Politicians are the talking heads here. Our military leadership, in at least the oldest of the NATO states, know exactly what they're doing. The military, in the US at least, doesn't talk to the public except through the president, or very few, select press hearings with very high-level brass, and what they say is almost always directed at the international opposition (China and Russia) and as such never reflects the true strategy. I fully believe that NATO is maneuvering to destabilize Russia, and that their goal is regime change.