There are growing concerns large-scale war games planned next month by Russia with its neighbor Belarus could be a cover for something very sinister by Vladimir Putin perhaps another Crimea.

There is alarm in Europe that the Russian president could use the military exercises as a sort of Trojan horse or pretext for an annexation of Belarus, a former Soviet republic. Putin has had an increasingly acrimonious relationship with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, particularly since Russia annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.

"Russia is billing it as modest exercises under 13,000 troops, but everything points to probably the largest military exercise in post-Soviet history," said Leon Aron, resident scholar and the director of Russian studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.

According to Aron, these types of exercises preceded Russia's invasion and later conflict with Georgia, a former Soviet republic that before the war was getting closer to Washington. Similarly, Russia used military exercises as a cover for its assault on the former Soviet republic of Ukraine.

Russia insists its quadrennial Zapad (or Russian for west) joint military drills scheduled Sept. 14-20 will include 12,700 troops and are designed to "test military coordination." However, the New York Times reported last month the entire exercise could involve up to 100,000 people when also including "security personnel and civilian officials."

"We urge Russia to share information regarding its exercises and operations in NATO's vicinity to clearly convey its intentions and minimize any misunderstandings," Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael told CNBC.

Playing out in the background, though, are concerns from Estonia and its other Baltic NATO neighbors that the Russian 2017 Zapad military exercises have a hidden agenda.

Indeed, Vice President Mike Pence during a recent visit to Estonian capital of Tallinn said: "Russia seeks to redraw international borders by force, undermine democracies of sovereign nations and divide the free nations of Europe."

In April, Reuters quoted then-Estonian Defense Minister Margus Tsahkna as saying his country and other members of NATO obtained intelligence that Russia planned to send troops and resources to Belarus and that when they leave, they will not remove all the equipment and leave some permanent forces behind.

"For Russian troops going to Belarus, it is a one-way ticket," Tsahkna told Reuters. "This is not my personal opinion, we are analyzing very deeply how Russia is preparing for the Zapad exercises."

Tsahkna also was quoted as saying Moscow asked for about 4,000 rail cars to Belarus to transport tanks and other military hardware for the war games. German reports have indicated that is 1,000 more rail cars than the 2013 Zapad.

"Unfortunately, the Russians have a big habit of actually doing operational activities under the guise of war games," said James Carafano, vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, the Washington think tank. "This goes back to the days of the Soviet Union. So it definitely makes people nervous."

Carafano, who advised the Trump transition team on foreign policy, said the upcoming Zapad military maneuvers also are drawing attention because Russia is getting out from having to invite outside observer nations by claiming it will have less than 13,000 soldiers in the drills. Also, by holding several smaller drills at once Moscow skirts the international treaty known as the Vienna Document and could potentially have the 100,000 people.

"We defer to Russia obviously for anything specific to their military exercises and posture," the Pentagon official said. He also indicated Russia has "conducted several large-scale snap exercises along NATO's eastern flank with little to no notice and in a non-transparent manner."

Then again, Russian media claim Baltic states of Lithuania and Latvia two former Soviet Republics now part of NATO are sending observers to the upcoming drills. CNBC reached out to NATO for comment.

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Large-scale Russian military exercises in Belarus feared to be set-up for Putin's next conquest - CNBC

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9to5Rewards: Clockwork Synergy's new Perlon and NATO Apple Watch Bands [Giveaway] - 9to5Mac

President Donald Trump promised a different kind of administration. But many of those around him remain dedicated to the status quo. Even after President Trump spoke for the forgotten Americans who were tired of subsidizing European states which refused to spend more on defense, Vice President Mike Pence recently traveled to Eastern Europe promising to risk U.S. lives and waste U.S. resources protecting those very same nations.

The vice presidents hosts, observed the Washington Posts Ashley Parker, could be forgiven for thinking that Pence with his throwback aesthetic of closely shorn hair and a square jaw was just another happy Cold Warrior abroad.

Even though the Cold War ended some three decades ago, the vice president acted as a modern Rip Van Winkle, just waking up and believing it to be, say, 1984, when former KGB chief Yuri Andropov was still Communist Party General Secretary. Without America protecting the leaderless, impoverished, and helpless Europeans, Vice President Pence appeared to believe that Moscow would conquer everything from the Atlantic to the Pacific, dragging the world into a new Dark Age.

Notwithstanding the presidents desire to improve relations, Vice President Pence observed:

recent diplomatic action taken by Moscow will not deter the commitment of the United States of America to our security, the security of our allies, and the security of freedom-loving nations around the world.

Of course, the one country whose security to which Washington should be committed is the U.S. But Russia doesnt threaten America. Yes, Moscow possesses a strategic nuclear force that could destroy the U.S., but using its nukes would ensure Russias destruction in return. Although the Russian Federations military is potent, its capabilities significantly lag behind those of America and its reach is regional, not global.

It isnt clear where Moscow could attack the U.S. An invasion of Alaska across the Bering Strait? A naval armada to conquer Hawaii? Aiding a Cuban invasion of America, a la the original Red Dawn movie? Washington and Moscow differ over no vital interests and Russian President Vladimir Putin has never seemed anti-American, only anti-Washington, especially after its expansion of NATO almost to St. Petersburgs suburbs. His policy has been more to restrain Americas influence than expand Russias control.

Protecting Washingtons allies, in contrast, should be a means to an end. That is, alliances should be matters of security, not charity. Nations should be protected if doing so makes America more secure. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case in Europe.

In fact, few Europeans believe they face a Russian military threat. Otherwise the continent would devote more than 1.47 percent of its GDP to the military. Germany, with the continents greatest potential, would spend more than 1.22 percent of its economic resources on the military. Latvia and Lithuania wouldnt take years to reach a still embarrassing two percent. The continents two strongest powers, France and Great Britain, wouldnt have difficulty simply maintaining their still modest existing capabilities.

Putin and his cronies have demonstrated no interest in ruling non-Russians. Nor have they shown an inclination toward national suicide, which is what going to war with the West would be. The collective GDP of the European Union is about 13 times the size of Russias economy. The latter is smaller than that of four European nations, including Italy. Europes population is about three times as large as Russias. Europes military outlays are four times as much. So why are over-burdened American taxpayers paying to protect Europeans who prefer to spend their money on generous social benefits?

Nor is it Washingtons job isnt to protect freedom-loving nations around the world. The earth is filled with countries which want the U.S. to protect them. Thats understandable, but irrelevant. Alliances are meant to increase, not decrease, Americas security.

Unfortunately, Vice President Pence would greatly increase U.S. defense responsibilities and the consequent likelihood of war. He announced that Our allies in Eastern Europe can be confident that the United States of America stands with them, even though NATO expansion proved to be a foolish mistake, extending U.S. security guarantees to nations which werent important for American security while inflaming Russian distrust and paranoia.

In particular, the vice president announced that we cherish our new alliance with Montenegro through NATO, even though the latter has the reputation of a gangster state and barely 2000 men under arms. The U.S. might as well have extended alliance membership to the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a fictional micro-state featured in the novel The Mouse that Roared.

