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The US is sabre rattling --- again. The question is, will the US people fall for it --- again.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 1:47 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Militarization Of Scandinavian Peninsula: Time To Ring Alarm Bells

Created 08/01/2017 - 03:30

Much has been said about NATO reinforcements in the Baltic States and Poland perceived in Moscow as provocative actions undermining security in Europe, while very little has been said about gradual but steady militarization of Scandinavia. The theme does not hit headlines and it is not in focus of public discourse but one step is taken after another to turn the region into a springboard for staging offensive actions against Russia.

[5]

Ørland [6] in southern Norway is being expanded to become Norway’s main air force base hosting US-made F-35 Lightnings – the stealth aircraft to become the backbone of Norwegian air power. Norway has purchased 56 of such aircraft. F-35 is an offensive, not defensive, weapon. The nuclear capable platforms can strike deep into Russia’s territory.

Providing training to Norwegian pilots operating the planes carrying nuclear weapons, such as B61-12 glider warheads, constitutes a violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) [7] of 1968. Article I of the NPT prohibits the transfer of nuclear weapons from NWS (nuclear weapons states) to other states: «Each nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices». Article II requires NNWS (non-nuclear weapons states) not to receive nuclear weapons: «Each non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to receive the transfer from any transfer or whatsoever of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or of control over such weapons or explosive devices». How can Russia be sure that these aircraft don’t carry nuclear weapons when there is no agreement of any kind in place to verify compliance with the NPT?

Ørland is located near Værnes - the base that hosts 330 US Marines. In May, the base hosted the biennial NATO military exercise «Arctic Challenge Exercise 2017» to involve over 100 planes from 12 nations. It was the first time a US strategic bomber (B-52H) took part in the training event.

The choice of the base was carefully calculated to keep the planes away from the reach of Russian Iskander missiles (500 kilometres) but no location in Norway is beyond the operational range of Kalibr ship-based sea-to-shore missiles and aircraft armed with long-range air-to-surface missiles.

In June, Norway’s government announced [8] that the decision was taken to extend the rotational US Marine Corps force stationed at Værnes through 2018. The move contradicts the tried-and-true Norwegian policy of not deploying foreign military bases in the country in times of peace.

Also in June, the United States, United Kingdom and Norway agreed in principle to create a trilateral coalition built around the P-8 maritime aircraft to include joint operations in the North Atlantic near the Russian Northern Fleet bases.

Norway is to contribute into NATO ballistic missile defense (BMD) system by integrating its Globus II/III radar in the Vardøya Island located near the Russian border just a few kilometers from the home base of strategic submarines and 5 Aegis-equipped Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates. The radar construction is underway. The Vardøya radar can distinguish real warheads from dummies. Another radar located in Svalbard (the Arctic) can also be used by US military for missile defense purposes.

The country’s ground forces are stationed in Lithuania as part of a NATO multinational force under German command.

Sweden, a close NATO ally, has been upgrading its military with a sharp hike in spending. Last December, the Swedish government told municipal authorities to prepare civil defense infrastructure and procedures for a possible war. The move was prompted by the country’s return to the Cold War-era ‘Total Defense Strategy’. In September, 2016, 150 troops were put on permanent service on the island of Gotland to «defend it from Russia». Sweden maintained a permanent military garrison on Gotland for hundreds of years until 2005.The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) has ordered a review of 350 civilian bunkers on the island. The shelters are designed to protect people against the shock wave and radiation from a nuclear detonation, as well as chemical and biological weapons.

In March, Stockholm announced plans to reintroduce compulsory military service abandoned in 2010. The conscription will come into force on January 1, 2018.

Sweden said [9] in June it wishes to join a British-led «Joint Expeditionary Force», making Swedish participation in a general European war all but inevitable.

This month, the Swedish military announced [10] plans to conduct its largest joint military exercise with NATO in 20 years. Called Aurora 17, the training event is scheduled for September. The drills will take place across the entire country but focusing on the Mälardalen Valley, the areas around cities of Stockholm and Gothenberg and on the strategic island of Gotland [11]. More than 19,000 Swedish troops will take part along with 1,435 soldiers from the US, 270 from Finland, 120 from France and between 40-60 each from Denmark, Norway, Lithuania and Estonia.

In June, Russian President Putin warned [12] «If Sweden joins NATO this will affect our relations in a negative way because we will consider that the infrastructure of the military bloc now approaches us from the Swedish side».

In June, 2016, Finland took part in NATO BALTOPS naval exercise. It was the first time NATO forces trained on Finnish territory (The coastal area at Syndale). Back then, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told [13] his Finnish counterpart, Timo Soini, that the Kremlin would take unspecified measures to respond to increased NATO activity in the Baltic region. According to Lavrov, «We do not hide our negative attitude to the movement of NATO's military infrastructure towards our borders, to dragging new states into the military activity of the bloc».

All these facts and events summed together demonstrate that militarization of Scandinavia is progressing by leaps and bounds to undermine the security in Europe. No hue and cry is raised in the Russian media but the developments are closely watched by Moscow. Visiting Finland on July 27, President Putin said [14] Russia was «keeping an eye on certain intensification in the movement of military aircraft, ships and troops. In order for us to avoid negative consequences, situations that no one wants, we need to maintain dialogue». He also stressed readiness for dialogue with neutral countries that border the Baltic Sea like Finland which is not part of the NATO military alliance.

The facts listed above show the situation is grave enough to top the agenda of the NATO-Russia Council. But it’s not the case as yet. Last year, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the current President of Germany who was Foreign Minister at the time, slammed [15] NATO for «saber-rattling and war cries» and provocative military activities in the proximity of Russia’s borders. He called for an arms control deal [16] between the West and Russia. Fifteen other members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) joined [17] Steinmeier's initiative: France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Portugal.

Actually, the initiative to relaunch the negotiation process does not belong to Germany. Russia’s proposal to discuss a new European security treaty [18] was rejected by the West. The draft document [19] was published in 2009. In March 2015, Russia expressed its readiness [20] for negotiations concerning a new agreement regarding the control of conventional weapons in Europe.

Moscow has never rejected the idea of launching talks to address the problem. It does not reject it now. The NATO-Russia Council could make a contribution into launching discussions on the matter. It has not done so as yet. Actually, nothing is done to ease the tensions in Europe and the Scandinavian Peninsula in particular. Meanwhile, the situation is aggravating misunderstandings and whipping up tensions.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-31/militarization-scandinavian-p
eninsula-time-ring-alarm-bells


Links:
[1] http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
[2] http://www.zerohedge.com/printmail/600854
[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/print/600854
[4] https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/07/31/militarization-scand
inavian-peninsula-time-ring-alarm-bells.html

[5]
[6] http://wikivisually.com/wiki/%C3%98rland_Main_Air_Station
[7] http://www.un.org/en/conf/npt/2005/npttreaty.html
[8] https://www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/will-extend-usmc-rotational-trai
ning-and-exercises-in-norway/id2558342
/
[9] http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-defence-idUKKBN19D1N6
[10] http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/en/activities/exercises/aurora-17/
[11] http://www.independent.co.uk/topic/gotland
[12] http://tass.com/politics/949067
[13] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-nato-idUSKCN0YS19L
[14] http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/55175
[15] http://www.dw.com/en/steinmeier-criticizes-nato-saber-rattling/a-19339
585

[16] https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/11/28/european-states-germ
any-want-arms-control-agreement-russia.html

[17] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-security-russia-idUSKBN13K007
[18] https://ifsh.de/file-CORE/documents/yearbook/english/09/Zagorski-en.pd
f

[19] http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/6152
[20] https://rbth.com/news/2015/03/11/russia_ready_for_new_agreement_on_con
ventional_weapons_in_europe_44376.html









US Approves $3.9 Billion Patriot Missile System For Romania; Putin: "We Will Be Forced To Respond"

On Tuesday the State Department approved the sale of $3.9 billion in patriot missile systems to NATO-member Romania after prior Russia warnings that such actions could be met with severe reprisals.

]
Photo source: Darkone/Wikimedia Commons.

The announcement, issued through the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, is sure to be a huge shot across the bow following on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin's earlier unambiguous words [5](issued in May) regarding further NATO build-up in the large Balkan country:

If yesterday in those areas of Romania people simply did not know what it means to be in the cross-hairs, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security. We won't take any action until we see rockets in areas that neighbor us. We've been repeating like a mantra that we will be forced to respond... Nobody wants to hear us. Nobody wants to conduct negotiations with us.

Romania's US-built $800 million ballistic missile defense shield came online for the first time in May, just prior to Trump's meeting [6]with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis early the following month, where the two discussed defense spending and other economic concerns. Romania has been a NATO member only since 2004, but has steadily attracted the attention of Western defense companies – it has increased its defense budget to equal 2% of its GDP this year (approximately 4 billion US dollars) – one of only 5 NATO members to hit that target.

The Pentagon agency's press release cast Romania as the potential victim of aggression in the region:

Romania will use the Patriot missile system to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats. The proposed sale will increase the defensive capabilities of the Romanian military to guard against aggression and shield the NATO allies who often train and operate within Romania’s borders.


NATO build up encroaching Russian defenses. Photo source: The Risk Advisory Group.

The proposal now moves forward for Congressional as well as Romanian parliamentary approval, and will be delivered by Raytheon Corporation and Lockheed-Martin. Other US defense contractors are increasingly in talks with Romania to modernize its army, including General Dynamics, Bell Helicopter, and The Boeing Company. News of the Patriot missile deal was released the same day a massive Patriot missile deployment drill [7]kicked off in Lithuania involving troops from the US, UK, Latvia, and Poland.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-12/us-approves-39-billion-patrio
t-missile-system-romania-putin-we-will-be-forced-respon


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[2] http://www.zerohedge.com/printmail/599662
[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/print/599662
[4]
[5] http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/05/28/putin-warns-romania-poland-ove
r-implementing-us-missile-shield.html

[6] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-09/trump-meets-romanian-presiden
t-klaus-iohannis-preview

[7] http://www.newsweek.com/us-missiles-arrive-lithuania-support-face-russ
ia-fears-635098














"We Are Forced To Strike Back": Russia Set To Expel 30 US Diplomats, Seize US Assets

By Tyler Durden

Created 07/11/2017 - 17:31

When Obama announced the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and the seizure of Russian diplomatic compounds [4]in Maryland last December, in response to alleged Russian interference in the election, Putin just smiled and said Russia would not retaliate [5], expecting that relations between Russia and the US would normalize under president Trump. Six months later, relations have not only not normalized but have deteriorated further following the latest round of sanctions against Russia despite daily allegations that Trump colluded with the Kremlin to convince several million Americans to vote against Hillary.

And, as a result, Putin's patience appears to have run out, and according to Russian newspaper Izvestiya [6], the Kremlin is set to expel around 30 US diplomats and freeze some US assets in a retaliatory move against Washington.

Quoting a Foreign Ministry source [11], the Izvestiya newspaper says the move is due to the failure to reach an agreement on two Russian diplomatic compounds in the US seized by the outgoing Obama administration in December last year.

“There is a preliminary agreement on holding a meeting between Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ryabkov and US Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon in St. Petersburg. If the compromise is not found there, we will have to take such measures,” a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told the Izvestiya newspaper.

Izvestiya also cited Andrey Klimov, a senator in the upper house of Russia's parliament, who said that "Russia had already waited more than six months for the Trump administration to improve the relationship between the two countries" and was now forced to strike back.

"We are forced to draw a line and answer in a similar way," Klimov told Izvestiya. "These moves are not meant as our attempts to show our negative attitudes toward the Trump administration but rather as evidence of the fact that Russia is a strong nation that deserves respectable treatment."

The Russian newspaper adds that the decision came after Trump and Putin's first meeting at the G20 Summit in Germany failed to produce an agreement on the lightening of US sanctions against Russia. The issue of the Russian diplomatic compounds was also raised at the Putin-Trump meeting in Hamburg, according to the Russian press reports.

And, as Trump and his family face fresh claims of collusion with the Kremlin, Putin’s patience over the non-return of the Russian compounds has run out.

According to the newspaper, while the administration plans to seize the American summer house in a forest region outside of Moscow and a warehouse in the center of the city, it will not touch the residence of the American ambassador and the American international school in St. Petersburg.



Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-11/we-are-forced-strike-back-rus
sia-set-expel-30-us-diplomats-seize-us-assets


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[2] http://www.zerohedge.com/printmail/599568
[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/print/599568
[4] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-29/us-announces-sanctions-agains
t-russia-expels-35-diplomats-retaliation-election-hacki

[5] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-30/putin-stunner-we-will-not-exp
el-anyone-we-refuse-sink-obamas-level

[6] http://iz.ru/616241/nataliia-portiakova/diplomaticheskaia-vzaimnost-za
medlennogo-deistviia

[7] https://t.co/nWxx0bbtfr
[8] https://twitter.com/hashtag/USRussia?src=hash
[9] https://t.co/uLGKiE4YO4
[10] https://twitter.com/SputnikInt/status/884633612133552128
[11] https://sputniknews.com/russia/201707111055424545-moscow-expel-us-dipl
omats
/









NATO Vows Support For Ukraine Against Russia's "Aggressive Actions"

Created 07/12/2017 - 03:30

Just a few short days after President Trump's 'relative' rapprochement with Russian President Putin, his 'allies' in NATO have stepped up the rhetoric in a very sensitive area for Putin, as

[4]

As Military.com reports, [5] Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of smuggling weapons and troops across the porous border in support of the separatists, a charge has repeatedly denied.

"Russia has maintained its aggressive actions against Ukraine, but NATO and NATO allies stand by Ukraine and stand on your side," Stoltenberg said at the NATO-Ukraine Commission session in Kiev.



"Russia must withdraw its thousands of soldiers from Ukraine and stop supporting the militants," he added during a press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.



The conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 have driven ties between Moscow and the West to their lowest point since the Cold War.



"We are also here to demonstrate NATO's solidarity with Ukraine and our firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of your country," Stoltenberg said.



"NATO allies do not and will not recognize Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea."

The NATO chief's trip came a day after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a maiden visit to Kiev and urged Moscow to take the "first step" to ease the conflict in Ukraine's east.

Ukraine sees NATO accession as a way to bolster its defenses against former master Moscow. In June, Ukraine's parliament voted to back attempts by the nation to seek membership of the 29-member bloc. It approved legal amendments enshrining membership in NATO as a foreign policy priority.

Poroshenko explained that embattled Ukraine was eager to join the bloc, but painful political and economic reforms need to be implemented before the country was ready to lay out its claims on membership.



"We are determined to reforms... to meet the membership criteria," Poroshenko told journalists.



"NATO will continue to support Ukraine on the path towards closer relationships with NATO," Stoltenberg added.

But the Kremlin has long been angered by NATO expansion into what Moscow views as its sphere of influence in the former Soviet region.

"It (Ukraine's rapprochement with NATO) will not contribute to the strengthening of stability and security on the European continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

However, Kiev has yet to officially apply to start the lengthy and politically challenging process of joining the US-led alliance.



Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-11/nato-vows-support-ukraine-aga
inst-russias-aggressive-actions


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[2] http://www.zerohedge.com/printmail/599562
[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/print/599562
[4]
[5] http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/07/10/nato-vows-support-ukrain
e-russia-aggressive-actions.html




US Tanks, Troops Arrive In Estonia As Part Of NATO Anti-Russia Build Up

By Tyler Durden

Created 02/07/2017 - 14:28

Tyler Durden's picture[1]

by Tyler Durden [1]

Feb 7, 2017 2:28 PM

Twitter Facebook Reddit [2] [3]

As part of continued a NATO build-up and US efforts to counter an alleged Russian threat, US military hardware, including M1A2 Abrams battle tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles have arrived in the northern Estonian town of Tapa, shortly after similar deployments were made to other Eastern European nations including Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany.

]

"The movement of equipment and troops into and around Europe marks the beginning of a continuous rotation of armored brigade combat teams from the United States as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve," the US Defense Department said in a statement, commenting on the move. It added that "Atlantic Resolve is a demonstration of continued US commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine."



In July 2016, NATO members agreed to the “biggest reinforcement since the Cold War,” posting four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

More than 50 units of US military equipment, including four battle tanks and 15 infantry fighting vehicles, were delivered to Tapa, the Estonian Defense Forces said in a statement [5]. Personnel of the Charlie Company of 68th Armored Regiment's 1st Battalion from the US Army 4th Infantry Division arrived in the town two days earlier, on January 30. Company commander Captain Edward Bachar said the US troops would take part in the Estonian Independence Day parade. Earlier, Bachar also said that his company would begin its expert marksmanship training this week.

The new unit would replace a paratrooper company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 503rd Infantry Regiment, which was deployed to Estonia in September. The paratrooper company would then go back to its permanent base in Italy.

The Estonian deployment marks a new phase of the Operation Atlantic Resolve, which began in April 2014, following the flaring of tensions between Russia and the West. Atlantic Resolve is perceived by Washington as a demonstration of continued US commitment to the collective security of Europe in the view of alleged Russian “assertiveness.”

As reported previously, last month some 2,800 pieces of US military hardware, including US Abrams tanks, Paladin artillery, Bradley fighting vehicles and 4,000 troops arrived in Europe as part of the operation. These forces subsequently moved to Poland to participate in military drills in late January, and then were deployed across seven countries, including the Baltic States, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany. A headquarters unit is stationed in Germany.

In addition to American troops going to Poland, NATO members Germany, Canada and Britain are also contributing to the significant NATO forces buildup in Eastern Europe and are sending battalions of up to 1,000 troops each to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Apart from the military buildup on Russian borders, the US and NATO strategy also includes conducting continuous, enhanced multinational training and security cooperation activities with US and NATO partners in eastern Europe. Since the Operation began, these military exercises have been conducted in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. In mid-January, Estonia and Lithuania also signed agreements with the US regulating the status and deployment framework of American soldiers and hardware on the territory of the two Baltics states, which were dubbed “first of its kind.”

As RT adds [6], the agreements provided a legal framework for the presence of US military personnel and their family members in the two Baltic States, as well as the use of the local military sites by American troops. They also enable a range of joint “defense-related activities.”

Meanwhile, while NATO members continue to point toward perceived “Russian aggression,” calling it “a source of instability,” Russia has repeatedly denied that it poses any kind of threat. Moscow has also expanded its own military training and increased its strategic nuclear capabilities in areas such as Kaliningrad, its western exclave. Russia also tried to ease tensions by proposing enhanced cooperation with NATO on multiple levels in August. The proposal covered such fields as combating terrorism and “cooperation to avoid incidents at sea and in the air” in border areas with NATO countries.

For now, Trump's formal stance on the ongoing Ukraine conflict, as well as NATO build up and encirclement of Russia has yet to be determined.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-07/us-tanks-troops-arrive-estoni
a-part-nato-anti-russia-build


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[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/print/587723
[4]
[5] http://www.mil.ee/et/uudised/9591/tapale-saabus-%C3%BCle-50-%C3%BChiku
-usa-s%C3%B5jatehnikat

[6] https://www.rt.com/news/376513-us-tanks-arrive-estonia/

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Zero Hedge

Published on Zero Hedge ( http://www.zerohedge.com)

Home > Hundreds Of US Tanks Arrive In Europe To Support NATO Anti-Russian Buildup





Hundreds Of US Tanks Arrive In Europe To Support NATO Anti-Russian Buildup

Created 01/06/2017 - 12:43

As we reported yesterday [4], Lithuania confirmed the presence of U.S. special forces inside its territory, stating the deployment’s purpose is to train local forces and act as a deterrent against Russian aggression. Supposedly, the move is in response to a "escalation" by Vladimir Putin, who has been deploying nuke-ready missiles in the Russian province of Kaliningrad located in the heart of central Europe. This move has prompted the neighboring Baltic states to become “highly concerned” about Russian military activity.

Furthermore, sometime during the spring of 2017, NATO is expected to send battalions [5] of 800 to 1,200 troops to each of the Baltic States and Poland. The mainstream media [6] has even dubbed NATO’s recent buildup the alliance’s “biggest military buildup on Russia’s borders since the Cold War.” Even Great Britain will be sending fighter jets, as well as troops [7] to Romania in order to counter Russia in the region.

Over the last several years, Russia has made it abundantly clear in the past that its deployment of missiles is a deterrent against NATO expansion along its borders, in what is effectively a cat-and-mouse game that continues to be played with catastrophic consequences, and which neither side can win.

Meanwhile, as part of the latest conventional arms race, on Friday hundreds of U.S. tanks, trucks and other military equipment arrived by ship in Germany to be transported by rail and road to eastern Europe as part of a NATO buildup that has drawn Russia's ire. According to Reuters [8], two shiploads arrived in the northern port of Bremerhaven and a third was due in a few days, bringing the fleets of tracked and wheeled vehicles for use by around 4,000 U.S. troops being deployed for exercises in NATO states near Russia.

]

U.S. and Polish forces will participate in a large "massing" exercise in Poland at the end of January as part of a series of measures aimed at reassuring U.S. allies in Europe after Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine. Beginning in February, U.S. military units will spread out across Poland, the Baltic states, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany for training, exercises and maintenance.

"The best way to maintain the peace is through preparation," Major General Timothy McGuire told reporters when asked if the large deployment was meant to send a message to Russia.

He also admitted that "this is just showing the strength and cohesion of the alliance and the U.S. commitment to maintain the peace on the continent." It is also a provocation specifically designed to provoke Putin into further escalation, something which Obama also did last week with the expuslion of 35 Russian diplomats.

NATO countries say their planned deployments to eastern NATO countries are purely defensive, but Russia has rebuked what it sees as an aggressive western buildup in eastern Europe.

In addition to U.S. troops going to Poland, NATO members Germany, Canada and Britain are also sending battalions of up to 1,000 troops each to the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They say the four battalions, backed by additional U.S. forces on rotation, are justified by Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Those actions alarmed the Baltic states, which worry they could be the next targets of Russian pressure.



Among their equipment will be 87 Abrams M1A1 tanks, 20 Paladin artillery vehicles and 136 Bradley fighting vehicles.



The equipment will be used by the U.S. Army's 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, arriving this month from Fort Carson, Colorado for the first of what Washington promises will be back-to-back nine-month rotations in the "foreseeable future."



The Army is also sending its 10th Combat Aviation Brigade with about 50 Black Hawk and 10 CH-47 Chinook helicopters and 1,800 personnel, as well as a separate aviation battalion with 400 troops and 24 Apache helicopters.

Amid this dangerous escalation, voices of reason were few and far between. One of them belonged to Germany's Left party, which has called for closer ties with Russia, said Berlin had a historic obligation to work for peace and disarmament, and it would protest against the deployment. "Tanks never create peace anywhere," said Christian Goerke, who heads the party in Brandenburg state. "Quite the contrary, a troop deployment of such a scale is part of always increasing buildup and provocation."

Unfortunately both the US Military-Industrial complex, and the US government, stubbornly pretend not to recognize this simple logic.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-06/hundreds-us-tanks-arrive-euro
pe-support-nato-anti-russian-buildup


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[4] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-05/us-has-begun-amassing-troops-
russian-border

[5] http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/lithuania-confirms-presence-us-special-forces
-1599296

[6] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/27/military-build-up-along-
russias-border-no-cause-for-alarm

[7] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/27/uk-to-deploy-hundreds-of
-troops-and-aircraft-to-eastern-europe

[8] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-russia-idUSKBN14Q1VC?feedType=R
SS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

[9]









Zero Hedge

American Troops "Roll Into Poland" In Largest Deployment Since The Cold War

"American soldiers rolled into Poland on Thursday, fulfilling a dream Poles have had since the fall of communism in 1989 to have U.S. troops on their soil as a deterrent against Russia."

That's how the AP begins [4]its report on the first deployment of US soldiers into the central European country, previewed here earlier in the week as "One Of Largest Deployments Since The Cold War [5]", even as Russia warned that the move represented a threat to its national security, and the Kremlin said "Russia regarded the move as an aggressive step along its borders."


Two convoys of have been photographed heading to Poland from Germany today


40 vehicles across two separate convoys are on their way to Poland

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/20
17/01/01/800%20%281%29_0.jpeg
]

NATO, however, has ignored Russian concerns and threats of retaliation and as a result soldiers in camouflage with tanks and other vehicles crossed into southwestern Poland on Thursday morning from Germany and headed for Zagan, where they will be based.


