The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: flowers on March 05, 2014, 07:46:22 pm
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http://news.yahoo.com/us-bolster-military-support-poland-baltic-162411959.html
Washington (AFP) - The United States plans to expand military cooperation with Poland and Baltic states to show "support" for its allies after Russia's intervention in Ukraine, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel said Wednesday.
"This morning the Defense Department is pursuing measures to support our allies," including expanded aviation training in Poland and increasing the US role in NATO's air policing mission over Baltic countries, Hagel told lawmakers.
NATO's top commander and head of the US European Command, General Philip Breedlove, also planned to confer with Central and Eastern European defense chiefs, Hagel said.
"This is a time for wise, steady, and firm leadership," Hagel told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"It is a time for all of us to stand with the Ukrainian people in support of their territorial integrity and sovereignty, and their right to have a government that fulfills the aspirations of its people."
At the same hearing, General Martin Dempsey, the US military's top-ranking officer, said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov earlier Wednesday, urging "restraint."
"I conveyed to him the degree to which Russia’s territorial aggression has been repudiated globally. I urged continued restraint in the days ahead, in order to preserve room for a diplomatic solution," the general said.
Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he had also spoken this week to military chiefs in the Baltics and in Central and Eastern Europe.
What is going on? The admin is doing the right thing here.
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What is going on? The admin is doing the right thing here.
Maybe this partially makes up for the fact that they put Poland and the Baltic in peril by taking away the missile shield. **nononono*
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What is going on? The admin is doing the right thing here.
Maybe this partially makes up for the fact that they put Poland and the Baltic in peril by taking away the missile shield. **nononono*
Nah......internal pols must be horrible on this event. Obama NEVER does anything for the right reason. Always a political move by them.
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Nah......internal pols must be horrible on this event. Obama NEVER does anything for the right reason. Always a political move by them.
Yeah.............I'm afraid you're right about that............ :shrug:
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Still begs the question of whether, if push came to shove, would the US and NATO get into a shooting war with Russia if Russia entered one of the baltic states to "protect" ethnic Russians?
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Still begs the question of whether, if push came to shove, would the US and NATO get into a shooting war with Russia if Russia entered one of the baltic states to "protect" ethnic Russians?
There was a study by Jane's about 20 years ago which said that Russia will eventually attempt to recreate its empire by absorbing the former Soviet republics one by one, but it would not touch the Baltic states until last. By that time the West would be powerless to stop them and will not risk nuclear escalation which the Russians would threaten in an instant.
The only wild card would be the Chinese. There is a huge region that both the Russians and Chinese claim, the Maritime Region which is the are surrounding Vladivostok. If Russia had nothing else to do and the West wasn't a threat, their next objective would be to take the Chinese areas back by force.
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There was a study by Jane's about 20 years ago which said that Russia will eventually attempt to recreate its empire by absorbing the former Soviet republics one by one, but it would not touch the Baltic states until last. By that time the West would be powerless to stop them and will not risk nuclear escalation which the Russians would threaten in an instant.
The only wild card would be the Chinese. There is a huge region that both the Russians and Chinese claim, the Maritime Region which is the are surrounding Vladivostok. If Russia had nothing else to do and the West wasn't a threat, their next objective would be to take the Chinese areas back by force.
I dunno. Russia is going to have to start going after former SSRs that are now NATO members, and one of the little baltics might be a good first test case to see exactly how NATO is going to react.
The point about China is interesting. If the US & EU can muster up the will to put a serious hurtin' on Putin via real economic measures, that might weaken & distract Russia to the point where the Chinese decide that there are ethnic Chinese in Russian territory who now need "protecting." At that juncture, China could probably get away with it, too. Putin has made a very, very big bet on the weakness of the US and EU political will.
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Rudy told Sean Hannity at the top of the hour that we could put the world of hurt on easily if we'd export out excess gas to Europe and free them of depending on Russia for energy. He said right now in North Dakota we are burning off gas because we have such an excess.
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Rudy told Sean Hannity at the top of the hour that we could put the world of hurt on easily if we'd export out excess gas to Europe and free them of depending on Russia for energy. He said right now in North Dakota we are burning off gas because we have such an excess.
exactly. Russia has some very serious vulnerabilities on the economic front, but it will take some wits and some will from the US & EU to exploit those vulnerabilities to push Russia out of the Ukraine. Putin has simply made an informed wager that the will simply isn't there.
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exactly. Russia has some very serious vulnerabilities on the economic front, but it will take some wits and some will from the US & EU to exploit those vulnerabilities to push Russia out of the Ukraine. Putin has simply made an informed wager that the will simply isn't there.
and - so far - he would be right.
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and - so far - he would be right.
Sadly - yes.
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and - so far - he would be right.
more likely than not
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six planes and a tanker isn't a lot of support.
BTW we could return to saying we'll put missile defense shields in Poland, etc... aka the shield Bush approved and Bush killed...