In fact, the U.S. will do the equivalent if it adds Kosovo, which the U.S. and Europe forcibly split off of Serbia (while denying Serb-majority areas an equal opportunity to remain with Belgrade). Kosovo President Hashim Thaci claimed that Vice President Pence promised to help eliminate barriers to Kosovos entry into NATO. Pristina doesnt even possess a formal military. It does, however, have a reputation for choosing as leaders common thieves and war criminals, such as Thaci.

Even more dangerous was the vice presidents verbal love affair with the country of Georgia. Vice President Pence condemned Russias occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which long harbored indigenous separatist sentiments, sounded like war-happy John McCain in proclaiming America stands with Georgia, and strongly endorsed Georgian membership in NATO.

Yet Tbilisi has never mattered for U.S. security. Indeed, Georgia spent most of the last couple centuries under Moscows control with nary a complaint from Washington. However, President George W. Bush treated the now independent country as an ally and in 2008 President Mikhail Saakashvili, apparently convinced of U.S. support, started a war with Russia. Inducting Tbilisi into NATO would reward that government for its irresponsibility and recklessness, while bringing its dispute with Moscow into the alliance. America would be substantially less secure. The only policy which would be crazier would be to add Ukraine, since it currently is involved in a semi-hot conflict with Moscow.

The VPs performance as uber-hawk confused many who saw it. Observed Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Everybody liked that message, but everybody wondered: Is he actually speaking for the president of the United States? Americans should hope not.

Much of the American right appears to believe that the U.S. needs enemies, and Russia is a convenient state to demonize. No doubt, Vladimir Putin is a bad human being. But hes holding a weak hand while facing a power which is ideologically aggressive, sanctimoniously demanding, and intervention prone. Russia has reason to feel threatened.

Washington should no longer think in terms of containment. Rather, the Trump administration should begin disengagement, devolving onto the Europeans responsibility to provide for their defense.

Candidate Trump criticized defense and foreign policies which put America last. President Trump should set aside his tweets for a few days and take over control of his administrations actions. Maybe then Washington would stop squandering money and risking lives to protect those who wont make the same sacrifice to defend themselves.

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Vice President Pence Pushes Expansive NATO And Defense Of European Micro-States: Does President Trump Know? - HuffPost

RONI LEHTI/Lehtikuva via AP

VILNIUS, August 18. /TASS/. Russia has no intention of initiating a military conflict with NATO, the European Unions ambassador to Moscow, Lithuanian diplomat Vigaudas Usackas, has said.

"Russia may be regarded as a rather quarrelsome country, but it is my deep conviction that it is not going to attack NATO countries," the Lithuanian daily Respublika quotes Usackas as saying. He believes that speculations on that score "possibly do take place, but there are no such intentions."

Usackas called for taking a sober look at the forthcoming Russian-Belarussian military exercise West-2017.

"Real risks are posed not by the exercise as such, not by plans or scenarios, but by the circumstances that may emerge due to unforeseen events or incidents," he said.

Therefore, Usackas believes, alongside strengthening the military potential and accepting assistance from NATOs allies "it is important to maintain certain working relations with Russia at the political and military level in order to avoid their escalation in case of misunderstandings."

"This is normal practice in the sphere of security that has been used since the days of the standoff between NATO and the Warsaw Treaty," Usackas said.

He pointed to the need for at least the minimal dialogue with the neighbors.

"One may disagree with the neighbor, it is possible to belong with different camps, but there is no way of replacing one by another," Usackas said.

In other media

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Russia has no plans to attack NATO countries diplomat - TASS

A man stands next to screens during the Locked Shields 2017 exercise organized by NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia, April 26, 2017. (REUTERS/Ints Kalnins)

By Barbara Roggeveen, for Atlantic Council

Modern-day warfare is as much about cyberattacks and the protection of communication and information systems as it is about kinetic military action. In 2016, NATOs institutional networks experienced on average 500 cyberattacks a monthan increase of roughly 60 percent from the year before. Other recent, high-profile, transnational cyberattacks, such as the WannaCry ransomware attack and Petya, highlight the urgent need for NATO and its member states to develop strong cybesecurity capabilities.

Although NATO has been working toward a more comprehensive cybersecurity policy, there are two major challenges with its current strategy. The current plan places cyberattacks within the scope of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and the concept of collective defense, thus, creating high thresholds for engagement. In addition, it allows for mainly defensive and reactive measures, leaving less room for preventive or offensive operations.

NATOs approach to cybersecurity can be traced back to early steps taken at the 2014 Wales Summit, in which NATO included cyber defense in its core tasks of collective defense. At the Warsaw Summit two years later, NATO recognized cyberspace as a domain of operations, reaffirming its defensive mandate with regard to cyber threats.

The Warsaw Summit Communiqu states that recognizing cyberspace as a domain of operations will support NATOs broader deterrence [of] and defense [against cyber threats], and NATO promised to continue integrating cyber defense into operational planning [to ensure] a better management of resources, skills, and capabilities.

Armed attack-threshold

The designation of cyberspace as a domain of operations has far-reaching implications. As decided upon by Allied countries in the Tallinn Manual 2.0, such a label allows NATO to act only against those cyberattacks that qualify as an armed attack. In the case of cyberattacks, however, opponents often do not seek physical destruction. Of late, cyberattacks have moved further away from traditional warfare in pursuit of subtler influences, sometimes involving coercive political pressure. On July 28, the US Congress voted for new sanctions on Russia for its meddling in the 2016 US presidential election in favor of then-candidate US President Donald J. Trump.

By placing cyberattacks within the doctrine of collective defense, NATO limits its response to those cyberattacks that reach the armed-attack threshold, making it extremely difficult for NATO members to effectively address cyberattacks that do not qualify as such.

Whether a cyber operation constitutes an armed attack also depends on the parties involved. Traditionally, the right to collective defense could only be invoked in case of an armed attack undertaken by one state against another. NATOs Strategic Concept allowed for a wider definition, stipulating that the North Atlantic Treaty covers any armed attack on the territory of the Allies, from whatever direction or source. Although this allows NATO to take defensive action against cyberattacks carried out by non-state actors, there is still some uncertainty within the community of allied countries as to when collective defense against non-state actors is permissible. One of the biggest challenges in this case remains attribution. It is often difficult to trace cyberattacks back to one specific organization.

From defensive to offensive capabilities

Currently, NATOs cybersecurity strategy is strictly defensive. The NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) protects NATOs own networks, and NATO supports allied members in their individual cyber defenses through intelligence gathering and sharing, the employment of high-readiness cyber defense teams, the development of targets for allied countries to facilitate national cyber defense capabilities, and investment in education, training, and exercise.

As James A. Lewis, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote for the Tallinn Papers, a series of publications from the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, a cyber defensive orientation is the equivalent of a static defense, defending fixed positions rather than maneuvering, and conceding initiative to opponents.

Defensive measures might hold off an individual cyberattack, but they do not address the underlying threat. Although the protection of NATO members national networks should be a priority, the most effective way to provide sustainable and long-term protection against cyberattacks is through offensive capabilities and the destruction of opponent networks and systems.