The largest US military brigade since the end of the Cold War arrived in
Bremerhaven in northern Germany on Saturday

While in the past the US and other Western nations have carried out exercises on NATO's eastern flank, this deployment, which includes around 3,500 U.S. troops and 2,800 tanks, trucks and other military equipment, marks the first-ever continuous deployment to the region by a NATO ally. It also represents a commitment by outgoing President Obama to "protect" a region that became deeply nervous over Russia's response to the CIA-orchestrated presidential coup in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, and the resulting proxy war in east Ukraine.

Two convoys of 20 vehicles were pictured leaving Brueck near Lehnin in Germany today heading to Poland. They spent the night 80km from Berlin. Troops will also deployed to Romania, Bulgaria and across the Baltics.

The Pentagon now plans to keep the full deployment in Europe and immediately replace those returning after their 9-month stays. The US troops will carry out training exercises with NATO forces once there.

* * *

As AP adds [4], the arrival of the US troops will be feted on Saturday in official ceremonies attended by Poland's prime minister and defense minister.

Despite the Polish celebrations, clouds hung over the historic moment. As the AP puts it, "there are anxieties that the enhanced security could eventually be undermined by the pro-Kremlin views of President-elect Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Russia appears provoked by the deployment of American troops on its doorstep."

"We perceive it as a threat," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "These actions threaten our interests, our security. Especially as it concerns a third party building up its military presence near our borders," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. "It's not even a European state."

Worries about the permanence of the new U.S. security commitments are rooted in a tragic national history in which Poland has often lost out in deals made over its head by the great powers.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-12/american-troops-roll-poland-l
argest-deployment-cold-war


Links:
[1] http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
[2] http://www.zerohedge.com/printmail/584985
[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/print/584985
[4] https://apnews.com/cb5d55ba66694c2ca0f4094e26926345
[5] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-09/thousands-us-troops-begin-arr
iving-europe-one-largest-deployments-cold-war

[6] http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/20
17/01/01/800%20%281%29.jpeg

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 6:11 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Who is doing the sabre rattling?

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 12:18 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Is Donald Trump Tweeting the U.S. into a War on North Korea?

Trump has exhibited a disturbing pattern of reckless spontaneity, usually expressed publicly through his Twitter feed, when announcing what could rightly be construed as new U.S. policies. Indeed, when Trump’s senior adviser Sebastian Gorka was asked on Fox News what leverage Trump has left to pressure China to do more to contain potential threats from North Korea, Gorka shot back: “We have, you know, the president’s Twitter feed.”

Perhaps more disturbing than what Trump tweets publicly is what he is telling influential U.S. senators privately. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said recently that Trump told him he is willing to militarily obliterate the nation of North Korea if necessary. “There is a military option to destroy North Korea’s program and North Korea itself,” Graham told NBC. Trump, he said, “told me that to my face.”

Trump is doing his best to inflame tensions with North Korea. Last weekend, the U.S. flew two B-1 bombers over the Korean Peninsula. It also conducted a ballistic missile test in the region. South Korea is now asking the Trump administration for its own new missiles with a capacity to strike deeper into the North.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula are not new. And every U.S. administration seems to find itself in a similar conundrum with the regime. But Trump is erratic and tends to just spit out whatever he is thinking. And that could prove very dangerous with nuclear weapons and nuclear powers.

https://theintercept.com/2017/08/06/donald-trump-north-korea-intercept
ed-podcast-john-feffer
/

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 12:29 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.



First the US, through its proxy NATO, put nuclear weapons in Europe during the cold war, in violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, where they remain to this day ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_sharing
As of November 2009, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey are hosting U.S. nuclear weapons as part of NATO's nuclear sharing policy.
http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/us-moves-nuclear-we
apons-from-turkey-to-romania
/
US moves nuclear weapons from Turkey to Romania



... and pushed NATO to bomb Serbia in 1994 and Kosovo in 1999 without UN approval https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO, and divided Serbia unilaterally without UN process https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/08/12/the-united-states-shar
es-the-blame-for-the-russia-georgia-crisis
...



... then the US pushed NATO to Russian Borders in violation of previous agreements
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_NATO
29 March 2004 Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania
1 April 2009 Croatia
5 June 2017 Montenegro ...



... decided to plant a missile shield on Russia's borders ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/22/world/middleeast/22missiles.html
U.S. Is Proposing European Shield for Iran Missiles
MAY 22, 2006



... supplied the Georgian dictator Saakashvili with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of arms, which emboldened him to attack the Russian-aligned South Ossetia in 2008 https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/08/12/the-united-states-shar
es-the-blame-for-the-russia-georgia-crisis
...



... engineered a coup in Ukraine to overthrow a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035655#1035655
...



... and has now activated the previously mentioned shield ... http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-shield-idUSKCN0Y217M
May 11, 2016 / 11:17 AM
U.S. to switch on European missile shield despite Russian alarm




It was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion that drove Cuba to Russia for protection. And back then, when it was OUR turn to have Russian forces and nuclear arms at our doorstep, Kennedy went into such a tizzy the planet almost got blown up.

I think Russia has shown amazing restraint to our provocations, by merely moving troops to its side of the Ukrainian border AFTER fighting broke out and refugees started streaming in to Russia.

WE own the mess.

Meanwhile, the shit being liberally strewn around - which you are all gobbling up as gustily as pigs in a pen - is that this crisis is somehow Russian aggression.

We're not being told all the relevant information. Instead, we're being groomed, again, into yet another rape of our blood and treasure, through a highly selected and intensive campaign of partial, a-historical tidbits.





Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 1:14 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:

It was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion that drove Cuba to Russia for protection.

I think Russia has shown amazing restraint to our provocations, by merely moving troops to its side of the Ukrainian border AFTER fighting broke out and refugees started streaming in to Russia.

WE own the mess.

Foolish Kennedy had his missile crisis with Cuba, and foolish Trump could have a missile crisis with North Korea. For those who never knew, the Cuban Missile Crisis ended because Kennedy secretly (Yes, Secretly.) promised Khrushchev during the crisis to withdraw his missiles from Turkey.

The USA's representation of Kim Jong-un as a kind of tyrannical brat or an infant who has no rational goals is incorrect. Number one rational goal for Kim Jong-un is preservation of his own authority and the preservation of his system of government. He knows that any attack of South Korea or the United States would spell the end of North Korea as a country, and of course, by extension the end of him and his regime. So pure self-preservation dictates that North Korea is not going to engage in any kind of attack on a sovereign country.

On the other hand, Trump might do something entirely unexpected because he’s listening to Fox and Friends, or he has developed some hobbyhorse notion about a country that he might indulge in some entirely irrational act.

https://theintercept.com/2017/08/06/donald-trump-north-korea-intercept
ed-podcast-john-feffer
/

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 1:20 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.



Trump has ALREADY capitulated to the Deep State and is ALREADY provoking Russia - a fully capable nuclear country that ALREADY DOES have the capacity to turn the US into smoking nuclear ash.

Why are you worried about North Korea? Because the deep state media is telling you to?




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 1:38 PM

6STRINGJOKER


It won't come to that. Unlike our jihadi friends, Russia isn't full of a bunch of religious nutjobs.

There is no ROI for either side in a nuclear war. I can't even think of any far-fetched semi-plausible reason that the Deep State would want that either.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 1:51 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


That's the calculation that the Deep State is making - which is why they think they can do ANYTHING they want to Russia.

But Putin doesn't have nearly the military of the US. The only thing he has that can even up the score is nuclear arms. And he has promised to use them if provoked.


** WE ** shouldn't even be pushing on that line, betting that Russia won't go over it.



How lucky do you feel?






Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 1:52 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Quote:

Originally posted by G:
Quote:

Originally posted by AURaptor:
Who is doing the sabre rattling?



Kiki and Signym

==============================





Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 1:55 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.



That's the calculation that the Deep State is making - which is why they think they can do ANYTHING they want to Russia.

But Putin doesn't have nearly the military of the US. The only thing he has that can even up the score is nuclear arms. And he has promised to use them if provoked.


** WE ** shouldn't even be pushing on that line, betting that Russia won't go over it.



How lucky do you feel?






Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.


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Sunday, August 6, 2017 4:08 PM

6STRINGJOKER


Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:

That's the calculation that the Deep State is making - which is why they think they can do ANYTHING they want to Russia.

But Putin doesn't have nearly the military of the US. The only thing he has that can even up the score is nuclear arms. And he has promised to use them if provoked.


** WE ** shouldn't even be pushing on that line, betting that Russia won't go over it.



How lucky do you feel?



Don't look at me. I don't agree with it.

Last I checked anybody with their fingers anywhere near those buttons don't give a shit what I think.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 5:05 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


"It won't come to that. Unlike our jihadi friends, Russia isn't full of a bunch of religious nutjobs."

And here I thought you were feeling pretty lucky.

BTW - jihadists aren't the only nut jobs around. All you have to do is look at Serbia, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, and Syria as a product of our CIA/ State Dept/ neocon Deep State to understand that the people running the show are unhinged.






Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 5:10 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


"It won't come to that. Unlike our jihadi friends, Russia isn't full of a bunch of religious nutjobs."

And here I thought you were feeling pretty lucky.

BTW - jihadists aren't the only nut jobs around. All you have to do is look at Serbia, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, and Syria as a product of our CIA/ State Dept/ neocon Deep State to understand that the people running the show are unhinged.






Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.


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Sunday, August 6, 2017 5:20 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


So, let me reiterate:

All the provocative actions the US has initiated on Russia's borders, and the conflicts where the US has engaged Russia in other countries, are historical facts. The US is aggressively pushing Russia on the GAMBLE that while the US deep state can act like assholes wherever it wants, Russia in contrast will politely fold its hands and acquiesce.

In kindergarten, in law, and in international policy, WHO STARTED IT MATTERS. And who's starting it is the US.

Those facts are being quietly shuffled away.

Instead, we're being treated to an endless barrage of RUSSIA !!! hysteria to prime us for conflict.

SOMEBODY - please quote me. Because I want to be able to point this out to you again, later on, and not be accused of creating it after the fact.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 6:11 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Quote:

Originally posted by G:

But Signuts says the US doesn't have anything to fear from poor little ole Russia...?

Are you being a stupid asshole on purpose? Or is it a permanent condition? Russia is not about to INITIATE an attack on us. It doesn't mean Russia won't RESPOND with whatever it has in its arsenal.

So all the RUSSIA !!! boogeyman stories are just fables for scaring children.

But we're not children, are we.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 6:14 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


HERE ARE THE FACTS OF US THE PROVOKING RUSSIA.

ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING RELEVANT TO SAY, OR ARE YOU ALL IMMUNE TO FACTS?





First the US, through its proxy NATO, put nuclear weapons in Europe during the cold war, in violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, where they remain to this day ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_sharing
As of November 2009, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey are hosting U.S. nuclear weapons as part of NATO's nuclear sharing policy.
http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/us-moves-nuclear-we
apons-from-turkey-to-romania
/
US moves nuclear weapons from Turkey to Romania



... and pushed NATO to bomb Serbia in 1994 and Kosovo in 1999 without UN approval https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO, and divided Serbia unilaterally without UN process https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/08/12/the-united-states-shar
es-the-blame-for-the-russia-georgia-crisis
...



... then the US pushed NATO to Russian Borders in violation of previous agreements
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_NATO
29 March 2004 Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania
1 April 2009 Croatia
5 June 2017 Montenegro ...



... decided to plant a missile shield on Russia's borders ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/22/world/middleeast/22missiles.html
U.S. Is Proposing European Shield for Iran Missiles
MAY 22, 2006



... supplied the Georgian dictator Saakashvili with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of arms, which emboldened him to attack the Russian-aligned South Ossetia in 2008 https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/08/12/the-united-states-shar
es-the-blame-for-the-russia-georgia-crisis
...



... engineered a coup in Ukraine to overthrow a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035655#1035655
...



... and has now activated the previously mentioned shield ... http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-shield-idUSKCN0Y217M
May 11, 2016 / 11:17 AM
U.S. to switch on European missile shield despite Russian alarm




It was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion that drove Cuba to Russia for protection. And back then, when it was OUR turn to have Russian forces and nuclear arms at our doorstep, Kennedy went into such a tizzy the planet almost got blown up.

I think Russia has shown amazing restraint to our provocations, by merely moving troops to its side of the Ukrainian border AFTER fighting broke out and refugees started streaming in to Russia.

