U.S. ground troops going to Poland, defense minister says

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Washington Post:

Poland and the United States will announce next week the deployment of U.S. ground forces to Poland as part of an expansion of NATO presence in Central and Eastern Europe in response to events in Ukraine. That was the word from Poland’s defense minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, who visited The Post Friday after meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon on Thursday.

 

Siemoniak said the decision has been made on a political level and that military planners are working out details. There will also be intensified cooperation in air defense, special forces, cyberdefense and other areas. Poland will play a leading regional role, “under U.S. patronage,” he said.

 

But the defense minister also said that any immediate NATO response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, while important, matter less than a long-term shift in the defense postures of Europe and America. The United States, having announced a “pivot” to Asia, needs to “re-pivot” to Europe, he said, and European countries that have cut back on defense spending need to reverse the trends.

 

“The idea until recently was that there were no more threats in Europe and no need for a U.S. presence in Europe any more,” Siemoniak said, speaking through an interpreter. “Events show that what is needed is a re-pivot, and that Europe was safe and secure because America was in Europe.”

 

How likely is such a reversal on defense spending? Siemoniak said there was widespread support at a recent meeting of European defense ministers. “Now they’ll go back to their presidents, prime ministers and ministers of finance, and this will stop being easy,” he admitted. “But the impetus is very strong.”

________

 

Countermeasures?

[Valin]

U.S. to announce ground troops to Poland, says… Polish defense minister
Mary Katharine Ham
April 18, 2014

Leading from behind on its own troop movements, now, the Polish prime minister seemed to get ahead of the Obama administration on news of U.S. troop deployments to Poland as a response to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told the Washington Post after a meeting with Sec. Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon:

(Snip)

He seemed to go farther than Hagel went earlier today:

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday the door is open to larger U.S. military rotations through Poland, including ground troops, as the international standoff persists over Russian incursions into Ukraine.

Hagel briefed reporters at the Pentagon after a meeting with Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, who came to Washington in search of more American soldiers, warplanes and support troops to help bolster security in a country nervously eyeing Russia’s expansionist behavior.

That seems odd, right? Either way, glad to see some seriousness about the situation and solidarity with Poland.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Meanwhile......

 

[Valin]

Meanwhile......

 

Anti-terrorist campaign takes a different tack

Evan Ostryzniuk

April 18, 2014, 10:11 p.m.

 

In light of the failure of Ukraines 25th Dnipropetrovsk Parachute brigade to hold and secure the Kramatorsk airfield in Donetsk Oblast on April 17, the State Security Service announced on April 18 that the nations policing agencies, including the State Auto Inspection, have intensified other security operations.

 

In Kharkiv Oblast, especially around the city of Kharkiv, they have begun inspecting more vehicles entering the region for weapons, ammunition and explosives, while in Donetsk Oblast security forces were creating a cordon between the civilian population and the separatists, the State Security Service spokeswoman said. There was no mention of a renewed offensive in the anti-terrorist campaign.

 

Slavyansk remains the hottest point in the region, SBU press officer Maryna Ostapenko said. However, we have conducted several meetings today with the separatists. No confrontations were reported overnight, but the situation remains tense and uncertain.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

NATO Commander Says Russian Troops Are In East Ukraine

The Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Philip Breedlove, has stated quite clearly that he believes that Russian troops are already operating in eastern Ukraine and are in fact leading the pro-Russian militias:
It’s hard to fathom that groups of armed men in masks suddenly sprang forward from the population in eastern Ukraine and systematically began to occupy government facilities. It’s hard to fathom because it’s simply not true. What is happening in eastern Ukraine is a military operation that is well planned and organized and we assess that it is being carried out at the direction of Russia.


President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister David Cameron, President François Hollande, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and many others have publicly stated their belief that Russian forces are behind the events in Ukraine. I would like to provide some observations from our analytical experts to help explain why I strongly agree with these world leaders.

 

(Snip)