While individual member states can take certain steps toward achieving this objectivethe United States, for example, has already employed strong offensive cyber capabilities, such as Stuxneta collective NATO doctrine would provide allied countries with the necessary guidelines regarding proportionality and subsidiarity when employing offensive cyber capabilities. NATOs cybersecurity policy should provide a clear framework to address the relatively uncharted territory of offensive cyber operations.

Recommendations

Current developments in the field of cybersecurity require a more proactive approach. In order to counter cyber threats, NATO should pursue a broader and more dynamic operational framework than that of collective defense. As the cyber capabilities of NATOs opponents grow more sophisticated, the Alliance should adopt a cybersecurity policy that can effectively counter these threats.

Primarily, this means that NATO should create a public doctrine, independent from the concept of collective defense, that allows member states to not only act defensively, but also offensively. Second, NATO should pursue a public policy that also effectively addresses cyber threats that stay below the armed attack-threshold. Overcoming these two challenges would enable the community of Allied countries to develop the necessary framework to comprehensively address current cybersecurity threats.

By Barbara Roggeveen, for Atlantic Council

Barbara Roggeveen is a research assistant at the Slavic Department of the University of Amsterdam and a former intern with the Atlantic Councils Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center.

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NATO Needs an Offensive Cybersecurity Policy - StopFake.org

Russia has been sending troops into Belarus since Monday in preparation for massive upcoming war games that opponents in the neighboring Eastern European state worry could be acover for a long-term foreign military presence.

Despite Moscow repeatedly assuring rivals that next month's military maneuvers were simply that, critics in Belarus have joined a number of other regional countries in expressing concern about President Vladimir Putin's long-term goals. The Zapad, or "West," exercises are set to officially include 12,700 Russian soldiers across Russia's western flank as well as in Belarus, a traditional ally of the Kremlin. Putin has provided U.S.-led Western defense pact NATO with troop information and has invited foreign observers, including those from anxious Baltic states, but some in Belarus still fear the Russian leader's strategy.

Related:Russia, Iran, other Assad allies and enemies cash in on success in Syria, but U.S. left out

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"He will lead this situation to what had happened in Ukraine, Aleksandr Konches, an elderly protestor told The New York Times Sunday. "Look at who came outpensioners, workers, simple people."

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C), Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko watch the joint war games Zapad-2013 (West-2013) at Khmelevka base in the Kaliningrad Region, September 26, 2013. After Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula, neighboring countries have expressed concern about the size of this year's Zapad exercise. Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters

Since Russia annexed the former Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014 amid widespread unrest in the neighboring country, Moscow's NATO-aligned neighbors have sought to boost protection against what they perceive to be aggressive Russian military and political moves in the region. In 2015, the U.S. mapped out four multinational battle groups in theBalticstates and Poland, intended to bolster NATO's military infrastructure on Russia's border. Russia has argued NATO's plans are an attempt to isolate it and has sought to improve its own defensive positions. Both NATO and Russia have since engaged in an arms race, including a near constant series of dueling military exercises.

Zapad has occurred every four years for decades and, despite heightened tensions between Russia and the West, nothing appears to set this exercise apart. Russian media have previously placed the number of troops involved as being up to 100,000, butMargarete Klein of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs told Germany's Deutsche Welle Thursday that this figure may refer to Russia's larger preparation for the upcoming exercises.

Other rumors have also contributed to popular concerns about Russia's intentions.Numerous Western media outlets reported that the 2009Zapad exercise ended with a simulated nuking of Poland, but no declassified evidence of such a scenario could be found, according to CNN.Some also speculate that the 2009 exercise was a cover for heightened military action in neighboring Georgia and the next installation in 2013 was designed to prepare for military action in Ukraine the following year, according to Real Clear Defense, which went on to say that this year's drills did not appear to be a cover for any real-world aggressions. Prominent opponents of Moscow, such asMikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian president, have also shared their analysis.

Russian servicemen celebrate their victory in the Safe Route competition at the International Army Games 2017 at the Andreyevsky military polygon outside Tyumen, August 6, 2017. Russia's military recently displayed its military might along with a number of nations as part of the International Army Games 2017, which it co-hosted with China. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

"I think the most imminent threat [from Russia] is coming up against Belarus, because I think part of the military personnel and equipment will remain in Belarus after the exercises," Saakashvili told the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertyearlier this month.

"It is unlikely they will do anything during the exercises. But any trap might be expected after the exercises. I think they are considering the possibility of the complete occupation of Belarus, and possibly an annexation of that country. That would be yet another big crisis in the region."

Russia has denied any plans to compromise the sovereignty of Belarus, where Aleksandr Lukashenko has been a supporter of the Kremlin since becoming the country's first post-Soviet president in 1994. Prior to the Zapad exercises, Russia and Belarus will conduct command and control exercises from Monday through Friday, the Belarusian Telegraph Agency cited the country's defense ministry as saying.

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Russian Invasion? Moscow's Rivals Say War Games Are Cover And Troops Won't Leave - Newsweek

Russian President Vladimir Putin has illegally seized Crimea, invaded Ukraine, and meddled in the US and French elections. Yet people in more than half a dozen NATO countries still trust him to do the right thing in international affairs more than they trust President Trump to, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Thats pretty wild.

NATO is a Cold Warera military alliance that was formed to protect Europe from the Soviet Union, and one of its key roles today is serving as a bulwark against Russian influence and expansionism. The US is the backbone of NATO in terms of military power and financing, and its essential to keeping Russian influence in Europe in check.

Yet majorities in seven NATO countries Greece, Germany, Turkey, Hungary, France, Italy, and Spain said they had more faith that Putin would do the right thing in global affairs than Trump, often by huge margins. The chart below shows the results from 36 of the countries included in the survey. All the countries listed above that black line about halfway down are the ones in which more people said they trust Putin than Trump:

But take a look at the three countries that are right under that black line: Australia, Canada, and the UK. Two of those (Canada and the UK) are NATO members, and Australia is one of Americas closest allies, having fought alongside the US in every major conflict since World War I. Yet those three countries only barely made it under that line: In Australia, confidence in Trump was just 2 points more than in Putin; it was only 3 points more in both Canada and the UK.

The prompt that pollsters posed to respondents is extremely broad do the right thing could be interpreted in a number of ways. On one hand, trust in a leader by that metric could signal approval of his worldview and his policies. In that case, it would seem Putin is generally more well-liked in these countries.

Alternatively, it could mean that someone believes the leader is judicious and not inclined to act rashly in his foreign policy. Through that lens, respondents could simply be saying they think Putin is a more prudent strategist than Trump, who is famously inexperienced and impulsive.

In all likelihood, the poll results suggest a blend of the two both unfavorable views of Trump and mistrust in his ability to navigate international affairs wisely. In either case, its an amazing finding, and yet another indicator of sharply declining trust in American leadership.