WE own the mess.

Meanwhile, the shit being liberally strewn around - which you are all gobbling up as gustily as pigs in a pen - is that this crisis is somehow Russian aggression.

We're not being told all the relevant information. Instead, we're being groomed, again, into yet another rape of our blood and treasure, through a highly selected and intensive campaign of partial, a-historical tidbits.





Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.


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Sunday, August 6, 2017 7:53 PM

KPO

Sometimes you own the libs. Sometimes, the libs own you.


Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:
I think Russia has shown amazing restraint to our provocations, by merely moving troops to its side of the Ukrainian border AFTER fighting broke out




-------------------------------------------------------

"Objective truths are established by evidence. Personal truths by faith. Political truths by incessant repetition."

Russia's and Assad's War Crimes in Syria - http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=60278
Syrian regime collusion with ISIS - http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=60521


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Sunday, August 6, 2017 8:09 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.



Quote:

... we're being groomed, again, into yet another rape of our blood and treasure, through a highly selected and intensive campaign of partial, a-historical tidbits.

https://www.nytimes.com/

U.S. Troops Training to Echoes of the Cold War

A 10-day exercise in Eastern Europe offered a window into how Army commanders are rehearsing updated tactics and strategies once used to counter Soviet troops.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 8:56 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!



I'm guessing strategies and gear has changed some since 1950's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's ...


At least, I'm hoping so .

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Sunday, August 6, 2017 10:19 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Be a dear and quote this. I want to be able to post it later without you plural claiming I made it up after-the-fact.


So, let me reiterate:

All the provocative actions the US has initiated on Russia's borders, and the conflicts where the US has engaged Russia in other countries, are historical facts. The US is aggressively pushing Russia on the GAMBLE that while the US deep state can act like assholes wherever it wants, Russia in contrast will politely fold its hands and acquiesce.

In kindergarten, in law, and in international policy, WHO STARTED IT MATTERS. And who's starting it is the US.

Those facts are being quietly shuffled away.

Instead, we're being treated to an endless barrage of RUSSIA !!! hysteria to prime us for conflict.

SOMEBODY - please quote me. Because I want to be able to point this out to you again, later on, and not be accused of creating it after the fact.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.


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Sunday, August 6, 2017 11:41 PM

RIVERLOVE


Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:
Militarization Of Scandinavian Peninsula: Time To Ring Alarm Bells

Created 08/01/2017 - 03:30

Much has been said about NATO reinforcements in the Baltic States and Poland perceived in Moscow as provocative actions undermining security in Europe, while very little has been said about gradual but steady militarization of Scandinavia. The theme does not hit headlines and it is not in focus of public discourse but one step is taken after another to turn the region into a springboard for staging offensive actions against Russia.

[5]

Ørland [6] in southern Norway is being expanded to become Norway’s main air force base hosting US-made F-35 Lightnings – the stealth aircraft to become the backbone of Norwegian air power. Norway has purchased 56 of such aircraft. F-35 is an offensive, not defensive, weapon. The nuclear capable platforms can strike deep into Russia’s territory.

Providing training to Norwegian pilots operating the planes carrying nuclear weapons, such as B61-12 glider warheads, constitutes a violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) [7] of 1968. Article I of the NPT prohibits the transfer of nuclear weapons from NWS (nuclear weapons states) to other states: «Each nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices». Article II requires NNWS (non-nuclear weapons states) not to receive nuclear weapons: «Each non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to receive the transfer from any transfer or whatsoever of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or of control over such weapons or explosive devices». How can Russia be sure that these aircraft don’t carry nuclear weapons when there is no agreement of any kind in place to verify compliance with the NPT?

Ørland is located near Værnes - the base that hosts 330 US Marines. In May, the base hosted the biennial NATO military exercise «Arctic Challenge Exercise 2017» to involve over 100 planes from 12 nations. It was the first time a US strategic bomber (B-52H) took part in the training event.

The choice of the base was carefully calculated to keep the planes away from the reach of Russian Iskander missiles (500 kilometres) but no location in Norway is beyond the operational range of Kalibr ship-based sea-to-shore missiles and aircraft armed with long-range air-to-surface missiles.

In June, Norway’s government announced [8] that the decision was taken to extend the rotational US Marine Corps force stationed at Værnes through 2018. The move contradicts the tried-and-true Norwegian policy of not deploying foreign military bases in the country in times of peace.

Also in June, the United States, United Kingdom and Norway agreed in principle to create a trilateral coalition built around the P-8 maritime aircraft to include joint operations in the North Atlantic near the Russian Northern Fleet bases.

Norway is to contribute into NATO ballistic missile defense (BMD) system by integrating its Globus II/III radar in the Vardøya Island located near the Russian border just a few kilometers from the home base of strategic submarines and 5 Aegis-equipped Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates. The radar construction is underway. The Vardøya radar can distinguish real warheads from dummies. Another radar located in Svalbard (the Arctic) can also be used by US military for missile defense purposes.

The country’s ground forces are stationed in Lithuania as part of a NATO multinational force under German command.

Sweden, a close NATO ally, has been upgrading its military with a sharp hike in spending. Last December, the Swedish government told municipal authorities to prepare civil defense infrastructure and procedures for a possible war. The move was prompted by the country’s return to the Cold War-era ‘Total Defense Strategy’. In September, 2016, 150 troops were put on permanent service on the island of Gotland to «defend it from Russia». Sweden maintained a permanent military garrison on Gotland for hundreds of years until 2005.The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) has ordered a review of 350 civilian bunkers on the island. The shelters are designed to protect people against the shock wave and radiation from a nuclear detonation, as well as chemical and biological weapons.

In March, Stockholm announced plans to reintroduce compulsory military service abandoned in 2010. The conscription will come into force on January 1, 2018.

Sweden said [9] in June it wishes to join a British-led «Joint Expeditionary Force», making Swedish participation in a general European war all but inevitable.

This month, the Swedish military announced [10] plans to conduct its largest joint military exercise with NATO in 20 years. Called Aurora 17, the training event is scheduled for September. The drills will take place across the entire country but focusing on the Mälardalen Valley, the areas around cities of Stockholm and Gothenberg and on the strategic island of Gotland [11]. More than 19,000 Swedish troops will take part along with 1,435 soldiers from the US, 270 from Finland, 120 from France and between 40-60 each from Denmark, Norway, Lithuania and Estonia.

In June, Russian President Putin warned [12] «If Sweden joins NATO this will affect our relations in a negative way because we will consider that the infrastructure of the military bloc now approaches us from the Swedish side».

In June, 2016, Finland took part in NATO BALTOPS naval exercise. It was the first time NATO forces trained on Finnish territory (The coastal area at Syndale). Back then, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told [13] his Finnish counterpart, Timo Soini, that the Kremlin would take unspecified measures to respond to increased NATO activity in the Baltic region. According to Lavrov, «We do not hide our negative attitude to the movement of NATO's military infrastructure towards our borders, to dragging new states into the military activity of the bloc».

All these facts and events summed together demonstrate that militarization of Scandinavia is progressing by leaps and bounds to undermine the security in Europe. No hue and cry is raised in the Russian media but the developments are closely watched by Moscow. Visiting Finland on July 27, President Putin said [14] Russia was «keeping an eye on certain intensification in the movement of military aircraft, ships and troops. In order for us to avoid negative consequences, situations that no one wants, we need to maintain dialogue». He also stressed readiness for dialogue with neutral countries that border the Baltic Sea like Finland which is not part of the NATO military alliance.

The facts listed above show the situation is grave enough to top the agenda of the NATO-Russia Council. But it’s not the case as yet. Last year, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the current President of Germany who was Foreign Minister at the time, slammed [15] NATO for «saber-rattling and war cries» and provocative military activities in the proximity of Russia’s borders. He called for an arms control deal [16] between the West and Russia. Fifteen other members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) joined [17] Steinmeier's initiative: France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Portugal.

Actually, the initiative to relaunch the negotiation process does not belong to Germany. Russia’s proposal to discuss a new European security treaty [18] was rejected by the West. The draft document [19] was published in 2009. In March 2015, Russia expressed its readiness [20] for negotiations concerning a new agreement regarding the control of conventional weapons in Europe.

Moscow has never rejected the idea of launching talks to address the problem. It does not reject it now. The NATO-Russia Council could make a contribution into launching discussions on the matter. It has not done so as yet. Actually, nothing is done to ease the tensions in Europe and the Scandinavian Peninsula in particular. Meanwhile, the situation is aggravating misunderstandings and whipping up tensions.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-31/militarization-scandinavian-p
eninsula-time-ring-alarm-bells


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[1] http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
[2] http://www.zerohedge.com/printmail/600854
[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/print/600854
[4] https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/07/31/militarization-scand
inavian-peninsula-time-ring-alarm-bells.html

[5]
[6] http://wikivisually.com/wiki/%C3%98rland_Main_Air_Station
[7] http://www.un.org/en/conf/npt/2005/npttreaty.html
[8] https://www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/will-extend-usmc-rotational-trai
ning-and-exercises-in-norway/id2558342
/
[9] http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-defence-idUKKBN19D1N6
[10] http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/en/activities/exercises/aurora-17/
[11] http://www.independent.co.uk/topic/gotland
[12] http://tass.com/politics/949067
[13] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-nato-idUSKCN0YS19L
[14] http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/55175
[15] http://www.dw.com/en/steinmeier-criticizes-nato-saber-rattling/a-19339
585

[16] https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/11/28/european-states-germ
any-want-arms-control-agreement-russia.html

[17] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-security-russia-idUSKBN13K007
[18] https://ifsh.de/file-CORE/documents/yearbook/english/09/Zagorski-en.pd
f

[19] http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/6152
[20] https://rbth.com/news/2015/03/11/russia_ready_for_new_agreement_on_con
ventional_weapons_in_europe_44376.html









US Approves $3.9 Billion Patriot Missile System For Romania; Putin: "We Will Be Forced To Respond"

On Tuesday the State Department approved the sale of $3.9 billion in patriot missile systems to NATO-member Romania after prior Russia warnings that such actions could be met with severe reprisals.

]
Photo source: Darkone/Wikimedia Commons.

The announcement, issued through the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, is sure to be a huge shot across the bow following on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin's earlier unambiguous words [5](issued in May) regarding further NATO build-up in the large Balkan country:

If yesterday in those areas of Romania people simply did not know what it means to be in the cross-hairs, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security. We won't take any action until we see rockets in areas that neighbor us. We've been repeating like a mantra that we will be forced to respond... Nobody wants to hear us. Nobody wants to conduct negotiations with us.

Romania's US-built $800 million ballistic missile defense shield came online for the first time in May, just prior to Trump's meeting [6]with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis early the following month, where the two discussed defense spending and other economic concerns. Romania has been a NATO member only since 2004, but has steadily attracted the attention of Western defense companies – it has increased its defense budget to equal 2% of its GDP this year (approximately 4 billion US dollars) – one of only 5 NATO members to hit that target.

The Pentagon agency's press release cast Romania as the potential victim of aggression in the region:

Romania will use the Patriot missile system to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats. The proposed sale will increase the defensive capabilities of the Romanian military to guard against aggression and shield the NATO allies who often train and operate within Romania’s borders.


NATO build up encroaching Russian defenses. Photo source: The Risk Advisory Group.

The proposal now moves forward for Congressional as well as Romanian parliamentary approval, and will be delivered by Raytheon Corporation and Lockheed-Martin. Other US defense contractors are increasingly in talks with Romania to modernize its army, including General Dynamics, Bell Helicopter, and The Boeing Company. News of the Patriot missile deal was released the same day a massive Patriot missile deployment drill [7]kicked off in Lithuania involving troops from the US, UK, Latvia, and Poland.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-12/us-approves-39-billion-patrio
t-missile-system-romania-putin-we-will-be-forced-respon


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[4]
[5] http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/05/28/putin-warns-romania-poland-ove
r-implementing-us-missile-shield.html

[6] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-09/trump-meets-romanian-presiden
t-klaus-iohannis-preview

[7] http://www.newsweek.com/us-missiles-arrive-lithuania-support-face-russ
ia-fears-635098














"We Are Forced To Strike Back": Russia Set To Expel 30 US Diplomats, Seize US Assets

By Tyler Durden

Created 07/11/2017 - 17:31

When Obama announced the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and the seizure of Russian diplomatic compounds [4]in Maryland last December, in response to alleged Russian interference in the election, Putin just smiled and said Russia would not retaliate [5], expecting that relations between Russia and the US would normalize under president Trump. Six months later, relations have not only not normalized but have deteriorated further following the latest round of sanctions against Russia despite daily allegations that Trump colluded with the Kremlin to convince several million Americans to vote against Hillary.

