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Tripledoc
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The Russians seem like a fairly peaceful people to me.
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Ned
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of Aptos, CA
Oct 1999
time: 21:33
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I think the Bear is reacting to US "plans" to put US bases in Poland and the Baltic states. We already have bases in Bulgaria and Romania. In contrast, we're closing 499 bases in Germany.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/n...deployments.htm
"Defense Department officials said that the reordering of US forces, expected to take five or six years, is meant to move the military out of its lingering and outdated Cold War system of basing and deployment towards a model better suited for dealing with terrorism and the main threats of the 21st century. That model would be quicker, leaner, more agile, and, most importantly, better suited to respond to global unpredictability."
"Saturday, February 7, 2004 MUNICH, Germany -- Russia's defense minister on Saturday urged NATO to give his country permanent access to any new alliance bases in Poland or the Baltic states, underscoring Moscow's concerns about a possible eastward redeployment of U.S. troops in Europe.
Sergei Ivanov told the gathering of leading security officials and experts from around the world that Russia should have monitoring facilities at NATO bases "to verify the fact that the ways of use of those facilities, as we are told, pose no threat to Russia."
Ivanov's comments come as the United States prepares a major redeployment of its forces in Europe. The plans are expected to include moving some troops further east to new NATO members, but nothing concrete has been announced.
Poland joined NATO in 1999 with Hungary and the Czech Republic; the Baltic states are to join with Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria by May.
NATO officials said Ivanov's demand went beyond existing agreements that allow spot checks on each other's bases and observers at maneuvers.
The Baltic states said there were no plans to set up the bases yet but rejected the proposal. They said Russia had no right to impose conditions if NATO decides to locate bases there.
"We do not see the necessity even to think about such monitors ... it's very strange," Latvian Defense Minister Girts Kristovskis told The Associated Press. "It's our own task to solve our security problems; it's not the responsibility of Russia."
Ivanov acknowledged that new facilities in Romania and Bulgaria could be needed as "hopping bases" for anti-terrorist operations in the Middle East. But he asked NATO to explain the terrorist threat that necessitated new military facilities in Poland and the Baltics.
Visiting Moscow last week, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell insisted America's troop redeployment plans would not threaten Russia.
Ivanov also repeated long-standing Russian concerns that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia were joining NATO without having signed a Cold War-era treaty to limit forces in Europe.
The base disputes have clouded generally improving relations between Russia and NATO since the former Cold War foes signed a partnership agreement in 2002.
Still, Ivanov had praise for increased NATO-Russia cooperation in areas ranging from counterterrorism to submarine rescue.
However, he also complained that NATO's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan was not doing enough to crack down on burgeoning drug smuggling there which was "posing a serious threat" to national security in Russia.
He called for NATO, Russia and Central Asian nations to create a "joint group" to counter drug trafficking from Afghanistan.
"The situation where international terrorist communities merge with drug lords and organized crime ... is extremely precarious," he warned, asserting that such links were visible in Afghanistan and Kosovo."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/natio...g=NATO%20Russia
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Tripledoc
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quote:
Originally posted by Heresson
Their threats are laughworthy. They can not even, using most brutal tactics, subdue tiny Caucasian republic.
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How is it a threat to ask for acces to bases bordering it's territory. Surely the Russians will grant acces to their bases.
And making fun of the Russian's fight against Chechnian nationalists and fundamentalists, who want to split from the internationally recognized territory of Russia, when Russia has just lost fifty citizens in a Chechen attack in Moscow is a bit tasteless.
But maybe the Poles hope to get back the territory they lost to the Soviet Union in 1945. Well Poland was adequately compensated and given German land instead.
Maybe if the Polish government thought a little less about their own importance they might actually contribute something to making EU a feasable project, instead of running after big brother USA and hope for some crumbs from the table.
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Bereta_Eder
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And after the golden opportunity at yugoslavia with the "help" of milosevic and the training of albanian extremists by the US/UK well obviously it isn't playing very nice.
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Bereta_Eder
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In short, army power and geopolitical leverage = more bargaining power. it was the same game played in the cold war. theonly difference is that now some countries have weakened in their capacity to withstand. obviously whtever can be done to counter that will be done.
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Bereta_Eder
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this is why it is important for the EU to isolate the UK (or at best case scenario get rid of it without repercussions) and forge much more closer relations with Russia.
US/UK geopolitical interests are incompatible with europe.
US gets its power to intervene from the acceptable of others for this role and from getting passages from a variety of countries. the moment these passages and easyness is withrdwn US is cut off and powerless.
but the european powers still prefer US doing their dirty work so they let her.
US from its side realizes that and of course tries to get as many geopolitical and commercial interests as it can from this.
when such interest accumulating becomes irritating for the european powers theere WILL be a shift of relations.
maybe it is better torealize this sooner than later. unless us/uk change their policies but I doubt this can be done without being forced to do so.
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Tripledoc
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I think the main challange is for the Russians, The Germans, and the French to convince Britain to join their side.
It is clear to me that the Labour party in Britain has been hijacked by an evil force. After the next election, hopefully Blair will be ousted in favour of a better labour candidate who understands the importance of joining the international peace faction.
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Bereta_Eder
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I don't think complacency towards the UK is the way to go. I think the only langauge it understands is force. It has never shared the european ideal and degaulle's phrase of the brits being the worm that will eat the red apple from within becomes more and more prophetic.
In particular brown's hatred for europe is almost pathological.
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Bereta_Eder
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I also don't think it is important to have the UK in "our" side. just get it out in the open in the opposite side where clear and fast work can be done without it having any say in it.
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Bereta_Eder
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"domination" of one over the other is old diplomatic thinking. that's what I say when i talk about the european ideal. some have it, other don't.
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Bereta_Eder
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quote:
Originally posted by Sandman
The only difference between Britain and France or Germany is that Britain joined late. Because of that, it's accorded a special status as a trouble-maker, whilst France and Germany get to flout whatever EU rules they wish, and get away with it.
It's like how middle class boys are 'boisterous', whilst working class kids are 'yobs'. |
I wish that was the case. (on a side note many other countries joined later than the UK). It is a definite distance of mentalities which is translated into concrete "anti-EU" actions. The UK never really embraced "the european idea".
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10-02-2004 20:46
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