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One chart sums up how little faith American allies have in Trump - Vox

By Army Staff Sgt. Aaron Duncan, U.S. Special Operations Command Europe

VAZIANI, Georgia, Aug. 16, 2017 Georgian special operations forces took part in exercise Noble Partner here July 30-Aug. 12, developing interoperability with conventional forces from not only their own military, but that of the U.S. and participating nations.

Noble Partner is an annual U.S. Army Europe-led exercise designed to support Georgias integration into the NATO Response Force. The exercise allows multinational partners to work together in a realistic and challenging training event. About 2,800 troops from Armenia, Georgia, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the U.S. participated in multiple locations across Georgia.

"In many ways, the exercise was a new way of operating for GSOF," said a U.S. Army Special Forces advisor to GSOF.

U.S. Special Operations Command Europe played an advisory role with GSOF during the exercise in order to mentor the Georgian SOF on building interoperability with U.S., Georgian and other multinational conventional forces.

"Soceurs contribution was very helpful," said a GSOF officer involved in the planning of the exercise. "They helped us understand the capabilities and procedures that allowed us to integrate with multinational forces. They also served as a link to coordinate our activities."

State Partnership Program

In addition to Soceur, the GSOF also worked closely with the Georgia National Guard. The two have participated in the State Partnership Program, which pairs U.S. states with 22 European nations and 65 worldwide, since 1994.

"Working with the GSOF was awesome," said Georgia Army National Guard Capt. Christopher Pulliam, commander of the 121st Infantry Regiment s Hotel Company. "Our mission set requires that we work in small teams that gather specific intel in the area of operations," he said. "The GSOF understand this and can use our intel to create a better understanding of the situation on the ground and react accordingly."

Pulliam's company conducted combined airborne operations alongside GSOF troops, and during the field exercise was assigned under their command, allowing GSOF to complete objectives through their coordinated efforts. With the Georgia Army National Guard conducting reconnaissance, GSOF was able to execute a raid on an enemy position.

The Georgian troops also worked with the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard during Noble Partner.

"This is the first time the Georgians have jumped from a C-130," said Georgia Air National Guard Lt. Col. Donald Pallone, the vice air commander of the 165th Airlift Wing. "They are learning from us and we are learning from them. This helps us build our interoperability and furthers the Georgia National Guards [state] partnership with the Georgians."

Call For Fire

GSOF also trained on calling for indirect fire working with the U.S. Air Forces 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron. This training also provided them the ability to learn the same procedures as their conventional forces and U.S. forces and share these procedures throughout GSOF.

"The Georgian military was very motivated and eager to learn how to incorporate indirect fires control to enhance their combat capabilities," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Justin Tamayo, a joint terminal attack controller with the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron. "We were able to train both the GSOF and conventional parties simultaneously, and from the classes we taught we are confident that interoperability was strengthened amongst their military as well as with U.S. forces and partner nations."

GSOF also trained on their military assistance mission by training Georgian and Ukrainian conventional forces on the tactics and procedures of clearing rooms and passing through friendly defensive lines.

"To be able to accomplish its military assistance mission, GSOF must be able to teach classes and train other soldiers," said the U.S. Army Special Forces advisor to GSOF. "Teaching and training is a skill that must be practiced. Noble Partner was a great opportunity for GSOF to build its military assistance skills while also improving the combat skills of Georgian and Ukrainian infantry."

The ability to plan training that involves both internal and multinational military forces is in itself a skill that has to be learned. Noble Partner provided the chance for GSOF staff to build upon their capability to conduct such training.

"This was a new experience for us," said a GSOF officer involved in the planning of the exercise. "It allowed us to develop how we will work with conventional and multinational forces in the future."

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark Schwartz, the commander of Soceur, visited with GSOF leadership and observed soldiers participating in the exercise. During his visit, GSOF briefed Schwartz on upcoming exercise events and how GSOF plans to continue developing their interoperability with conventional forces.

"In the future, if GSOF and multinational forces have to work together, training together will allow us to understand how to work fluently with each other," said a team leader from the GSOF company conducting the training. "It will help us integrate our tactics with theirs and direct their efforts with ours."

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Noble Partner Supports Georgia's NATO Response Force Integration - Department of Defense

Dalai Lama Christopher Michel / Flickr

In a recent interview with Russian media in India, the Dalai Lama voiced a radical proposal to reduce tensions between NATO and Russia.

I have mentioned before an idea that may be an empty dream, but if NATO were to shift its headquarters to Moscow it might allay whatever misapprehensions Russians may feel, the Dalai Lama said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.

The Dalai Lamas comments come as NATO is bolstering deployments to the Baltic States and Poland ahead of Russian military exercises in Belarus in September.

Aware that his controversial suggestion might not be well received in Washington, the Dalai Lama said: I'm afraid now that after such a suggestion, I wont be allowed to go to America!

The Buddhist spiritual leader is a contentious figure in Russia. He last visited in 2004, and authorities in Moscow have repeatedly denied him permission to return ever since. China has publicly thanked the Kremlin on each occasion it bars the Dalai Lama.

In an outspoken interview in 2014, the Dalai Lama criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for being self-centered. "His attitude is: I, I, I. This is the root of the problem, he told a German newspaper.

This time, he told Kommersant he saw positive changes. I look at Russia and I see protests against corruption and so on. In Stalinist times that was impossible, he said. Perhaps not as quickly as we would want, but change is happening.

I believe in a big future for Russia, he added. Russia could become a real bridge between East and West.

The Dalai Lama was in New Delhi for the first ever conference of Russian and Buddhist scholars.

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Dalai Lama 'Dreams' of NATO Relocating to Moscow - The Moscow Times

As a result, this regular event receives a lot more attention than other Russian manoeuvers of similar size. Held every four years, the exercise can even develop its own mythology: Much of the Western coverage said that the 2009 exercise ended with a simulated nuclear attack on Warsaw, Poland, even though there is no evidence at all from unclassified sources to suggest this was the case.

What happens during this year's Zapad exercise is important. The United States, NATO and especially the front-line states bordering Russia will be watching closely to learn what they can about the latest Russian capabilities and military procedures.

But unlike those exercises, Zapad is not a purely Russian undertaking. It is run in cooperation with Belarus.

Belarus finds itself in the difficult position of being officially an ally of Russia's but not sharing Moscow's antagonism toward the West and wanting instead to remain neutral in the confrontation between Russia and NATO.

But at the same time, the country shares NATO's concern about the danger of inadvertent conflict in the region, and is looking for ways to avoid inflaming the situation.

Belarus is pushing for openness to the West during the exercises -- which will also help ensure that Russia does not take the opportunity to deviate from the exercise scenario to launch some kind of unfriendly action.

And Belarus is running its own program of advance briefings for NATO and Western countries on how the exercise is to run, in parallel with information that Russia is providing.

There has been little public discussion on what the "staying behind" option might actually look like. While major Russian units remaining on Belarusian territory seems a remote prospect, another possibility that has been put forward is Russian military equipment being left there without troops, as part of pre-positioning for possible future Russian military action launched against neighbors such as Lithuania or Poland, or the so-called Suwaki gap, from Belarus itself.

