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US Fortifying Eastern Europe
So reports The New York Times:
President Obama plans to substantially increase the deployment of heavy weapons, armored vehicles and other equipment to NATO countries in Central and Eastern Europe, a move that administration officials said was aimed at deterring Russia from further aggression in the region.
The White House plans to pay for the additional weapons and equipment with a budget request of more than $3.4 billion for military spending in Europe in 2017, several officials said Monday, more than quadrupling the current budget of $789 million. The weapons and equipment will be used by American and NATO forces, ensuring that the alliance can maintain a full armored combat brigade in the region at all times. …
… outside analysts were surprised by the magnitude of the increase in military funding for Europe, which is part of an overall budget request of $580 billion for the Pentagon. …
… “This is a really big deal, and the Russians are going to have a cow,” said Evelyn N. Farkas, who until October was the Pentagon’s top policy official on Russia and Ukraine.
Your thoughts?
Published in Foreign Policy, Military
A repeal of the reset.
After this year’s election Obama will have much more flexibility.
I’m glad we’re doing it, but I hope we’re prepared for the many ways Putin could “have a cow.”
The aid to these countries is simply a bargaining chip, a capitulation in the making. Kerry is probably already working on the terms of a historic agreement whereby we promise never to help anyone in Europe ever again in exchange for Russia’s promise to remind us of our promise to run away.
I don’t quite get why we’d bring Montenegro into NATO if that were the plan.
It’s about time. Now let’s see how he can mess it up.
If we can sell out the Czechs & Poles over strategic missile defense, adding one more small country to the list of those we pretend to support is not a big deal. Also, you are attempting to read some affirmative coherence into a policy that is merely a series of ad hoc gestures designed to cover a broad retreat.
Eds.,
Reset the Russians, Arab Spring, Chinese Regional Hegemony, Door off the hinges Immigration, Quantitative Easing Infinity, and the old traditional Sack the Military.
What could be wrong with this?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
There, I feel better now.
Regards,
Jim
From TASS
Naryshkin said Russian people could not understand or were surprised by Montenegro’s bid to join NATO given the tragic events of 1999 when the republic came under NATO air strikes. “People who now live in Montenegro saw with their own eyes NATO attack aircraft, missiles, bombs killing residents of Montenegro, sparing neither children nor women,” the speaker noted. “From the point of view of international law, it is absolutely fair to state that the North Atlantic Alliance committed war crimes on the territory of today’s Montenegro, and they remained unpunished,” he added. He said it could be clearly seen at the moment that Montenegrin leadership’s bid to join NATO caused a deep split in the society of that Balkans country.
More:
http://tass.ru/en/politics/853701
Mixed. I figure he got forced into it. There’s no rational precedent for assuming a pro-American purpose in this. And the last thing I want is more troops subject to this Commander-in-Chief.
Probably. I reckon someone sat him down and said, “Mr. President, you may be able to persuade a lot of people that the mess in the Middle East and Afghanistan is all Bush’s fault. But if Putin invades the Baltics on your watch, people might notice that the only thing all these situations have in common is you.”