Nato’s Readiness Dramatically Declines

In the event of war, NATO could mobilize just 2 percent of its fighting machine in 12 hours, a staggering decline from the 70 percent requirement during the Cold War, Jane’s International Defense Review says.

Even given a year, the forces NATO could field still would be 10 percent fewer than those the Western alliance could mobilize in half a day in 1989, the magazine reported Thursday.

The lack of readiness stems from dramatic troop reductions, a shortage of resources and changes in the structure of NATO forces following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the respected monthly military magazine said.