Daily Archives: March 4, 2015

Estonia #39;s Pro-NATO Ruling Party Claims Victory in Parliamentary Polls
Estonia #39;s ruling center-right pro-NATO Reform party claimed victory late Sunday in parliamentary polls dominated by security concerns from a militarily resur...

By: Solitude

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Estonia's Pro-NATO Ruling Party Claims Victory in Parliamentary Polls - Video

NATO Secretary General with President of France, 2 MAR 2015
Joint press point with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the President of France, Franois Hollande, 2 March 2015, Paris, France.

By: NATO

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NATO Secretary General with President of France, 2 MAR 2015 - Video

France: #39;Ceasefire fragile, but seems to be holding #39; - NATO #39;s Jens Stoltenberg
"The ceasefire in eastern Ukraine is fragile but seems to be holding", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after a working visit to meet with French President Hollande, in Paris Monday...

By: RuptlyTV

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France: 'Ceasefire fragile, but seems to be holding' - NATO's Jens Stoltenberg - Video

NATO Secretary General with President of the Slovak Republic, 3 MAR 2015
Joint press point with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the President of the Slovak Republic, Andrej Kiska, 3 March 2015, Brussels, Belgium. SUBSCRIBE to NATO YouTube http://bit.ly/NA ...

By: NATO

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NATO Secretary General with President of the Slovak Republic, 3 MAR 2015 - Video

DEFCON NATO and EUROPE vs RUSSIA and CHINA
watch as i (russia) and my ally china (in red) take on nato and europe (blue) in a global thermonuclear war. this is a good pc game with alot of strategy, ba. Russia Asia Vs USA/Canada...

By: Blanche Gonzales

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DEFCON NATO and EUROPE vs RUSSIA and CHINA - Video

PABRADE, Lithuania On a desolate plain where Soviet tanks once prepared for a possible invasion of Western Europe, American troops are training to deter Moscow from another invasion.

Through a dense smokescreen, soldiers of the Second Cavalry Regiment advance amid intense gunfire on the imaginary positions of a NATO enemy. On their flanks are fellow NATO soldiers from Lithuania where the war game is being held who just a quarter century ago would have been enemies, as Lithuania was one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union.

The U.S. and NATO are ramping up their deterrence capabilities against any Russian threat to Europe's borders and this joint exercise is aimed squarely at Russia. NATO is drawing a red line in the three Baltic states, all of them alliance members, with a message to Moscow: "Don't cause trouble here and don't try to invade!"

American Stryker armored vehicles speed across the churned ground; later this year they will be replaced in Lithuania by Abrams main battle tanks and another rotation of American troops will arrive.

U.S. Army Capt. Russell Moore, who is leading the troops involved in the current exercise, said the war games show not just that the "the U.S. is willing to stand with all of its NATO alliance partners It shows that we're strong, Europe is strong and there's a collective defense ready to defend against any foreign aggression."

Lieutenant Evaldas Milkintis, his Lithuanian comrade, agrees.

"We feel safer training together," he said. "We're trying to be ready to react to any threat from outside."

Lithuania has good reason to feel threatened. It was ruled by Moscow for decades until the end of the Cold War and doesn't want to be ruled by Vladimir Putin now. That's why the small nation has watched with growing alarm as Ukraine's borders were torn up by Moscow-backed fighters.

To its west is the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, home to Russia's Baltic warships. And in the skies above the Baltic Sea, it watches Russian warplanes test NATO's responses.

Lithuania has become one of Russia's main adversaries because it has sent military help to the Kiev government.

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Tanks and Tactics: NATO Exercises Send Message to Putin

He warned that Mr Putin could try to destabilise a Nato member by using a rebel militia as in eastern Ukraine, or other forms of ambiguous warfare.

In the absence of an overt Russian attack, some Nato members could be reluctant to invoke Article 5 of the Washington treaty, under which an attack on one member is an attack on all.

Once Article 5 is gone, our alliance is over, Gen Hodges said.

He called for American tanks to be positioned in countries along Natos eastern flank, as a deterrent to Mr Putin.

Just months after moving its last tanks out of Europe, the US has decided to send some 220 Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles back in response to the Ukraine crisis.

Gen Hodges said he had proposed positioning some of the tanks in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria.

And the US has already agreed to send troops to Poland and the three Baltic states.

Gen Hodges called for Nato countries to maintain defence spending in the face of the Ukraine crisis.

The chief of staff of the US army, Gen Raymond Odierno, said he was very concerned earlier this week after David Cameron refused to commit to maintaining defence spending at Natos agreed target of 2 per cent of GDP.

But Gen Hodges said he was sure the UK would continue to meet the 2 per cent target.

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Vladimir Putin wants to destroy Nato, says US commander in Europe Ben Hodges