the start of what the military alliance said was its largest exercise in decades, involving 90,000 troops.
Grant Shapps, the British defence secretary, used stronger language, arguing the cold war peace dividend was over and that the UK and its allies were "moving from a postwar to a prewar world" with idealism replaced by "hard-headed realism". It was time, he argued, for re-armament to protect Europe from "Putin's fury".
Esta historia es de la edición February 02, 2024 de The Guardian Weekly.
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