But this too would require cooperation and agreement from Minsk, which does not fit with Belarus' track record of resisting attempts at increasing the amount of Russian military infrastructure in the country.

At the same time, Russia has good reason at the moment to play down conflict instead of launching new military adventures. With a strong interest in rolling back sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe, Moscow could choose to act calmly to defuse anti-Russian rhetoric and undermine those who warn of the Kremlin's aggressive intent.

As a result, Russia is currently mixing threatening language designed to intimidate the West with another, contradictory message: that those who fear a Russian military threat are "hysterical," "living in the last century," and hankering for the Cold War.

With the current level of Western alarm at possible developments of the upcoming exercise, if it comes to an end with no incident, then Moscow can quite readily say, "We told you so."

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Russia's military exercises: Could they turn into war? - CNN

Published time: 15 Aug, 2017 13:10 Edited time: 15 Aug, 2017 20:02

On the eastern border of Europe, NATO is trying to play like it is ready for a big strike against Russia, I think it is time to demilitarize again, explains Bruno Kramm, chairman of the Berlin branch of the Pirate Party to RT.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Monday accused Angela Merkel of kowtowing to US President Donald Trump with her commitment to increase military spending.

The Chancellor's position to practically voluntarily bend over and promise to double the German military budget after the Bundestag election is nothing less than a sign to Trump that they will give in to his pressure, he said in a statement.

He also suggests the next German federal elections will be a vote on whether Germany remains a peaceful power or joins Trump's weapons madness.

Earlier the Social Democrats, which occupy roughly a third of the German parliament, the Bundestag, rejected NATO's target of spending two percent of GDP on defense.

Thomas Oppermann, the SPD leader in the Bundestag, said it is the wrong way, and while the SPD is in government, there will be no boost in the military spending.

RT: What do you make of the statements from Sigmar Gabriel and Thomas Oppermann?

Bruno Kramm: I think it is at the moment just about the rally for the Bundestag. So basically their statements sound like the SPD, the Social Democrats are going a completely different way than the CDU [Christian Democratic Union] But basically they have many months before already confirmed they also would raise funding for the military up to two percent.

RT: Are there many politicians with clout in Germany who support the Chancellor in her move to increase military spending to meet two percent of GDP?

BK: There are a lot of politicians, who of course would like to raise it, especially if you look at our Minister of Defense, Ursula von der Leyen. She always tries to make the Bundeswehr stronger. And briefly, it needs to be said the Bundeswehr and all their supplies and technology is on a bad level. There is a need for some money to be spent. But it got a special twist when Donald Trump came and was asking to raise the funds. I think there is a lot of leftist politicians who dont want to go this way; who want to say Germany should get out of NATO. On the other side, there are the law and order people from the more conservative parties, who want to raise this fund.

RT: In your opinion, should German military spending be increased?

BK: My opinion is to leave NATO because NATO has just brought bad things, but this will not come. I am totally against raising this fund. I think at the moment we have enough weapons everywhere. It is more about de-escalation. And de-escalation needs communication and talks instead of playing with new military options and possibilities. If you look how NATO is trying on the eastern border of Europe to play like they are ready for a big strike against Russia, I think it is really time to demilitarize again, and especially Germany with its own history, and with its important history gives us as Germans the main voice for being peaceful, to be in negotiations. Today it is time to step out of NATO. The times of the Cold War are definitely over.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

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'Germany should exit NATO; Cold War is over' chairman of Berlin's Pirate Party - RT

The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View:

The D-Day landings in 1944 were the most complex military operation in history, but at least the GIs didnt need to get their passports stamped on Omaha Beach. It sounds absurd, but today U.S. and NATO forces have to contend with such formalities, and more besides, as they go about their business of defending Europe.

Obviously, in the event of war, these bureaucratic impediments would be lifted. But so far as possible they should also be lifted for the purpose of preparing for war. Better coordination and compatibility among the allies requires a good hard look at the current arrangements.

Under U.S. leadership, NATOs military partners recently completed Operation Saber Guardian in Eastern Europe; involving 25,000 troops over 10 days, it was the largest such exercise this year. For militaries that have spent more than a decade focused on fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and the Middle East, it was a vital refresher course in conventional warfare. It also helped assure the Eastern European members that the West has their back.

Along the way, forces ran into all manner of speed bumps, literal and metaphorical. For example, when the commander of U.S. forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, was flying from Bulgaria to Romania to oversee a live-fire exercise on the Black Sea, he was told to land at a Romanian air base and clear customs. He endured a similar situation involving passports in Hungary.

Forces moving eastward were unable to use roads and bridges with strict vehicle weight limits. Others ran afoul of summer-travel rules and noise ordinances. Some airports, railways and tunnels proved unable to handle newer military planes and trucks. In general, NATOs 28 members require an average of 15 days for diplomatic clearance before troops or military equipment can move across their borders.

All this has led Hodges to call for a military Schengen Zone, modeled on the European Union agreement allowing unhindered travel across borders. At a NATO meeting in June, Dutch Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called for this to be done. It isnt straightforward: For one thing, some EU members arent part of NATO. But Schengen is an apt model. As Hodges puts it, NATO needs something that would allow a military convoy to move across Europe as fast as a migrant is able to move across Europe.

Russia, emboldened by its easy annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, is about to stage an exercise involving as many as 100,000 troops on its western border. The alliance and the U.S. have also stepped up their presence lately, rotating an additional four armored combat brigades, some 4,500 troops each, through Poland and the Baltic states. Still, NATOs easternmost members are feeling increasingly vulnerable.

Nobody wants war, but projecting a credible response is a vital part of deterrence. The Kremlin can hardly feel imperiled by a NATO force hemmed in by customs officials.

Continue reading here:

Other Views: NATO troops can't fight while stuck at border - Yakima Herald-Republic

More than 1760 messages from Italy's office at the EU in Brussels and from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs were stolen between 2013 and 2016 by hackers linked to Russia and China, according to an investigation by Italian daily Repubblica.

The cyber attacks occurred at times when key decisions were being taken on Iran and the Ukraine in the last few years.

According to a special investigation by Repubblica, several confidential diplomatic cables on Syria and Libya were also intercepted or hacked by the Russian hacker group Apt 28, which cyber experts say has links to Russian government security forces.

Other hacks were effected by K3chang and Zegost, both groups believed to have links to the Chinese government, claims the report.

Information about NATO exercises, migration policy in the Mediterranean and energy pipelines were hacked, according to the Repubblica investigation. Discussions about Russia sanctions were also stored on the same servers.

According to another study by Italy's largest daily Repubblica, more than 100,000 computers used by the Italian army could have been penetrated. The computers' software 15-years-old and not updated since 2015 is run by Araknos Srl.

Araknos became part of the Italian military industrial complex in the early 2000s, effectively becoming the partner of choice for cyber security in the Italian army, claims Repubblica's report.

Up until 2010 the company's AKAB software fought off most cyber attack attempts. But when the Italian government decided to sign a contract with a new cyber security firm, Araknos slowly fell into decline and finally closed in 2015.

