NATO’s top military commander has said that if an adversary were to attack allied territory, his forces would respond by destroying “anything and everything” that supports or controls that force.
In his speech at the Warsaw Security Forum (WSF) on Monday, U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich did not mention Russia by name, but the warning comes at a time of rising tensions between European allies and Moscow.
Grynkewich, who is also the commander of U.S. European Command (EUCOM), said that while NATO is a defensive alliance constructed to preserve peace, “no one should mistake [its] defensive nature for weakness or lack of resolve.”
“If someone is foolish enough to attack us, we will fight. We will stop the attack and deny them the ability to achieve their objectives, whatever those may be,” he said.
“We will, in short, ensure any attack against any ally proves utterly futile.”
The NATO commander made clear that, should an adversary launch a military attack, an allied response would, if necessary, involve a kinetic response to “break the warfighting system engaged against” the bloc.
“This includes not just the attacking force itself, but anything and everything that supports, susta...