NATO Defending Eastern Europe. Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Ukraine have been receiving lots of love lately from the North Atlantic Treat Organization. Exercises are being conducted, temporary deployment of battalions and battlegroups to Eastern Europe have taken place, and air patrols in the skies have become more frequent. Read a selection of reports and papers with news, analysis, commentary on the Russia threat in Eastern Europe, and NATO defending Eastern Europe.
Russia Invades Ukraine? Almost every administration is tested by its prominent adversaries soon after taking office. There is no doubt that President-Elect Trump’s administration will be treated in the same respect. How does Trump respond to a major incursion by Russia in eastern Europe – for instance the Ukraine? I am not sure tweeting will work in this particular case. Read more in a recent article by Dov S. Zakheim posted at The National Interest, December 25, 2016.
Cyber Attacks and Russia. The news of late has seen a lot about cyber warfare and Russia. Interference with elections, tampering with power grids, and influencing audiences with ‘fake news’ are among the stories we have seen about Russia’s use of the Internet. How does someone actually conduct a cyber attack on a power plant? Watch “What happens when a power plant comes under cyber attack”, NATO, December 23, 2016.
Russia Invades the Baltic States? Watch a short video clip about how RAND Corporation war-gamed a Russia invasion of the Baltic States which indicated that the countries would be conquered in 60 short hours. Rethinking Russia’s Threat to NATO, December 2016. Watch a 2-min long video The Call of Duty: Lithuanian Reservists, NATO Channel, December 12, 2016.
NATO Defending Poland. In 2017 the United States will be sending some troops to be stationed in Poland. The U.S. will lead a multinational battlegroup of almost 1,000 soldiers including troops from the United Kingdom and Romania. Watch a 3-min video – Poland set to welcome American-led battlegroup, NATO, December 30, 2016.
Never Heard of Transnistria? It could be the scene of the next conflict with Russia. Learn more about the Transnistria War of 1990 (WikepediA) and this obscure country (territory) could cause a further deterioration of U.S. and Russian relations, Washington Examiner, December 29, 2016.
U.S. SOF and Europe. So we know a little about the Russian threat to Europe and we know that NATO is the deterrent force to keep the Russians at bay. Is there a special operations component to NATO? Yes, there is – it is called NATO SOF or NSHQ for short. And what about the U.S. SOF presence in Europe? That is Special Operations Command Europe or SOCEUR. Watch a short 3-min long video featuring clips from SOCEUR in 2016 in SOCEUR 2016 – A Year in Review, posted on YouTube.com on January 3, 2017.