Italy's Ministry of Defence claimed all its networks were "well protected" in response to the Repubblica investigation, arguing that it's AKAB-dependent softwares are not in active use.

READ MORE: G7 finance chiefs talk cyber security in Bari after attacks

Originally posted here:

NATO, the Med, Iran: study details extent of cyber attacks on Italy - The Local Italy

Whitehall has ruled out Britain taking part in any military action, but according to Nato treaties, the UK would be bound to defend the US if Kim Jong-un attacked first.

In an article in the Mirror he said: Well over a hundred thousand people died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki from what were small atomic bombs.

Any nuclear conflict over North Korea today would kill millions of innocent people in the Korean peninsula and beyond, with devastating fallout in China, Japan and elsewhere.

Trump and Kim must immediately wind down the war of rhetoric, as the German chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded. The risks of an unintended escalation into full-blown conflict are too great for the whole world.

GETTY

Mr Corbyn argued that Britain should push for the stalled six-party talks to be resumed with the objective of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula.

For his entire political career, the Labour leader has opposed Trident.

In 2015, during an interview with Radio 4s Today programme, the lifelong anti-war activist confirmed that he would not use nuclear weapons.

The Labour leader said: Sanctions, which the UN security council stepped up on North Korea last week, will not alone resolve the tensions. Diplomacy, security guarantees, and international law are the only realistic route out of the crisis.

GETTY

GETTY

Our government must not drag our country into any military action over the Korea crisis, including joint exercises.

There can be no question of blind loyalty to the erratic and belligerent Trump administration.

US-led regime-change wars and the threat of more to come have made this crisis more dangerous and difficult to resolve.

A Labour government would be committed to achieving a nuclear-free world, as are all signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The article came after Labour peer and former head of the Royal Navy Lord West said there is a real risk the current standoff between the US and North Korea could escalate into an actual conflict.

REUTERS

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Two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers fly from Guam with an escort of a pair of Japan Self-Defense Forces F-2 fighter jets near Kyushu

He also demanded the Foreign and Commonwealth Office evacuate Britons from the Korea Peninsula.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Britain is working with the US and its allies to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

Mr Johnson said that North Korea is responsible for the crisis over its nuclear weapons.

He said: The North Korean regime is the cause of this problem and they must fix it.

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Jeremy Corbyn insists UK should NOT help NATO allies by sending troops to Korea - Express.co.uk

Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis warned that tensions between the U.S. and North Korea are in "an upward spiral," and urgedPresident Trump to pursue a diplomatic solution to the current standoff between the two countries.

"We're in an upward spiral of very aggressive rhetoric both from Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, and President Trump," Stavridis told radio host John Catsimatidis in an interview that aired Sunday. "That rhetoric is driving both militaries to a higher level of readiness to conduct operations.

"The good news is we still have a diplomatic path to play here, and I'm hopeful as the week unfolds we'll see cooler heads prevail both in Washington and Pyongyang," he added.

Stavridis, who previously served as chief of U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander of NATO, said that the Trump administration should stop casting current tensions with Pyongyang as a U.S. problem.

Instead, he said, the president should seek to "internationalize" the issue to encourage cooperation from other countries.

"What we need to do is increase our missile defense capability," he said. "We need to internationalize this problem instead of treating it as though it's the United States versus North Korea. This should be about the world versus North Korea."

Tensions have soared between Washington and Pyongyang in recent days, after Trump threatened on Tuesday to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea if the reclusive country continued to threaten the U.S.

That warning came amid reports that the North had successfully developed a nuclear warhead small enough to fit inside one of its missiles a major milestone in the country's pursuit to become a nuclear power.

North Korea's military followed up on Trump's threat Wednesday, saying it would have plans in place by mid-August to strike the waters near the U.S. territory of Guam.

Since then, Trump and North Korea's government have exchanged tough talk, stoking global concerns of a military conflict betweenWashington and Pyongyang.

Link:

Ex-NATO supreme commander: 'We're in bad upward spiral' with North Korea - The Hill

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Why Russia is foolish not to invite NATO observers to its war games - The Economist

Nicaraguas current Sandinista government has been the most successful ever in reducing poverty and defending the right of all Nicaraguans to a dignified life.

Over the last year, in Latin America, Amnesty International has takentheir collusion in support of NATOgovernment foreign policy down to new depths of falsehood and bad faith, attacking Venezuela and, most recently, Nicaragua. The multi-million dollar Western NGO claims, We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion.

RELATED: Global 'False' Witness Targets Nicaragua

That claim is extremely dishonest. Many of Amnesty Internationals board and most of the senior staff in its secretariat, which produces the organizations reports, are individuals with a deeply ideologically committed background in corporate dominated NGOs likePurpose,Open Society Institute,Human Rights Watch, and many others.

Mexico has over 36,000 people disappeared and abuses by the security forces are constant. Colombia has over four million internally displaced people with over 53 community activists murdered just in 2017. Amnesty International generally puts that horrific reality in context by including criticism of forces challenging those countries' authorities. By contrast, its reporting on Venezuela and Nicaragua, like those of other similar Western NGOs, reproduces the false claims of those countries minority political opposition forces, all supported one way or another by NATO country governments.

In Venezuela and Nicaragua, Western human rights organizations exaggerate alleged government violations while minimizing abuses and provocations by the opposition. This screenshot of Amnesty Internationals three main news items on Venezuela from Aug. 9gives a fair idea of the organizations heavily politicized, bad faith coverage of recent events.

This is identical false coverage to that of Western mainstream corporate media and most Western alternative media outlets too. Amnesty Internationals coverage minimizes opposition murders of ordinary Venezuelans, setting many people on fire, violent attacks on hospitals, universities and even preschools and innumerable acts of intimidation of the general population. That headline Venezuela: Lethal violence, a state policy to strangle dissent is a pernicious lie. President Nicolas Maduro explicitly banned the use of lethal force against opposition demonstrations from the start of the latest phase of the oppositions long drawn out attempted coup back in early April this year.

RELATED: Nicaragua Says Nica Act Reflects Continuity of US Imperialism

Likewise, against Nicaragua,Amnestys latest report, kicking off their global campaign to stop Nicaraguas proposed Interoceanic Canal, also begins with a demonstrable lie: Nicaragua has pushed ahead with the approval and design of a mega-project that puts the human rights of hundreds of thousands of people at risk, without consultation and in a process shrouded in silence That claim is completely false. Even prior to September 2015, the international consultants impact study found that the government and the HKND company in charge of building the canal had organized consultations with, among others, over 4,000 people from rural communities in addition to 475 people from Indigenous communities along the route of the canal and its subsidiary projects. There has been very extensive media discussion and coverage of the project ever since it was announced.

That extremely prestigious ERM consultants Environmental and Social Impact study, which together with associated studies cost well over US$100 million, is publicly availablein Spanishandin English. Two years ago, it anticipated all the criticisms made by Amnesty International and was accepted by the Nicaraguan government, leading to a long period of analysis and revision that is still under way. Amnesty International excludes that information. Recently, governmentspokesperson Telemaco Talaverasaid the continuing process involves a total of 26 further studies. Until the studies are complete, the government is clearly right to avoid commenting on the proposed canal, because the new studies may radically change the overall project.