And, as a result, Putin's patience appears to have run out, and according to Russian newspaper Izvestiya [6], the Kremlin is set to expel around 30 US diplomats and freeze some US assets in a retaliatory move against Washington.

Quoting a Foreign Ministry source [11], the Izvestiya newspaper says the move is due to the failure to reach an agreement on two Russian diplomatic compounds in the US seized by the outgoing Obama administration in December last year.

“There is a preliminary agreement on holding a meeting between Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ryabkov and US Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon in St. Petersburg. If the compromise is not found there, we will have to take such measures,” a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told the Izvestiya newspaper.

Izvestiya also cited Andrey Klimov, a senator in the upper house of Russia's parliament, who said that "Russia had already waited more than six months for the Trump administration to improve the relationship between the two countries" and was now forced to strike back.

"We are forced to draw a line and answer in a similar way," Klimov told Izvestiya. "These moves are not meant as our attempts to show our negative attitudes toward the Trump administration but rather as evidence of the fact that Russia is a strong nation that deserves respectable treatment."

The Russian newspaper adds that the decision came after Trump and Putin's first meeting at the G20 Summit in Germany failed to produce an agreement on the lightening of US sanctions against Russia. The issue of the Russian diplomatic compounds was also raised at the Putin-Trump meeting in Hamburg, according to the Russian press reports.

And, as Trump and his family face fresh claims of collusion with the Kremlin, Putin’s patience over the non-return of the Russian compounds has run out.

According to the newspaper, while the administration plans to seize the American summer house in a forest region outside of Moscow and a warehouse in the center of the city, it will not touch the residence of the American ambassador and the American international school in St. Petersburg.



Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-11/we-are-forced-strike-back-rus
sia-set-expel-30-us-diplomats-seize-us-assets


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[4] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-29/us-announces-sanctions-agains
t-russia-expels-35-diplomats-retaliation-election-hacki

[5] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-30/putin-stunner-we-will-not-exp
el-anyone-we-refuse-sink-obamas-level

[6] http://iz.ru/616241/nataliia-portiakova/diplomaticheskaia-vzaimnost-za
medlennogo-deistviia

[7] https://t.co/nWxx0bbtfr
[8] https://twitter.com/hashtag/USRussia?src=hash
[9] https://t.co/uLGKiE4YO4
[10] https://twitter.com/SputnikInt/status/884633612133552128
[11] https://sputniknews.com/russia/201707111055424545-moscow-expel-us-dipl
omats
/









NATO Vows Support For Ukraine Against Russia's "Aggressive Actions"

Created 07/12/2017 - 03:30

Just a few short days after President Trump's 'relative' rapprochement with Russian President Putin, his 'allies' in NATO have stepped up the rhetoric in a very sensitive area for Putin, as

[4]

As Military.com reports, [5] Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of smuggling weapons and troops across the porous border in support of the separatists, a charge has repeatedly denied.

"Russia has maintained its aggressive actions against Ukraine, but NATO and NATO allies stand by Ukraine and stand on your side," Stoltenberg said at the NATO-Ukraine Commission session in Kiev.



"Russia must withdraw its thousands of soldiers from Ukraine and stop supporting the militants," he added during a press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.



The conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 have driven ties between Moscow and the West to their lowest point since the Cold War.



"We are also here to demonstrate NATO's solidarity with Ukraine and our firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of your country," Stoltenberg said.



"NATO allies do not and will not recognize Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea."

The NATO chief's trip came a day after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a maiden visit to Kiev and urged Moscow to take the "first step" to ease the conflict in Ukraine's east.

Ukraine sees NATO accession as a way to bolster its defenses against former master Moscow. In June, Ukraine's parliament voted to back attempts by the nation to seek membership of the 29-member bloc. It approved legal amendments enshrining membership in NATO as a foreign policy priority.

Poroshenko explained that embattled Ukraine was eager to join the bloc, but painful political and economic reforms need to be implemented before the country was ready to lay out its claims on membership.



"We are determined to reforms... to meet the membership criteria," Poroshenko told journalists.



"NATO will continue to support Ukraine on the path towards closer relationships with NATO," Stoltenberg added.

But the Kremlin has long been angered by NATO expansion into what Moscow views as its sphere of influence in the former Soviet region.

"It (Ukraine's rapprochement with NATO) will not contribute to the strengthening of stability and security on the European continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

However, Kiev has yet to officially apply to start the lengthy and politically challenging process of joining the US-led alliance.



Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-11/nato-vows-support-ukraine-aga
inst-russias-aggressive-actions


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[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/print/599562
[4]
[5] http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/07/10/nato-vows-support-ukrain
e-russia-aggressive-actions.html




US Tanks, Troops Arrive In Estonia As Part Of NATO Anti-Russia Build Up

By Tyler Durden

Created 02/07/2017 - 14:28

Tyler Durden's picture[1]

by Tyler Durden [1]

Feb 7, 2017 2:28 PM

Twitter Facebook Reddit [2] [3]

As part of continued a NATO build-up and US efforts to counter an alleged Russian threat, US military hardware, including M1A2 Abrams battle tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles have arrived in the northern Estonian town of Tapa, shortly after similar deployments were made to other Eastern European nations including Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany.

]

"The movement of equipment and troops into and around Europe marks the beginning of a continuous rotation of armored brigade combat teams from the United States as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve," the US Defense Department said in a statement, commenting on the move. It added that "Atlantic Resolve is a demonstration of continued US commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine."



In July 2016, NATO members agreed to the “biggest reinforcement since the Cold War,” posting four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

More than 50 units of US military equipment, including four battle tanks and 15 infantry fighting vehicles, were delivered to Tapa, the Estonian Defense Forces said in a statement [5]. Personnel of the Charlie Company of 68th Armored Regiment's 1st Battalion from the US Army 4th Infantry Division arrived in the town two days earlier, on January 30. Company commander Captain Edward Bachar said the US troops would take part in the Estonian Independence Day parade. Earlier, Bachar also said that his company would begin its expert marksmanship training this week.

The new unit would replace a paratrooper company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 503rd Infantry Regiment, which was deployed to Estonia in September. The paratrooper company would then go back to its permanent base in Italy.

The Estonian deployment marks a new phase of the Operation Atlantic Resolve, which began in April 2014, following the flaring of tensions between Russia and the West. Atlantic Resolve is perceived by Washington as a demonstration of continued US commitment to the collective security of Europe in the view of alleged Russian “assertiveness.”

As reported previously, last month some 2,800 pieces of US military hardware, including US Abrams tanks, Paladin artillery, Bradley fighting vehicles and 4,000 troops arrived in Europe as part of the operation. These forces subsequently moved to Poland to participate in military drills in late January, and then were deployed across seven countries, including the Baltic States, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany. A headquarters unit is stationed in Germany.

In addition to American troops going to Poland, NATO members Germany, Canada and Britain are also contributing to the significant NATO forces buildup in Eastern Europe and are sending battalions of up to 1,000 troops each to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Apart from the military buildup on Russian borders, the US and NATO strategy also includes conducting continuous, enhanced multinational training and security cooperation activities with US and NATO partners in eastern Europe. Since the Operation began, these military exercises have been conducted in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. In mid-January, Estonia and Lithuania also signed agreements with the US regulating the status and deployment framework of American soldiers and hardware on the territory of the two Baltics states, which were dubbed “first of its kind.”

As RT adds [6], the agreements provided a legal framework for the presence of US military personnel and their family members in the two Baltic States, as well as the use of the local military sites by American troops. They also enable a range of joint “defense-related activities.”

Meanwhile, while NATO members continue to point toward perceived “Russian aggression,” calling it “a source of instability,” Russia has repeatedly denied that it poses any kind of threat. Moscow has also expanded its own military training and increased its strategic nuclear capabilities in areas such as Kaliningrad, its western exclave. Russia also tried to ease tensions by proposing enhanced cooperation with NATO on multiple levels in August. The proposal covered such fields as combating terrorism and “cooperation to avoid incidents at sea and in the air” in border areas with NATO countries.

For now, Trump's formal stance on the ongoing Ukraine conflict, as well as NATO build up and encirclement of Russia has yet to be determined.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-07/us-tanks-troops-arrive-estoni
a-part-nato-anti-russia-build


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[4]
[5] http://www.mil.ee/et/uudised/9591/tapale-saabus-%C3%BCle-50-%C3%BChiku
-usa-s%C3%B5jatehnikat

[6] https://www.rt.com/news/376513-us-tanks-arrive-estonia/

More…



















Zero Hedge

Published on Zero Hedge ( http://www.zerohedge.com)

Home > Hundreds Of US Tanks Arrive In Europe To Support NATO Anti-Russian Buildup





Hundreds Of US Tanks Arrive In Europe To Support NATO Anti-Russian Buildup

Created 01/06/2017 - 12:43

As we reported yesterday [4], Lithuania confirmed the presence of U.S. special forces inside its territory, stating the deployment’s purpose is to train local forces and act as a deterrent against Russian aggression. Supposedly, the move is in response to a "escalation" by Vladimir Putin, who has been deploying nuke-ready missiles in the Russian province of Kaliningrad located in the heart of central Europe. This move has prompted the neighboring Baltic states to become “highly concerned” about Russian military activity.

Furthermore, sometime during the spring of 2017, NATO is expected to send battalions [5] of 800 to 1,200 troops to each of the Baltic States and Poland. The mainstream media [6] has even dubbed NATO’s recent buildup the alliance’s “biggest military buildup on Russia’s borders since the Cold War.” Even Great Britain will be sending fighter jets, as well as troops [7] to Romania in order to counter Russia in the region.

Over the last several years, Russia has made it abundantly clear in the past that its deployment of missiles is a deterrent against NATO expansion along its borders, in what is effectively a cat-and-mouse game that continues to be played with catastrophic consequences, and which neither side can win.

Meanwhile, as part of the latest conventional arms race, on Friday hundreds of U.S. tanks, trucks and other military equipment arrived by ship in Germany to be transported by rail and road to eastern Europe as part of a NATO buildup that has drawn Russia's ire. According to Reuters [8], two shiploads arrived in the northern port of Bremerhaven and a third was due in a few days, bringing the fleets of tracked and wheeled vehicles for use by around 4,000 U.S. troops being deployed for exercises in NATO states near Russia.

]

U.S. and Polish forces will participate in a large "massing" exercise in Poland at the end of January as part of a series of measures aimed at reassuring U.S. allies in Europe after Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine. Beginning in February, U.S. military units will spread out across Poland, the Baltic states, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany for training, exercises and maintenance.

"The best way to maintain the peace is through preparation," Major General Timothy McGuire told reporters when asked if the large deployment was meant to send a message to Russia.

He also admitted that "this is just showing the strength and cohesion of the alliance and the U.S. commitment to maintain the peace on the continent." It is also a provocation specifically designed to provoke Putin into further escalation, something which Obama also did last week with the expuslion of 35 Russian diplomats.

NATO countries say their planned deployments to eastern NATO countries are purely defensive, but Russia has rebuked what it sees as an aggressive western buildup in eastern Europe.

In addition to U.S. troops going to Poland, NATO members Germany, Canada and Britain are also sending battalions of up to 1,000 troops each to the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They say the four battalions, backed by additional U.S. forces on rotation, are justified by Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Those actions alarmed the Baltic states, which worry they could be the next targets of Russian pressure.



Among their equipment will be 87 Abrams M1A1 tanks, 20 Paladin artillery vehicles and 136 Bradley fighting vehicles.



The equipment will be used by the U.S. Army's 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, arriving this month from Fort Carson, Colorado for the first of what Washington promises will be back-to-back nine-month rotations in the "foreseeable future."



The Army is also sending its 10th Combat Aviation Brigade with about 50 Black Hawk and 10 CH-47 Chinook helicopters and 1,800 personnel, as well as a separate aviation battalion with 400 troops and 24 Apache helicopters.

