The US is considering a move to deter Russia not seen since the Cold War
Igor Tkachenko/REUTERS
Citing U.S. and allied officials, the newspaper said that if approved the proposal would mark the first time since the Cold War that Washington has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member states in Eastern Europe that were once part of the Soviet sphere of influence.
"It's like taking NATO back to the future," Julianne Smith, a former defense and White House official who is now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a vice president at the consulting firm Beacon Global Strategies, told the Times.
Business Insider
"This is a very meaningful shift in policy," said James G. Stavridis, a retired admiral and the former supreme allied commander of NATO, told the Times. "It provides a reasonable level of reassurance to jittery allies, although nothing is as good as troops stationed full-time on the ground, of course."
The proposal calls for enough equipment for about 150 soldiers to be stored in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and enough for about 750 soldiers to be stored in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and possibly Hungary, according to the Times.
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and the White House still have to approve the proposal, which will likely encounter significant political hurdles. Already, some NATO allies are expressing concerns over how Russia may retaliate against the military build-up.
Others welcome the move: "If something happens, we can't wait days or weeks for more equipment," Mr. Vejonis, who will become Latvia's president in July, told the Times. "We need to react immediately."
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- Foreign tourist arrivals in India will cross pre-pandemic level in 2024
- Upcoming smartphones launching in India in May 2024
- Markets rebound in early trade amid global rally, buying in ICICI Bank and Reliance
- Women in Leadership
- Rupee declines 5 paise to 83.43 against US dollar in early trade
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market