NATO forces have commenced a military exercise just beyond our borders, set to continue until June 9. The aim is to bolster their capabilities, organizational strength, and coordination in preparation for potential war scenarios.
The United States, intent on deepening its regional dominance through a series of political and diplomatic maneuvers, is now seeking to consolidate that hegemony further via its criminal apparatus—NATO.
But whom is this exercise targeting? Its allies? Non-member states? Or, as suggested in certain political and media circles, Turkey?
The answer is simultaneously all of the above—and none in particular.
Every actor within the increasingly fragmented imperialist system can draw its own conclusions from this drill. NATO member states, encouraged to raise their defense budgets to 5% of GDP; a Europe developing its own defense strategy; major players like China—all are closely observing and taking notes.
Yet the most significant message—and the gravest threat—is not directed at governments, but at the working people of those countries.
In a world rife with intensifying contradictions and escalating conflicts, the danger that these war rehearsals and their embedded signals might erupt into actual confrontation is always present—whether through calculated design or a momentary miscalculation.
This exercise serves as yet another reminder that, should such a moment arise, our country will find itself encircled by NATO forces and bases—by an imperialist military alliance that is, at its core, an enemy of the people. Even more alarming is the fact that this military presence is already embedded within our own borders.
The current NATO drill poses a threat not only to our own security, but also to the peoples of Greece, Bulgaria, and the other Balkan countries participating in the exercise. On both shores of the Aegean, the weapons deployed by NATO and the U.S. are ultimately aimed at the working class.
Whether in the Black Sea, the Aegean, or beyond, there is only one force capable of stopping war and disrupting NATO’s militarist agenda: an organized people standing resolutely against imperialist designs.
To build such a powerful resistance, we must first confront the fact that NATO is not merely a foreign policy concern—it is an internal issue. Despite its international character, NATO’s presence in our country cannot be viewed as external; it is deeply entrenched in our institutions and serves the interests of capital, posing a direct threat to the security of our people. This is where we must begin.
Turkey must withdraw from NATO. NATO must be expelled—its troops and bases entirely removed from our soil.
We must not allow either the ruling government or the opposition—both of whom pledge allegiance to NATO—to exploit the public’s anti-imperialist sentiments. Instead, we must stand against NATO and its proponents with the organized strength of the working class.
We must raise the anti-NATO voice in our country, unite it with the voices of the working people in other countries, and encourage them as well.
Only this unified voice of resistance can accelerate NATO’s expulsion and bring an end to imperialist aggression.
