NATO Chief: More Troops, More Planes for Eastern Europe

Says NATO Will Launch Buildup Immediately

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that the go-ahead has been given for a dramatic military build-up in eastern Europe, saying there will be “more planes in the air, more ships on the water and more readiness on the land.”

Rasmussen presented the planned buildup as a “clear message” to Russia about NATO’s commitment to protecting its members in the region against threats to “fundamental security.”

He followed that up with a demand for Russia to immediately withdraw its troops from the area around the Ukrainian border, and to make a public denunciation of the protesters in eastern Ukraine, who have been demanding more autonomy.

NATO’s eastern members, primarily Poland, have been pushing for a huge buildup in the region to counter the prospect of a Russian invasion, though officials’ predictions of Russian troops storming through the Ukraine, with an eye on the rest of Europe, have yet to pan out.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.