The Pentagon has begun the process today of loading tanks onto ferries in Varna, Bulgaria, to make their way across the Black Sea to Batumi, in the Republic of Georgia, where they will be used in upcoming military exercises, which will involve some 650 US troops and 150 British troops.
This is the second year of the exercise, which appears to be meant to be an annual event, and the first time US combat tanks will be involved. Last year, the US sent Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Georgia for the operation.
The Georgian Defense Ministry announced the deployment would happen back in January, saying at the time that the presence of the tanks would underscore US support for the Georgian Republic against Russia.
Georgia fought a brief, unsuccessful war against Russia in 2008, when they attacked the Russian-allied breakaway Republic of South Ossetia. Russian forces were hit during the Georgian attack, and Russian retaliation destroyed a large chunk of the Georgian military, and led Russia to formally recognize both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent nations.
Though the US has vowed to prevent the international community from ever formally recognizing either state as independent, their de facto autonomy likely ended Georgia’s ambitions to join NATO, as the alliance certainly will not accept a nation with outstanding territorial disputes, given their accession would likely mean an immediate call to war.
We’re trying to provoke the Russians. Idiotic. The Iraq pallet money must be running out.
May 5, 2016 Somnolent Europe, Russia, and China Can the world wake up?
On September 19, 2000, going on 16 years ago, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the London Telegraphreported: Declassified American government documents show that the US intelligence community ran a campaign in the Fifties and Sixties to build momentum for a united Europe. It funded and directed the European federalist movement.
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/05/05/somnolent-europe-russia-and-china-paul-craig-roberts/
We have no business being there. This is just Obama and The pentagon’s attempt to start Cold War 2.0.
more like a hot war!
Having Nato in George is like painting a bulls eye on the country. one false move and it will no longer exist
The last time these morons tried it in 2008 the Russian Military Chief of Staff announced that they had rolled tactical nukes to the Georgian border and would vaporize all NATO troops who were supporting the Georgian regime if they didn’t leave in 1 hour. Smarter people took the hint.
Apparently president peace prize never got the memo