Amid this dangerous escalation, voices of reason were few and far between. One of them belonged to Germany's Left party, which has called for closer ties with Russia, said Berlin had a historic obligation to work for peace and disarmament, and it would protest against the deployment. "Tanks never create peace anywhere," said Christian Goerke, who heads the party in Brandenburg state. "Quite the contrary, a troop deployment of such a scale is part of always increasing buildup and provocation."

Unfortunately both the US Military-Industrial complex, and the US government, stubbornly pretend not to recognize this simple logic.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-06/hundreds-us-tanks-arrive-euro
pe-support-nato-anti-russian-buildup


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[4] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-05/us-has-begun-amassing-troops-
russian-border

[5] http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/lithuania-confirms-presence-us-special-forces
-1599296

[6] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/27/military-build-up-along-
russias-border-no-cause-for-alarm

[7] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/27/uk-to-deploy-hundreds-of
-troops-and-aircraft-to-eastern-europe

[8] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-russia-idUSKBN14Q1VC?feedType=R
SS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

[9]









Zero Hedge

American Troops "Roll Into Poland" In Largest Deployment Since The Cold War

"American soldiers rolled into Poland on Thursday, fulfilling a dream Poles have had since the fall of communism in 1989 to have U.S. troops on their soil as a deterrent against Russia."

That's how the AP begins [4]its report on the first deployment of US soldiers into the central European country, previewed here earlier in the week as "One Of Largest Deployments Since The Cold War [5]", even as Russia warned that the move represented a threat to its national security, and the Kremlin said "Russia regarded the move as an aggressive step along its borders."


Two convoys of have been photographed heading to Poland from Germany today


40 vehicles across two separate convoys are on their way to Poland

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/20
17/01/01/800%20%281%29_0.jpeg
]

NATO, however, has ignored Russian concerns and threats of retaliation and as a result soldiers in camouflage with tanks and other vehicles crossed into southwestern Poland on Thursday morning from Germany and headed for Zagan, where they will be based.


The largest US military brigade since the end of the Cold War arrived in
Bremerhaven in northern Germany on Saturday

While in the past the US and other Western nations have carried out exercises on NATO's eastern flank, this deployment, which includes around 3,500 U.S. troops and 2,800 tanks, trucks and other military equipment, marks the first-ever continuous deployment to the region by a NATO ally. It also represents a commitment by outgoing President Obama to "protect" a region that became deeply nervous over Russia's response to the CIA-orchestrated presidential coup in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, and the resulting proxy war in east Ukraine.

Two convoys of 20 vehicles were pictured leaving Brueck near Lehnin in Germany today heading to Poland. They spent the night 80km from Berlin. Troops will also deployed to Romania, Bulgaria and across the Baltics.

The Pentagon now plans to keep the full deployment in Europe and immediately replace those returning after their 9-month stays. The US troops will carry out training exercises with NATO forces once there.

* * *

As AP adds [4], the arrival of the US troops will be feted on Saturday in official ceremonies attended by Poland's prime minister and defense minister.

Despite the Polish celebrations, clouds hung over the historic moment. As the AP puts it, "there are anxieties that the enhanced security could eventually be undermined by the pro-Kremlin views of President-elect Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Russia appears provoked by the deployment of American troops on its doorstep."

"We perceive it as a threat," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "These actions threaten our interests, our security. Especially as it concerns a third party building up its military presence near our borders," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. "It's not even a European state."

Worries about the permanence of the new U.S. security commitments are rooted in a tragic national history in which Poland has often lost out in deals made over its head by the great powers.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-12/american-troops-roll-poland-l
argest-deployment-cold-war


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[4] https://apnews.com/cb5d55ba66694c2ca0f4094e26926345
[5] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-09/thousands-us-troops-begin-arr
iving-europe-one-largest-deployments-cold-war

[6] http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/20
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Pirate News lives!! Demented psychos all over the world rejoice with self-mutilation and frenzied chip dipping.

NOTIFY: N   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Monday, August 7, 2017 12:31 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:
Be a dear and quote this. I want to be able to post it later without you plural claiming I made it up after-the-fact.


So, let me reiterate:

All the provocative actions the US has initiated on Russia's borders, and the conflicts where the US has engaged Russia in other countries, are historical facts. The US is aggressively pushing Russia on the GAMBLE that while the US deep state can act like assholes wherever it wants, Russia in contrast will politely fold its hands and acquiesce.

In kindergarten, in law, and in international policy, WHO STARTED IT MATTERS. And who's starting it is the US.

Those facts are being quietly shuffled away.

Instead, we're being treated to an endless barrage of RUSSIA !!! hysteria to prime us for conflict.

SOMEBODY - please quote me. Because I want to be able to point this out to you again, later on, and not be accused of creating it after the fact.

==================

Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.



Quoted, as requested.

-----------
By the way, GSTRING, I predicted your response PERFECTLY
* ... and then you'll say I'm "too wordy". And then you will - as always- refuse to address the pertinent points, and respond with even more lies and even more bullshit personal attacks.*

And voila! Here it is http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035581#1035581

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Monday, August 7, 2017 1:08 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Well ... THANKS!




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Monday, August 7, 2017 7:32 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Trump has ALREADY capitulated to the Deep State and is ALREADY provoking Russia - a fully capable nuclear country that ALREADY DOES have the capacity to turn the US into smoking nuclear ash.- KIKI

But Signuts says the US doesn't have anything to fear from poor little ole Russia...? - SIGNUTS

Wow, strawmanning, and a personal attack all in 15 words!

As usual, GSTRING, you're LYING, you steaming sack of troll-shit.

What I said was

Quote:

So, what is Putin's long game??? As far as I can tell, it's "multipolarity". It's something he has spoken of often, and - as a model for a nation of that size- it matches Russia's long-term interests and capabilities. Because Russia really doesn't have the capability to take over the whole world. The only thing they can offer is a credible defense for some areas. And also, they are the other half of mutually assured destruction. It also matches Russia's history of creating overlapping economic and military partnerships with other mid-sized Eurasian nations, and - frankly- I don't see anything wrong with that.
http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=61835

If you think in REAL TERMS about American versus Russian militaries, America has 55 TIMES the number of military bases, 12 TIMES the number of aircraft carriers, and approximately TWICE AS MANY LONG RANGE AIRCRAFT .... ALL FORWARD PROJECTIONS OF AMERICAN MILITARY POWER, DESIGNED TO DOMINATE THE GLOBE. We have the hubris to think of ourselves as the "indispensable nation" empowered to command the world, and an unparalleled history of nation-destruction to prove it.

What Russia DOES have is the ability to defend a few key partners ... Syria plus Iran, for example. Since the USA depends on air superiority Russia is also willing to sell defensive missile systems to prevent USA bombing runs.

But Russia doesn't have the multi-front capability of USA+NATO. In the end, if their fairly thin defensive structure is overwhelmed and Russia ITSELF is attacked, perhaps by a USA first strike, Russia has promised that the war won't be fought only on their soil; that they will go nuclear and destroy the USA. That is their last line of defense.

They are so committed to this concept that they have developed (they say) automated submarine missile-launchers which have been quietly positioned off the coasts of the USA, ready to fire nuclear weapons at the USA in the event that their central command is destroyed. A kind of "dead-man's hand" response.

Americans have gotten so used to the idea that wars are always fought "elsewhere" that the idea of MAD has slipped below the radar. But when Putin says that Russia is prepared to use nuclear weapons in their defense, I believe him.


-----------
By the way, GSTRING, I predicted your response PERFECTLY
* ... and then you'll say I'm "too wordy". And then you will - as always- refuse to address the pertinent points, and respond with even more lies and even more bullshit personal attacks.*

And voila! Here it is http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035581#1035581

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Monday, August 7, 2017 9:52 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

But Russia doesn't have the multi-front capability of USA+NATO. In the end, if their fairly thin defensive structure is overwhelmed and Russia ITSELF is attacked, perhaps by a USA first strike, Russia has promised that the war won't be fought only on their soil; that they will go nuclear and destroy the USA. That is their last line of defense.

They are so committed to this concept that they have developed (they say) automated submarine missile-launchers which have been quietly positioned off the coasts of the USA, ready to fire nuclear weapons at the USA in the event that their central command is destroyed. A kind of "dead-man's hand" response.

Americans have gotten so used to the idea that wars are always fought "elsewhere" that the idea of MAD has slipped below the radar. But when Putin says that Russia is prepared to use nuclear weapons in their defense, I believe him.

Putin's "dead-man's hand" would only be built by someone who totally believes the myth that "Nuclear weapons are essential for deterrence". That deterrence myth has accidentally come very close to killing him several times:
http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2017/08/the-bomb-ended-world-wa
r-2-and-other.html


One could add several other examples beyond the Cuban Missile Crisis to the list of close calls; a later one would be the Able Archer exercise of 1983 that caused the Soviets deep anxiety and borderline paranoia. In addition, as documented in Eric Schlosser's book Command and Control, there were dozens of close calls - swiftly classified, of course - in the form of nuclear accidents which could have led to catastrophic loss of life. The fact is that deterrence is always touted as the ultimate counter-argument to the risks of nuclear warfare, but there are scores of examples where political leaders decided to escalate and provoke the other side in spite of deterrence. From the other side of the fence it looks like deterrence ultimately worked, but often by a very slim margin. Add to this the fact that the vast network of nuclear command and control centers and protocols developed by nuclear nations are manned by fallible human beings; they are examples of complex systems subject to so-called "normal accidents". There is also no dearth of examples during the Cold War where lowly technicians and army officers could have launched World War 3 because of miscalculation, misunderstandings or paranoia. The fact is that these weapons of mass destruction have a life of their own; they are beyond the abilities of human beings to completely harness because human weaknesses and flaws also have lives of their own.

There is much more at http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2017/08/the-bomb-ended-world-wa
r-2-and-other.html

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Monday, August 7, 2017 11:21 AM

THGRRI


Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:
That's the calculation that the Deep State is making - which is why they think they can do ANYTHING they want to Russia.

But Putin doesn't have nearly the military of the US. The only thing he has that can even up the score is nuclear arms. And he has promised to use them if provoked.


** WE ** shouldn't even be pushing on that line, betting that Russia won't go over it.



How lucky do you feel?




Very, yep, very lucky. Putin has surrounded himself with like minded criminals. They aren't going to back him when it comes to their own destruction. Their loyalty lasts only as long as the money keeps coming in and their survival is not threatened.








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Monday, August 7, 2017 1:13 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


So, just to be clear, you are all on board with playing nuclear chicken?

THUGGER, GEEBERS, KPO, Rappy, SECONDS?

Yes or no will be adequate.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Monday, August 7, 2017 4:21 PM

THGRRI


Quote:

Originally posted by G:
Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:
So, just to be clear, you are all on board with playing nuclear chicken?



Wha...? Nuclear chicken is a board game? You're unclear about nuclear? You say you have the brain of a chicken... wha?

==============================










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Monday, August 7, 2017 5:41 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.



The name "chicken" has its origins in a game in which two drivers drive towards each other on a collision course: one must swerve, or both may die in the crash, but if one driver swerves and the other does not, the one who swerved will be called a "chicken", meaning a coward; this terminology is most prevalent in political science and economics.


So, just to be clear, you are all on board with playing nuclear chicken?

THUGGER, GEEBERS, KPO, Rappy, SECONDS?

Care to answer the question?

Yes or no will be adequate.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.



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Monday, August 7, 2017 7:36 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Just tallying up how MANY times you duck the question.

The name "chicken" has its origins in a game in which two drivers drive towards each other on a collision course: one must swerve, or both may die in the crash, but if one driver swerves and the other does not, the one who swerved will be called a "chicken", meaning a coward; this terminology is most prevalent in political science and economics.


So, just to be clear, you are all on board with playing nuclear chicken?

THUGGER, GEEBERS, KPO, Rappy, SECONDS?

Care to answer the question?

Yes or no will be adequate.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.




