Western military planners do not seem eager to discuss their nightmare scenario, let alone prepare for it. But they tend to agree on how it would start: a coordinated, almost simultaneous attack in opposite parts of the planet, where Russia targets a NATO member in Eastern Europe, while China makes a move against Taiwan. The American military would have to react on two fronts at once, even three, if it remains at war in the Middle East, according to an analysis by The Atlantic.
NATO strategies recognize the threat of a two-front war, but have not taken measures.
Until recently, this possibility was situated at the more extravagant end of the threat spectrum, somewhere between a mistakenly launched nuclear weapon and an alien invasion. Synchronized attacks would require a conspiracy too large for Beijing and Moscow to be able to hide.
Satellites would allow these forces to position themselves, giving the United States and its allies time to mobilize their defense. About a year ago, General Alexus Grynkewich, the supreme commander of NATO in Europe, issued a rare public warning about the risk of a two-front war against Russia and China, and called on European allies to help the US prepare.
But when The Atlantic asked a series of military experts and strategists what the West would do in such a situation, the answers sounded surprisingly lacking in substance. Most of them expressed their bewilderment and some shame about how little has been done in recent years to study this risk in detail.
“Let’s just say that this is the scenario for which we are not currently prepared,” said Florence Gaub, the director of the research division at the NATO Defense College, one of the alliance’s main officer academies, in Rome.
NATO strategies remain “very aware” of this gap in their planning, added Gaub, specialized in forecasting and analyzing future threats. But they have not taken measures to fill this gap.
Read more HERE