Amnesty International states, According to independent studies of civil society organizations, along the announced route of the canal, approximately 24,100 households (some 119,200 people) in the area will be directly impacted. But, the ERM study notes, HKND conducted a census of the population living in the Project Affected Areas. The census determined that approximately 30,000 people (or 7,210 families) would need to be physically or economically displaced. But Amnesty Internationals report omits that contradictory detail, demonstrating how irrationally committed they are to the false propaganda of Nicaraguas political opposition.

Amnesty International claim their research team interviewed at least 190 people concerned about the effects of the canal. By contrast, the Nicaraguan government and the HKND company have discussed the project with around 6,000 people in the areas along the route of the canal. In that regard, even the local church hierarchy hascriticized the way the Nicaraguan oppositionhave manipulated rural families on the issue of the Canal. But that fact too, Amnesty International omits. Their whole report is tailor made to supplement the political oppositions campaign for U.S. intervention via the notoriousNICA Act.

The Nicaraguan government has made an express commitment to a fair and just resolution of the issue of expropriations. Its2015 report on the canalin the context of its National Development Plan, states: The Nicaraguan government and HKND will guarantee that persons and families on the route of the canals construction will have living conditions superior to those they currently have (without the canal). To that end, the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity, via the Projects Commission, will guarantee not just a fair and transparent indemnification of their properties, via negotiations and direct agreements with each family affected, but furthermore will promote actions to improve their economic conditions, health care, education, housing and employment."

But the Amnesty International report systematically excludes that and any other sources giving the governments point of view, claiming it was unable to access primary sources either from the government itself or from among the canals numerous advocates. However, secondary sources abound that categorically contradict Amnestys advocacy against the canal. The report specifically and extensively attacks theLaw 840, facilitating the construction of the canal and its sub-projects, but cynically omits a fundamental, crucial detail, while also failing completely to give relevant social and economic context.

The crucial detail is that Law 840s Article 18 specifically states the canal project cannot require any Government Entity to take any action that violates the political Constitution of the Republic of Nicaragua or the terms of any international treaty of which the State of the Republic of Nicaragua is a party. Amnesty International completely omits that absolutely crucial part of Law 840 from their report because it makes redundant their advocacy of opposition claims attacking the equity and legality of the Canals legal framework. The same is true of the relevant political, social and economic context.

Nicaraguas political culture is based on dialogue, consensus and respect for international law. All the main business organizations in Nicaragua and all the main international financial and humanitarian institutions acknowledge that. President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo enjoy levels of approval of over 70 percent. There is good reason for that massive majority approval. Among many other factors, the precedents of how the Nicaraguan authorities have resolved the relocation of populations affected by large projects, for example, the Tumarin hydroelectric project, completely contradict the scaremongering of the Nicaraguan opposition propaganda, so glibly recycled by Amnesty International.

Nicaraguas current Sandinista government has been the most successful ever in reducing poverty and defending the right of all Nicaraguans to a dignified life. To do so, among many other initiatives, it has mobilized record levels of direct foreign investment. In that context, Law 840 explicitly protects the huge potential investments in the proposed canal, while at the same time implicitly guaranteeing constitutional protections. Similarly, ever since the announcement of the canal, Ortega has repeatedly, publicly reassured people in Nicaragua that any families who may eventually be relocated should the canal go ahead will get every necessary help and assistance from the government.

Just as it has done in the case of Venezuela, on Nicaragua, Amnesty International misrepresents the facts, cynically promoting the positions of the countrys right wing political opposition. In Latin America, under cover of phony concern for peoples basic rights, in practice Amnesty International, like almost all the big multi-millionaire Western NGOs, gives spurious humanitarian cover to the political agenda of the US and allied country corporate elites and their governments. The destructive, catastrophic effects of Amnesty Internationals recent role in the crises affecting Syria, Ukraine and now Venezuela, are living proof of that.

Read more here:

Amnesty International: Weaponizing Hypocrisy for the US, NATO - teleSUR English

Finian Cunningham (born 1963) has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. Originally from Belfast, Ireland, he is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. For over 20 years he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organizations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. Now a freelance journalist based in East Africa, his columns appear on RT, Sputnik, Strategic Culture Foundation and Press TV.

With four weeks to go until the start of Russias Zapad (West) war games in Belarus, Western media are already reporting alarm bells that the exercise is a cover for an invasion into NATO countries.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the United States is mobilizing a giant military force within days off the Korea Peninsula that could very well ignite World War III. Strangely enough, or perhaps not, the Western media report no concern about that much more ominous development.

The selective hysteria and double think over Russia-Belarusian military defense exercises, which occur every four years, makes a good case that those maneuvers should be renamed 'Zapped' such is the brain-dead condition of NATO governments thinking and the Western media reporting.

Russia and Belarus claim that the total number of troops involved are around 13,000. The US and other NATO members counter-claim that the numbers are in the 100,000 order.

Russias envoy to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, has submitted an inventory of military forces backing up the Russian number, while the countrys foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said accusations that the war exercises are anything more sinister than simply defensive preparations are nonsense.

Those assurances havent stopped the Western media from hyping up the forthcoming Zapad drill as a foreboding event. In order to do so, the double think has inevitably gone into overdrive.

The New York Times reports: Russias military drills near NATO border raise fears of aggression. It goes on to call the event an exercise in intimidation carried out by an increasingly assertive Russia.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has called the forthcoming Russian exercises destabilizing.

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So, lets get this straight: countless NATO exercises and unprecedented force build-up around Russias borders are not destabilizing? Seems like Mattis is saying that to merely have an army in ones own country is no longer acceptable. 'How dare you carry out provocative defensive measures,' seems to be his dubious logic.

What the NY Times fails to explicitly mention is that the Zapad drills are occurring within Russian or Belarusian territory and that the NATO border has come to exist only because of years of provocative eastward expansion by the US military alliance towards Russia. In contravention of the Russia-NATO Founding Agreement following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the supposed end of the Cold War.

Elsewhere, The Economist reports: Russias biggest war games in Europe since the Cold War alarms NATO. It adds: Some fear that Zapad 2017 could be a cover for skullduggery.

Omitted in all the fear-mongering reportage is that last year NATO actually mounted the biggest war games since the end of the Cold War when it conducted the Anaconda exercises in Poland and the Baltic states. Those drills involved over 30,000 troops and the participation of 24 of the then 27 NATO member states (NATO has since gained another member with Montenegro joining this year).

A Guardian report on the Anaconda maneuvers at the time noted, in a rather nonchalant tone, how it was the first time German tanks crossed Poland since the Nazi invasion of Russia in Operation Barbarossa in 1941.

Also omitted in general Western media coverage is that as the NATO alliance membership has expanded over the years so too have the number of its war games. Last year, for instance, in addition to the giant Anaconda maneuvers there were several other exercises: Summer Shield, Iron Wolf, Saber Strike and BALTOPS.