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Monday, August 7, 2017 9:06 PM

THGRRI


Russian president Vladimir Putin has taken a page from Nazi Germany’s playbook of the 1930s and early 1940s. He claims responsibility for ethnic Russian minorities in neighboring countries. We saw this gambit in Russia’s war against Georgia in 2008, in the military occupation of Crimea in 2014, and in its ongoing military operations in Eastern Ukraine. “Ethnic cleansing” and “Russification” of key areas have followed some of these military operations. But Putin has what Hitler lacked: nuclear weapons. With these, he attempts to pressure neighboring states to timidly accept Moscow’s desires, including the redrawing of European borders and “Russification.” Russia now wields nuclear weapons and threats not only to protect its territory but also to intimidate and coerce its neighbors into submission. Moscow’s crude nuclear threats to its neighbors, including American allies, vividly demonstrate its aggressive nuclear strategy. Those threats are intended to stoke such fear in the U.S. and its allies that all will hesitate to respond strongly to Russian military aggression. For Putin, the fruits of this grand strategy include approval ratings within Russia that are the envy of the world: 89 percent. In short, Russia’s strategy is now one of nuclear coercion, not stable mutual deterrence. How far Putin will push this strategy remains an open question, but recent history does not suggest a comforting answer. As Secretary of Defense Ash Carter observed in a speech to American allies this month: “Moscow’s nuclear sabre-rattling raises questions about Russia’s commitment to strategic stability and causes us . . . to wonder whether . . . they share the profound caution . . . that world leaders in the nuclear age have shown over decades to the brandishing of nuclear weapons.” Precisely so, which is why Russia’s nuclear policies are now so dangerous.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420510/putin-wields-nuclear-thre
at-and-plays-fire-keith-b-payne



Yet with SIG and kiki it's America that's the problem. Well you comrades. There is nobody here afraid of that midget Putin.





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Monday, August 7, 2017 9:07 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.




Just tallying up how MANY times you duck the question.

The name "chicken" has its origins in a game in which two drivers drive towards each other on a collision course: one must swerve, or both may die in the crash, but if one driver swerves and the other does not, the one who swerved will be called a "chicken", meaning a coward; this terminology is most prevalent in political science and economics.


So, just to be clear, you are all on board with playing nuclear chicken?

THUGGER, GEEBERS, KPO, Rappy, SECONDS?

Care to answer the question?

Yes or no will be adequate.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.




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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:23 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


So I'm going to pose this question again, because it's a simple one. The press would have us believe that we should be afraid, VERY AFRAID, of North Korea. It's a country that, granted, has managed to outplay the US at every turn, with its role as China's rabid pet dog. So while China pantomimes that it's trying as best as it can to rein in the North Korean leader de jour, North Korea careens down its path under the protection of its big neighbor. OTOH, despite its strategic brilliance in inhabiting the China-US-NorthKorea triangle, North Korea barely has an arsenal, let alone missiles to carry its bombs. And North Korea will never be a country-destroying threat. (The same could be said for Iran.) And with just one warhead launched from the country, its future as a barrens of radioactive dust is guaranteed.

And here we are, being told to shake in our boots over a country that couldn't really hurt us.

But at the same time, we're told that the evil Empire Russia, with a capacity to destroy the planet all on its own, has been completely defanged. It's toothless. Harmless. It wouldn't dare do anything, so we can provoke it as much as we want. Because it can't hurt us.

Does that package of propaganda seem batty to you? Because it sure does to me. Fear the mouse in the corner, ignore the bear at your back.

And the only reason it's acceptable to you all is because you've let yourselves be unthinkingly conditioned by the media. "The US is sabre rattling --- again. The question is, will the US people fall for it --- again." You all are sure falling for it --- again.

With that in mind ...



The name "chicken" has its origins in a game in which two drivers drive towards each other on a collision course: one must swerve, or both may die in the crash, but if one driver swerves and the other does not, the one who swerved will be called a "chicken", meaning a coward; this terminology is most prevalent in political science and economics.


So, just to be clear, you are all on board with playing nuclear chicken?

THUGGER, GEEBERS, KPO, Rappy, SECONDS?

Care to answer the question?

Yes or no will be adequate.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.





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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 5:56 AM

KPO

Sometimes you own the libs. Sometimes, the libs own you.


The threat of nuclear war is a tactic used by North Korea and Russia to try and leverage what they want. They hype the threat via government statements and propaganda to try and influence and intimidate Western (and South Korean) public opinion. Russia is more toned-down than North Korea, but it is essentially the same tactic.

And here you are kiki being a good information warrior/useful idiot doing your best to spread the Russian message of fear and hysteria. But, level headed people know, the idea that if we put sanctions on Russia for bad behaviour, or don't give in to all its geopolitical desires it will lead to nuclear war, is absurd.

Nuclear arsenals are not a way for a country to throw its weight around, and countries should not be rewarded for doing so. That will only inspire other rogue nation wannabes to do the same.

To answer your question, kiki, we should ignore Russia's nuclear hype emanating from its government and propaganda mouthpieces, and ignore its snowflake geopolitical butthurt as well.

-------------------------------------------------------

"Objective truths are established by evidence. Personal truths by faith. Political truths by incessant repetition."

Russia's and Assad's War Crimes in Syria - http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=60278
Syrian regime collusion with ISIS - http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=60521


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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 8:05 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:

So, just to be clear, you are all on board with playing nuclear chicken?

THUGGER, GEEBERS, KPO, Rappy, SECONDS?

Care to answer the question?

Yes or no will be adequate.

No. But that is not enough answer. Russia's tactic is mentioned in the wiki's Chicken Game, plus much more about generalized game theory:

In Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, the Russians sought to deter American attack by building a "doomsday machine," a device that would trigger world annihilation if Russia was hit by nuclear weapons or if any attempt were made to disarm it. However, the Russians had planned to signal the deployment of the machine a few days after having set it up, which, because of an unfortunate course of events, turned out to be too late.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_(game)#Pre-commitment

1kiki, oddly enough, Signym says Putin is playing an actual game of Chicken from Dr. Strangelove:
Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

But Russia doesn't have the multi-front capability of USA+NATO. In the end, if their fairly thin defensive structure is overwhelmed and Russia ITSELF is attacked, perhaps by a USA first strike, Russia has promised that the war won't be fought only on their soil; that they will go nuclear and destroy the USA. That is their last line of defense.

They are so committed to this concept that they have developed (they say) automated submarine missile-launchers which have been quietly positioned off the coasts of the USA, ready to fire nuclear weapons at the USA in the event that their central command is destroyed. A kind of "dead-man's hand" response.

If Putin has built the "dead-man's hand", but won't prove it actually exists, then Russia is playing the Dr. Strangelove version of a game of chicken. That ends with the world destroyed. Well done, Vladimir Putin, for turning a satire into reality.

Putin ought not to be coy about it, saying maybe I have built this "doomsday machine" or maybe I haven't. He has to make it plainly obvious to the USA that he has built his "dead-man's hand". I suggest Putin give tours to the American public of his "dead-man's hand" or "doomsday machine" and give out free books, in English and Spanish, on precisely how it works.

The USA has not built an American version of either Putin's "dead-man's hand" or "doomsday machine". The USA is NOT playing chicken, despite what 1kiki claims. At least not until Trump. Trump has asked why the USA has nukes if he can't use them.
www.cnbc.com/2016/08/03/trump-asks-why-us-cant-use-nukes-msnbcs-joe-sc
arborough-reports.html



The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 8:45 AM

THGRRI


And there you have it kiki. The last few posts all have a common answer. We aren't playing chicken with Russia.

We're calling their bluff.






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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 8:57 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


You're such an idiot, SECONDS.

The USA and the USSR signed a number of treaties and made a number of agreements to stabilize Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).

Quote:

Signym says Putin is playing an actual game of Chicken from Dr. Strangelove
And BTW, I have to say that you showing off your paltry knowledge of game theory is kinda dopey. EVERYONE who has ever looked at game theory knows that MAD is the greatest game of chicken even played, and has been since the dawn of the nuclear arms race. There's nothing new here. Also, it takes TWO to play a game of "chicken". More on that later. But thanks for being (1) late to the game and (2) one-sided, like most neocons.

Now, about it taking two to play "chicken".

The USA and the USSR had reached a number of agreements to stabilize this "game of chicken" so global nuclear annihilation wouldn't be the final result.

One important agreement was the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, or ABM Treaty. What this treaty did was to limit the number of DEFENSIVE (anti-missile) nuclear weapons, because defensive nuclear weapons can place one side in a position where it can successfully launch a first strike, without fear of retaliation.

Quote:

Signed in 1972, it was in force for the next 30 years. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1997 four former Soviet republics agreed with the United States to succeed the USSR's role in the treaty.

During its lifetime, the USA kept poking holes into the spirit of ABM ...
Quote:

On March 23, 1983 Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, a research program into ballistic missile defense which would be, "consistent with our obligations under the ABM Treaty". The project was a blow to Yuri Andropov's so-called "peace offensive". Andropov said that "It is time they [Washington] stopped... search[ing] for the best ways of unleashing nuclear war... Engaging in this is not just irresponsible. It is insane".


In 2002, the USA finally killed it completely.
Quote:

In June 2002 the United States withdrew from the treaty, leading to its termination.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Ballistic_Missile_Treaty

Another treaty which the USA has been poking holes into is the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty). THIS treaty
Quote:

eliminated an entire category of nuclear weapons and introduced, for the first time, extensive verification and data exchange mechanisms, including on-site inspections. ... A special clarification, adopted in the spring of 1988 during the ratification process, elaborated that it covered all missiles falling under the definition irrespective of whether they were equipped with nuclear, conventional, or “exotic” warheads.
Missiles falling under this treaty are in the 500-5,500 km range.

HOWEVER, just like our treaties with native Americans, the USA govt has a hard time sticking to its agreements.

Quote:

Of explicit relevance to the INF Treaty, Russia accuses the United States of malign intent in moving forward with the deployment of the more capable Aegis Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile defense interceptors to neighboring Poland ....

Beyond the legal and technical issues is the credibility gap opened by U.S. ... When the Polish missile defense site was planned in 2009, the United States was projecting the near-term possibility that Iranian long-range, nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles could threaten all of Europe.

Yet, with conclusion and implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the absence of any long-range missile testing by Iran, that threat has receded far beyond the 2018 deadline for declaring operational more advanced missile defenses in Poland. For Moscow, the continued construction there constitutes confirmation of long-standing suspicions that these systems are directed against Russia rather than Iran.


https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2017-03/features/inf-treaty-survive-pu
tin%E2%80%99s-new-missile-presents-major-test-arms-control


So yeah, clearly this is all Russia's fault!

Sheesh

*****
Quote:

And there you have it kiki. The last few posts all have a common answer. We aren't playing chicken with Russia.
We're calling their bluff. - THUGR



By the way, SECONDS, you see THUGR jonesing for all-out nuclear war, again. Doesn't that scare you, just a little, to know that a significant portion of our fellow Americans ,,, along with an even bigger portion of our deep state .... are willing to risk the entire biosphere in order to play their game of chicken?


-----------
By the way, GSTRING, I predicted your response PERFECTLY
* ... and then you'll say I'm "too wordy". And then you will - as always- refuse to address the pertinent points, and respond with even more lies and even more bullshit personal attacks.*

And voila! Here it is http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035581#1035581

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 9:50 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Pfff - more bombast and wordy nothingness from SIGGLESS.
You apparently can't refute the facts of abrogations of various nuclear treaties, so you resort to personal attack, again.

Quote:

To simply HAVE a nuke is to play the chicken dance. 1 nuke = chicken dance.
So, since WE have nukes ... in fact, since WE developed them first and are (to date) the only nation ever to use them in war ... doesn't that make us the instigators of this "game of chicken"?

Quote:

More significantly is KPO's answer. As usual, he cuts to the heart of it: to let someone bluff with nukes is to encourage every other wannabe mad dictator to get nukes.
So therefore, we shouldn't have nukes, since it encourages us to bluff with them?

*****

I don't know what's more troubling GSTRING, your total one-sidedness, or THUGR'S complete cluelessness:

Quote:

And there you have it kiki. The last few posts all have a common answer. We aren't playing chicken with Russia. We're calling their bluff.
Wow, THUGR doesn't even recognize that "calling someones bluff" in a deadly show of bravado is the VERY DEFINITION of the game of chicken!

You guys should get your story straight:

GSTRING, why don't you explain to your idiot friend what a "game of chicken" is.

And then you can explain to all of us why WE should have nukes, but nobody else can.



