U.S. Troops Arrive In Lithuania Amid Ukraine Tensions

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

SIAULIAI, Lithuania Sat Apr 26, 2014 8:00am EDT

(Reuters) - The United States deployed 150 paratroopers to Lithuania on Saturday, part of efforts by Washington to reassure its eastern European allies, worried by events in Ukraine, that NATO would offer protection if they face Russian aggression.

A total of 600 U.S. troops are to be deployed to Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for infantry exercises. They are expected to remain in the region on rotation until the end of the year.

"As threats emerged, we see who our real friends are," Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said as she greeted the troops at the Siauliai air base.

"The Baltic states and Poland are on the border of NATO, so more security measures are urgently needed. This U.S. troop addition is very timely and very necessary," she said.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/26/us-ukraine-crisis-lithuania-idUSBREA3P0BC20140426

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[HR][HR]

US Soldiers Arrive In Lithuania To ‘Reassure’ Nato Allies Amid Ukrainian Crisis

Published time: April 26, 2014 13:56

American troops have arrived in Lithuania for military drills as tensions rise in the region over Ukraine. Russia has voiced its concern over the troop buildup in Eastern Europe as well as to the deployment of NATO ships in the Black Sea.

The Lithuanian government welcomed the arrival of 150 troops at the Lithuanian Air Force Aviation Base in Siauliai on Saturday, reported Reuters. Referring to the escalating tensions in Ukraine, President Dalia Grybauskaite said “we know in this situation who our real friends are coming to help."

"If any of our guests are injured, it would mean an open confrontation not with Lithuania but with the United States," she added. The group of troops is part of a larger contingent of 600 troops that have been deployed throughout Eastern Europe to reassure NATO allies. Another company of soldiers arrived in Poland on Wednesday and in Latvia on Friday. Troops are also expected to arrive in Estonia on Monday.

"It's a message to anyone who will listen, and the message is that the United States of America will honor its commitments to Lithuania,” Richard Longo, Deputy Commanding General of US Army Europe, told reporters in Siauliai.

According to the Lithuanian Defense Ministry the soldiers will conduct a number of military exercises throughout this year.

MORE...

http://rt.com/news/155068-us-troops-lithuania-drills/

[Duckhunter935]

1. At least the US

forces wear insignia and do not need masks to hide who they are.

[Purveyor]

2. True. We hire private mecenaries/assassins for that task. eom

[Duckhunter935]

3. Are you saying

the US military troops in the OP are mecenaries/assassins?

[Purveyor]

4. I do believe I said 'private' now didn't I? eom

[Duckhunter935]

5. can you point to any

in the current uprising? The evidence in the east seems very strong Russian regular troops are assisting.

[Purveyor]

7. Here is one but I'm sure it will be dismissed outright because it doesn't originate

from a corporate owned US propaganda outlet.

NATO Conceals Mercenary Interference in Ukraine

Moscow, Apr 9 (Prensa Latina) NATO is concealing its interference in Ukraine through the use of mercenaries to train extremists, who in turn have become a repressive force for the government since President Víktor Yanukóvich was overthrown, experts charged today.
Founder and director of the Center for Global Research, Michel Chossudovsky, says that private security companies are being used as a facade by NATO to train neo-fascist militants.

Chossudovsky told RT television that the new leaders in Kiev and the Western military bloc have hired mercenaries from these companies either directly or through intermediaries.

Chief Editor of the Russian publication "National Defense," Igor Korotchenko, noted that it appears that the mercenaries source from Greystone Ltd, which, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, is sending mercenaries paid by Ukrainian oligarchs.

Russian diplomats told the Interfax news agency in Kiev that nearly 300 mercenaries specialized in combat operations had arrived in Ukraine.

more...

http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2562521&Itemid=1

[EX500rider]

8. Is that source allowed in LBN and if not, why is that?

Maybe because it's Cuban propaganda and full of BS? Like RT?

[Duckhunter935]

11. I think I would want a more reputable

source. And who are all of the experts?

Moscow, Apr 9 (Prensa Latina) NATO is concealing its interference in Ukraine through the use of mercenaries to train extremists, who in turn have become a repressive force for the government since President Víktor Yanukóvich was overthrown, experts charged today

[The Magistrate]

13. Chossudovsky, Sir, Is A Long Term Nutter

He has all the credibility of Lyndon LaRouche or Wayne Madsen....

[IronGate]

16. Chossudovsky?

Sure you want to use this certifiable nut as a source?
And Plenglish? A cuban propaganda paper?

Show us a credible source if you want to be believed.

[Igel]

17. Sigh.

Let's say I tell 30 people something happened.

All 30 people then go and say that this thing happened.

Are there 30 sources or is there 1 source?

Doesn't matter what that "something happened" was. It doesn't matter if it's something that we believe happened or thinks is utterly implausible and couldn't have happened.. There's only one correct, reasonable, accurate answer to that question.

'Nuff said.

[oneofthe99]

6. Shit , we are officially back to the Cold War

[ballyhoo]

9. Hard to blame this one on George Bush.....

[oneofthe99]

10. I didn't blame George Bush

[ballyhoo]

12. I didn't say you did. Maybe I should have said

No one can blame George Bush for this one. Whatever.

[oneofthe99]

14. It's hard to blame Obama for this

Putin has been planning this for a long time.
I will say this , when Romney said during the second debate .
Russia right now is one of the greatest enemy of the United States.

Every Democrat laughed at him including Obama and Biden.

He got this one right.

