To NATO, in the Language of Power and Peace

O Confederation of the West— You were not born to conquer shadows, But to outlive them. Power is not noise, It is silence understood by all. You fear the bear in the east, But he was your brother once— Did you not share a winter once in Berlin’s broken breath? Yet now, You sharpen your swords Where olive branches once bloomed. He holds gas, grain, and grit— Energy, the blood of industry. Why then do you cut your own veins To prove that your heart still beats? Sun Tzu speaks: > “If you know the enemy and know yourself, You need not fear a hundred battles.” But what if the wisest war Is one never fought? The greatest general is not he who marches, But he who never must. You boast of unity—thirty blades drawn, But who feeds your people As they choke on cold debts and hollow stomachs? You send sons to distant deserts, While grandmothers burn bills for warmth. You say China is threat, Yet buy his silk, his circuits, his steel. Is this strategy? Or is it ego in uniform? The world no longer bows to gunpowder, But to algorithms, hydrogen, And trust. Machiavelli warns: > “A wise prince builds alliances with reason, Not resentment.” Do not call thunder to chase away whispers. For in chasing ghosts, You awaken giants. Peace is not surrender. It is the longest and hardest war— Where patience is the weapon, And dignity the shield. So listen, NATO: Conquer not by arms, but by architecture. Let the bridges you build Outnumber the bombs you store. For in a world wounded by empires, The true superpower Is restraint.