Other Western media reports claim that the Russian Zapad games are a harbinger of invasion by stealth, pointing to the case of Georgia and the Southern Caucasus. This comparison by the Western media is a betrayal of what psychologists call guilt projection. For it was the US-backed Georgia which launched a war nine years ago this month on Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The US-backed Operation Clear Field, which the Pentagon had invested $2 billion in, proved to be a disaster when Russian forces quickly repelled invading Georgian military.

For Western media and NATO figures to now claim that Russia is readying to repeat a Georgia-style invasion is beyond double think. It is an outrageous distortion of history.

Read more

A helpful perspective on how zapped Western media have become is that next week the US will conduct huge military maneuvers on the Korean Peninsula with its South Korean and Japanese allies. Those exercises will involve up to 75,000 troops, as well as nuclear-capable warships, aerial bombers and amphibious forces.

Admittedly, the US war games in Korea occur every year. Their scheduling is not unusual. Albeit why such maneuvers have become acceptable in the West has to do with the normalizing function of the Western media.

Nevertheless, the massive mobilization is a continual source of threat perceived by Communist North Korea, which views it as a preparation for invasion. Given that the US never signed a peace treaty with North Korea following the Korean War (1950-53), the fears in Pyongyang are reasonable enough.

Especially in the light of bellicose statements made in recent days by US President Donald Trump and his Pentagon chief James Mattis, in which they have threatened to destroy North Korea if the latter should continue with missile tests. Trump has warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that his country will be met with fire and fury the like of which the world has never seen before.

The region, and the world for that matter, is being placed on a hair-trigger for catastrophic war a war that most likely would escalate into a nuclear conflagration involving the deaths of millions of people.

Yet, the US is bullishly proceeding to conduct its war games in Korea despite calls by both Russia and China for Washington to freeze the military operations in order to give diplomacy a chance at resolving the crisis.

Where are the urgent concerns about those US war games in the Western media? Precisely, there are none.

Instead, the Western media are preoccupied with anxieties over Russian military exercises within its own territory and that of a neighboring ally.

The brain-dead double think and double standards of Western media show more than ever that these news organs have nothing to do with reporting on or analyzing objective reality. For anyone doubting the purpose and function of these information services, they can be clearly seen as nothing other than propaganda ministries. Their function is to conceal, obfuscate, normalize the abnormal, defend the indefensible, justify the unjustifiable.

Perhaps the consummate absurdity betraying their propaganda purpose is the way Western media are totally ignoring and normalizing the reckless war maneuvers by the US in South Korea. That provocation could set off World War III with nuclear weapons, yet Western media say little to nothing about this abominable destabilizing danger.

No. Such 'news' media are far too busy fantasizing over a Russian invasion of Europe with troops that are stationed within Russias own territory, while being surrounded by NATO forces from more than 20 nations.

Zapped indeed!

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

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Zapped over Zapad: NATO double think on war games reaches brain-dead condition - RT

In this pact, we hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggressiona bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all our citizens.

Address by US President Harry S. Truman, on the occasion of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty (April 4, 1949) [1]

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The establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in April of 1949 was defended, at least in public discourse, as a necessary bulwark against threats to peace posed by the Soviet Union.

Composed of 12 member states at the time, NATO was conceived as a collective defense among countries in the North Atlantic area (including Canada and the United States) all united in common cause to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. [2]

Today, nearly 3 decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the alliance remains active, with 17 additional members, including former members of the Warsaw Pact and constituent nations of the former Yugoslavia. Defense spending has shifted to the Middle East & North Africa and East Asia & Pacific regions. [3]

The post Cold War peace dividend was not realized, at least not for very long, as theatres of battle were waged progressively in the Gulf (1991), the former Yugoslavia (1995-1999), Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Libya (2011), and on the Russian frontier.

Peace has not been realized in the post Cold War era, and remarkably, a nuclear conflict between major powers is once again a very real prospect.

In April 2017, a symposium was held at the University of Manitoba probing the post Cold War military and parallel economic order. Three prominent thinkers were on hand to provide some background on NATOs actual as opposed to official role, the economic context of its various maneuvres, and the prospects and prescription for peace as social and ecological disruption continues to grip the globe.

The lectures were sponsored by the University of Manitoba based Geopolitical Economy Research Group, in association with Peace Alliance Winnipeg, the Manitoba Chair for Global Governance Studies in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba. Audio and complete video were provided by Paul S Graham.

Radhika Desai is professor of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba and director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, based at that university. She functioned as the moderator andconvenerfor the April 3rd conference, and introduced the three main speakers.

Dr. Paul Kellogg is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies at Athabasca University. He writes extensively about Canada and international political economy, Marxist theory and social movements. His most recent book is Escape from the Staple Trap: Canadian Political Economy after Left Nationalism (2015).

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya is a sociologist, geopolitical analyst, Research Associate with the Centre for Research on Globalization, and the award-winning author of The Globalization of NATO. He is a contributor at the Strategic Culture Foundation (SCF), Moscow, and a member of the Scientific Committee of Geopolitica, Italy.

Roger Annis is a long time sociologist and retired aerospace worker. He writes on issues around war and peace and social justice. He is co-founder and editor of The New Cold War: Ukraine and Beyond.

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Original post:

NATO and Western Militarism in a Multipolar World - Center for Research on Globalization

Despite the fact that the Turkish authorities banned members of the German Bundestag from attending the Konya military base, NATO sent a letter to Berlin inviting German MPs to visit the facility.

In an interview withSputnik Turkey, former chairman ofTurkey's Council ofVeterans Koray Gurbuz said that NATO representatives have no right toexert pressure ona sovereign state and act onbehalf ofthe Turkish government ininternational politics.

"Turkey is an independent and sovereign state. And German parliamentarians must take this intoaccount. They can't visit military bases inTurkey when they want, even if these are NATO bases. To visit the base inKonya, the German government had tosend an appropriate request tothe Turkish competent authorities, and not toNATO structures," Gurbuz told Sputnik.

AP Photo/ Selcan Hacaoglu

"NATO's behavior inthis situation was inmy opinion incorrect. NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller sent a letter toBerlin inviting German MPs tovisit the base inTurkey. Ankara, afterall, had its reasons toban the Germans fromvisiting the base. And the behavior ofMrs. Gottemoeller was nothing else butexcess ofpower, which is unacceptable," the Gurbuz sad.

"According tothe norms ofinternational law and bilateral agreements signed byTurkey, NATO representatives have no right toexert pressure ona sovereign state and act onbehalf ofthe Turkish government ininternational politics," he concluded.

AP Photo/ Selcan Hacaoglu

Relations betweenBerlin and Ankara became tense afterGerman-Turkish reporter ofDie Welt newspaper Deniz Yucel was arrested inIstanbul inFebruary overalleged links toterrorist organizations and propaganda. The situation betweenboth nations worsened afterGermany banned Ankara fromholding pre-referendum rallies onGerman soil.

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NATO 'Has No Right to Exert Pressure' on Turkey Over Konya Military Base - Sputnik International