Ongoing US announcements of military build-ups in Eastern Europe, nominally in response to “Russian aggression in Ukraine,” are continuing apace, despite the Ukrainian Civil War remaining in a state of ceasefire for virtually the entirety of 2015. The latest reports have the Pentagon seeking to send multiple new brigades.
Military leaders are arguing Russia’s involvement in the war against ISIS threatens to distract from the war in Ukraine, which appears to be of particular concern since the war largely doesn’t involve any fighting anymore at any rate, and says they need to keep putting troops in to “deter” Russia.
Most previous deployments in Eastern Europe have been comparatively small, with the Pentagon settling for sending a few tanks or some infantry at a time as a way of spreading out the deployments. Gen. Philip Breedlove, however, suggests this new deployment would be announced in “a couple of months” and would be quite a bit larger.
New overseas deployments and new programs are a great way for the Pentagon to continue to grow its budget, and Russia seems to increasingly be the go-to excuse for all things military. While the claims aren’t credible, they seem to be successful, as there seems to be little serious debate on whether hostile actions toward Russia are necessary.
The hyperbole of the "Russian threat" is a runaway train to nuclear war. These thugs in Washington will float the danger in front of the American people in many ways. Already I'm seeing old Hollywood movies depicting Russia as the great evil being shown again to plant the seeds of fear.
Ultimately the U.S. Congress will pass the military draft to conscript more bodies to die in foreign lands. What will our youth do, I wonder?
With the two white elephants he's got in Ukraine, Crimea with no land access and a wrecked economy and the Donetsk/Lugansk "sausage" (also with a wrecked economy!), Putin must either withdraw from Ukraine, or, will, sooner or later, be forced to break the ceasefire. The occupation must be costing him a fortune. Bogging him down in Syria is also costing him a fortune and is now costing Russian lives. More NATO troops in Eastern Europe forces Putin into a arms race which is also costing him a fortune. A German economic forecaster claimed yesterday that oil prices will remain low until about 2020 and there have been rumours (even from Putin's supporters) of a Russian default on debts. Thus, military spending in Europe or in Syria contributes to pushing Putin into bankruptcy.