By Frank Bennett Rowder
The United States, along with 27 other NATO countries, have created a new strategy to vastly improve the alliance that has been weak until now. The move is aimed at countering Russia’s aggressiveness in the Black Sea region and Baltic countries such as Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently announced a series of changes, several which are already underway. They include the organization enhancing its presence in the Black Sea and the deployment of two U.S. carrier task forces in the Mediterranean Sea where joint war games with the Romanian Navy will eventually take place.
U.S. forces will train Romanian and Bulgarian troops, while NATO establishes a rapid response force of 40,000. A thousand U.S. troops have already been sent to Poland with the blessings of President Obama and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. Numerous members will spend a minimum of two percent of their national budget toward defense, although names of the countries were not disclosed. “NATO is committed to fight and win the war against terrorism, especially ISIS,” Stoltenberg said.
Meanwhile Demitry Peskov, spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin, said, “The Kremlin is willing to cooperate with NATO , even if it acts toward Russia as an enemy. We will work with NATO on terrorist issues but are concerned when its soldiers are seen marching near our borders.”
Rowder is an expert on foreign affairs and a former member of our CJA board of directors. He also writes for World Nordic News.