The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, says Europe is entering a “prewar” era, cautioning that the continent is not ready and urging European countries to step up defence investment.
In an interview with a group of European newspapers reported by the BBC, Tusk said: “I don’t want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept from the past. It’s real and it started over two years ago.”
Tusk’s comments came days after a Russian missile briefly breached Polish airspace during a major attack on Ukraine, prompting Warsaw to put its forces on heightened readiness. Ukrainian officials have said large-scale Russian missile and drone attacks had targeted energy infrastructure.
Tusk has been using his platform to try to add a sense of urgency to Europe’s debates about defence and aid to Ukraine, amid fears about the future of American assistance and concerns about defence industrial capacity.
you’re both making valid points - but I think Linker’s point was that “we simply don’t have the money to fight climate change” loses a bit of credibility when it suddenly appears to fight the bogeyman.
Fighting climate change takes systemic change, as to truly solve it we need to do away with extractive capitalism. Turning on the money taps to fund the military industry fits neatly within the current system.