-----------
By the way, GSTRING, I predicted your response PERFECTLY
* ... and then you'll say I'm "too wordy". And then you will - as always- refuse to address the pertinent points, and respond with even more lies and even more bullshit personal attacks.*

And voila! Here it is http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035581#1035581

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 10:03 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Pfff - more bombast and wordy nothingness from SIGGLESS.
You apparently can't refute the facts of abrogations of various nuclear treaties, so you resort to personal attack, again.

Did Putin build his doomsday machine? Is it all empty talk or is Putin eventually giving the American public a tour of his ultimate machine?
Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

But Russia doesn't have the multi-front capability of USA+NATO. In the end, if their fairly thin defensive structure is overwhelmed and Russia ITSELF is attacked, perhaps by a USA first strike, Russia has promised that the war won't be fought only on their soil; that they will go nuclear and destroy the USA. That is their last line of defense.

They are so committed to this concept that they have developed (they say) automated submarine missile-launchers which have been quietly positioned off the coasts of the USA, ready to fire nuclear weapons at the USA in the event that their central command is destroyed. A kind of "dead-man's hand" response.

Did Putin build the machine from the satirical movie Dr. Strangelove?


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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:49 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Oh, there is GSTRING again, being extremely coy about its opinions, and getting all huffy when someone points that out.

So, GSTRING, are you saying that we should ALL get rid of our nuclear weapons, including us?

A yes or no will do.

I predict that GSTRING will refuse to answer the question directly, despite being asked multiple times.

-----------
By the way, GSTRING, I predicted your response PERFECTLY
* ... and then you'll say I'm "too wordy". And then you will - as always- refuse to address the pertinent points, and respond with even more lies and even more bullshit personal attacks.*

And voila! Here it is http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035581#1035581

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:08 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Did Putin build his doomsday machine?
SECOND, are you being a complete idiot on purpose???

Yes, you must be. That's the only explanation.

Think it thru. And stop using a movie as your template for real life.


-----------
By the way, GSTRING, I predicted your response PERFECTLY
* ... and then you'll say I'm "too wordy". And then you will - as always- refuse to address the pertinent points, and respond with even more lies and even more bullshit personal attacks.*

And voila! Here it is http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035581#1035581

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 3:52 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Did Putin build his doomsday machine?
SECOND, are you being a complete idiot on purpose???

Yes, you must be. That's the only explanation.

Think it thru. And stop using a movie as your template for real life.

Signym, you mentioned that Putin built a doomsday machine (maybe he did, maybe he didn't, Putin is being coy). If Putin built the "dead-man's hand" you said he did, then he has begun a comically, ridiculously dangerous game of chicken with the whole world, not just the USA, as his victims. The movie Dr. Strangelove mocked Putin's kind of thinking.

Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

But Russia doesn't have the multi-front capability of USA+NATO. In the end, if their fairly thin defensive structure is overwhelmed and Russia ITSELF is attacked, perhaps by a USA first strike, Russia has promised that the war won't be fought only on their soil; that they will go nuclear and destroy the USA. That is their last line of defense.

They are so committed to this concept that they have developed (they say) automated submarine missile-launchers which have been quietly positioned off the coasts of the USA, ready to fire nuclear weapons at the USA in the event that their central command is destroyed. A kind of "dead-man's hand" response.

Signym, you were presenting Putin's "dead-man's hand" as a good idea. Are you a believer in the myth that "Nuclear weapons are essential for deterrence"?

That deterrence myth has nearly killed Putin several times since he was born in 1952. He is lucky to be alive:
http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2017/08/the-bomb-ended-world-wa
r-2-and-other.html

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 5:33 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!



Things I know to be true...

In 1994, Bill Clinton made a deal which would ensure NK would not get a nuke.

NK got a nuke.

The UN security council voted 15-0 ( yes, Russia and China on board ) to place sanctions on NK for it's hostile acts regarding its missile program.

*Some are trying to claim that it's the USA, not NK, who is " sabre rattling "

* Those who believe that are idiots.

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 6:39 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


GSTRING: Oh, boo hoo hoo. So I strawmanned you. And yes, I did it on purpose. For all of the times that you strawmanned me, you got a little of it back. Pobrecito!

Now that THAT'S cleared up, how about putting on your big-boy pants and telling us your opinion: Should EVERYONE get rid of their nuclear weapons?

Yes or no?

Now lets see how often you mange to dodge, deflect, and evade a straight answer.

Select to view spoiler:


coward



-----------
By the way, GSTRING, I predicted your response PERFECTLY
* ... and then you'll say I'm "too wordy". And then you will - as always- refuse to address the pertinent points, and respond with even more lies and even more bullshit personal attacks.*

And voila! Here it is http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035581#1035581

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 7:27 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Now that THAT'S cleared up, how about putting on your big-boy pants and telling us your opinion: Should EVERYONE get rid of their nuclear weapons?

Yes or no?

Now lets see how often you mange to dodge, deflect, and evade a straight answer.

Yes. Everyone gets rid of their nukes. Give me a straight answer: Is this worse than or equal to saber-rattling? "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen," Trump told reporters at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Signym picked Trump as the President who comes with a dump truck load of quirks and personality kinks.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-warns-nkorea-will-be-met-with-fire-
and-fury-if-threatens-us/ar-AApJjH4

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 11:42 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Quote:

The threat of nuclear war is a tactic used by North Korea and Russia to try and leverage what they want. They hype the threat via government statements and propaganda to try and influence and intimidate Western (and South Korean) public opinion. Russia is more toned-down than North Korea, but it is essentially the same tactic.
Neither NK nor Russia have anything to GAIN from STARTING a nuclear war. And while NK has certainly blustered, their chances of being decimated in a nuclear exchange with the US are 100%, while ours are zero. Meanwhile, Russia has said it will RESPOND to aggression by going nuclear. But the outcome is MAD.

The answer is simple.

Tell NK they have nothing to fear from the US. But if they should launch first, they will be blown to ashes.

And stop provoking Russia in an insane game of nuclear chicken.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 11:48 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Quote:

Some are trying to claim that it's the USA, not NK, who is " sabre rattling "
The US is sabre rattling in Europe. Despite a half-dozen articles and posts on the topic, and despite the fact that you actually responded to them (did you read any of them at all before you posted?), it looks like you missed the detail about location.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Wednesday, August 9, 2017 12:14 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by 1kiki:

The answer is simple.

Tell NK they have nothing to fear from the US. But if they should launch first, they will be blown to ashes.

And stop provoking Russia in an insane game of nuclear chicken.

The answer is not simple for one reason beyond control: Trump. Trump’s dire threat to North Korea that it risked “fire and fury like the world has never seen” sounded like a threat of nuclear war.

Trump has “unchecked authority to order the use of conventional or nuclear weapons against North Korea,” Bruce G. Blair, a nuclear security expert at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security. said in an e-mail. “I believe that both options are being prepared right now.”

“President Trump has unchecked power over the US nuclear arsenal, which is another reason why deescalation is critical. If conflict erupts, two inexperienced leaders with poor impulse control have nuclear weapons at their fingertips. That is a chilling scenario that the international community would do best to avoid,” said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the nonprofit Arms Control Association.

Davenport said Trump’s comments were “ill-advised and inflammatory.”

“Loose talk inciting conflict will only continue to spur North Korea to continue advancing its nuclear and misfile programs. Pressure alone is not going to reduce the threat posed by Pyongyang,” she said, “Talks are necessary.”

www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/08/president-trump-does-have-power-o
rder-nuclear-attack/a9MRj6gKeS6yYbdNTYeu8N/story.html



www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-weapons-stockpiles-world-map-2017-8

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Wednesday, August 9, 2017 1:59 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Hillary Clinton - threatening countries at every turn because only war brings peace.

https://www.democrats.org/party-platform

North Korea

North Korea is perhaps the most repressive regime on the planet, run by a sadistic dictator. It has conducted several nuclear tests and is attempting to develop the capability to put a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile that could directly threaten the United States. The regime is also responsible for grave human rights abuses against the North Korean people. Yet Donald Trump praises North Korea’s dictator; threatens to abandon our treaty allies, Japan and South Korea; and encourages the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region. This approach is incoherent and rather than solving a global crisis, would create a new one. Democrats will protect America and our allies, press China to restrain North Korea, and sharpen the choices for Pyongyang to compel it to abandon its illegal nuclear and missile programs.

Asia-Pacific

From the Asia Pacific to the Indian Ocean, we will deepen our relationships in the region with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. We will honor our historic commitment to Japan. We will continue to invest in a long-term strategic partnership with India—the world’s largest democracy, a nation of great diversity, and an important Pacific power. We will build on the historic opening with Burma and advocate for greater human rights protections and national reconciliation among Burma’s many different ethnic groups. We will help Pakistan stabilize its polity and build an effective relationship with the predominantly young population of this strategically located, nuclear-armed country. We will also work with our allies and partners to fortify regional institutions and norms as well as protect freedom of the seas in the South China Sea.

Democrats will push back against North Korean aggression and press China to play by the rules. We will stand up to Beijing on unfair trade practices, currency manipulation, censorship of the internet, piracy, and cyberattacks. And we will look for areas of cooperation, including on combatting climate change and nuclear proliferation. We will promote greater respect for human rights, including the rights of Tibetans. We are committed to a “One China” policy and the Taiwan Relations Act and will continue to support a peaceful resolution of Cross-Strait issues that is consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan.

Russia

Russia is engaging in destabilizing actions along its borders, violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and attempting to recreate spheres of influence that undermine American interests. It is also propping up the Assad regime in Syria, which is brutally attacking its own citizens. Donald Trump would overturn more than 50 years of American foreign policy by abandoning NATO partners—countries who help us fight terrorism every day—and embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin instead. We believe in strong alliances and will deter Russian aggression, build European resilience, and protect our NATO allies. We will make it clear to Putin that we are prepared to cooperate with him when it is in our interest—as we did on reducing nuclear stockpiles, ensuring Iran could not obtain a nuclear weapon, sanctioning North Korea, and resupplying our troops in Afghanistan—but we will not hesitate to stand up to Russian aggression. (wherever on the planet we claim it exists - because - we are the world) We will also continue to stand by the Russian people and push the government to respect the fundamental rights of its citizens.

Europe

Europe remains America’s indispensable partner and a cornerstone of global security. Democrats will stand with our European allies and partners to deter Russian aggression, address security challenges to Europe’s south, and deal with unprecedented economic and social challenges. We will maintain our steadfast commitment to the special relationship with United Kingdom and the transatlantic partnership with the European Union. We will seek to strengthen our strategic partnership with Turkey while pushing for reforms, end the division of Cyprus, and continue to support a close relationship with states that seek to strengthen their ties to NATO and Europe, such as Georgia and Ukraine.

We reject Donald Trump’s threats to abandon our European and NATO allies, all while he praises Putin. When the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001, our NATO allies invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, stating that an attack against one is an attack against all—for the first and only time in its history. Our NATO allies fought alongside us in Afghanistan and are still there today. We will maintain our Article 5 collective security commitments to NATO because we are stronger when we have our allies at our side. And we will continue to push NATO members to contribute their fair share.




Trump is not the problem. He set himself against the Deep State's agenda. And the Deep State's been heading for WWIII for years.
As for you, you're just a Deep State useful idiot, furthering its agenda. So I hope you enjoy cesium in your coffee. You've earned it.

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Wednesday, August 9, 2017 2:10 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

GSTRING: Oh, boo hoo hoo. So I strawmanned you. And yes, I did it on purpose. For all of the times that you strawmanned me, you got a little of it back. Pobrecito!

Now that THAT'S cleared up, how about putting on your big-boy pants and telling us your opinion: Should EVERYONE get rid of their nuclear weapons?

Yes or no?

Now lets see how often you mange to dodge, deflect, and evade a straight answer.

What a worthless lying... I can't imagine why I would try and talk with someone who can't even explain or defend what they said. Cya- GSTRING



I DID explain. See above!

And yanno, if I was a big of a baby as you, for all of the times that you outright LIED about me, I should have stopped responded to you a year ago.

So, GSTRING, should EVERYONE get rid of their nuclear weapons?

Yes or no?

Now lets see how often you mange to dodge, deflect, and evade a straight answer.



-----------
By the way, GSTRING, I predicted your response PERFECTLY
* ... and then you'll say I'm "too wordy". And then you will - as always- refuse to address the pertinent points, and respond with even more lies and even more bullshit personal attacks.*

And voila! Here it is http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61835&mid=1
035581#1035581

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