[ballyhoo]

18. Russia has always been an enemy of the United States. Did you think that

US hire guns burning rubber tires would aggrandize the US with Putin? There is plenty of
of blame on both sides. However, by July-August, these things will only be worth
mentioning by the historians as the Doomsday Clock clicks another minute forward. Neither
Putin nor Obama will carry the blame for what the denouement. It will be a richly-deserved
neocon couple.

[penultimate]

21. What evidence is there of the US paying for the euromaidan protesters?

[ballyhoo]

22. Here is a link from Paul Craig Roberts,

a brilliant man who served his country well, whose book How America Was Lost I am now reading, says. I could post many other links but I am being link-tailed. Hard for me to believe you are asking this question there are so many references. Oh, well. Undoubtedly, you think this was Russian separatists acting alone or with directions from Moscow. Others see that also. I am simply not with that group this time. I understand what the media is doing.

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2014/02/18/us-and-eu-are-paying-ukrainian-rioters-and-protesters/

[The Magistrate]

24. And Not Improving Much With This, Either, Sir

He was a regular on V-Dare, a nativist white supremacist site, and further was a fellow at the Olin Institute and the Hoover Institute.

In short, a former Reagan official who continues a hard-right nativist line, off in the twilight where the hard right and the hard left meet and bump bottoms in the mystery dance....

[ballyhoo]

26. Yeah, right....

[The Magistrate]

28. Indeed, Sir: Right As Rain

But one expects you know that already....

"My god, man, slap yourself and think!"

[ballyhoo]

30. I know no such thing. I have respected

Roberts for years and have been to two of his lectures. I had no use for Reagan but Roberts is brilliant and writes brilliantly. Take your condemnation of Roberts straight to Obama. See what he says.

[The Magistrate]

32. That You Respect Him, Sir, Speaks Well Neither Of Him Nor You

You have made it very clear by your posts here what your judgement is worth, by the sources you cite and by the utter lack of understanding what constitutes evidence you display....

[ballyhoo]

36. My position with respect to

the West's role in the Ukraine disaster is shared by roughly 35-40 per cent of this board. As far as your opinion of me, I could care less. I now with great certainty think we are headed for nuclear war and I have shown who I think will be blamed for it. And you? You are basically badgering me with the continuing point out of a post that went to jury and I lost.

[The Magistrate]

40. When You Try 'Appeal To Popularity', Sir, Try At Least To Claim A Majority

It does not help, mind, but at least you look better when you go down.

There is not going to be a nuclear war, and the leading promoters of the idea there will be are certified loons and known lying mouthpieces.

I have pointed out, and may well continue to point out, that you link to anti-semitic hate sites, and cite as authorities, and profess admiration for, people who frequently make racist and anti-semitic statements. People should be aware of that when they are trying to assess the worth of your judgments and commentary.

[ballyhoo]

43. People should be left to their own decisions respecting

posts. I have talked to at least five people since your chase began who also follow Paul Craig Roberts. Forcing people to follow one's prejudgment of another's statements and ideas is not something a normal person does. Let's suppose X is talking to Y. What both X and Y conclude from that conversation should be up to them--not C, who enters a conversation as third party and rails against something X did or did not do, fully making C's offering the basis for both X and Y's determination of what they took away from the conversation which started out between just the two of them.

[The Magistrate]

48. So Disagreement With You Is Censorship, Sir? Thought Control, Even....

That is about the lamest wheeze in the book, and an invariable signifier of someone who is on the losing end of the argument and knows it.

I do not direct people's thoughts, in your case I am simply giving them information they may find useful in assessing the worth of your comments.

One of the features of a public forum is that anyone may join in, and comment on anything which strikes them worth chipping in on. If you want a private conversatio with people who share your admiration for racist paleo-conservatives like Roberts, or share you tastes in sources otherwise, use the private message system.

[ballyhoo]

51. I do use the private message system. More so now than

before. No, what you are doing is basically analogous to retrying a case that has already been settled. It is double jeopardy. Anyway, that is what I wrote in my letter to Elad. Whether I knew or did not know of the link, I accepted the jury decision because I should have DDed the link more thoroughly. However, that ends it. I don't want to go to the Dog board regarding giving Fido biscuits or green beans and have The Magistrate come in and say: Before you consider this person's recommendation you should take a look at links 5 and 7. I, Magistrate, am the one who sent this man's post to the jury.

[The Magistrate]

57. I Am Publishing Results Of Trial, Sir, Not Re-Trying The Case

Many quite basic concepts seem to go right over your head.

Double jeopardy refers to a person being put on trial a second time, usually after an acquittal which the prosecuting authority refuses to accept.

But you were nailed cold for citing a hate site. Your claim 'it came up first when you searched Victoria Nuland' is ludicrous, as anyone can find for themselves: 'The Guardian' comes up first, after the Wiki entry, and one grows bored with the exercise long before finding the site you cited, 'wide awake gentile'. Now, I gather search engines customize a bit to individual users, so perhaps, if your normal browsing habits are such that anti-semitic hate sites call up higher on a search for you than for me, you could have got a different result than I did when hitting the enter key. But there just is no clean way out of this for you: either you lack the judgement and political sophistication to understand you are on a hate site, in which case your comments on political events cannot be taken seriously. or else, you knew exactly what you were citing, and just let the mask slip, in which case your comments on political events cannot be taken seriously.

[ballyhoo]

59. Or you are wrong about everything. Post to

another.

[The Magistrate]

60. Except We Both Know I Am Right, Sir

[greatauntoftriplets]

31. Paul Craig Roberts as in the co-founder of Reaganomics?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Craig_Roberts



Sterling sources you use there.

[ballyhoo]

34. Your link is under inspection....

[The Magistrate]

38. From One Of Your Hero's V-Dare Columns, Sir

http://www.vdare.com/articles/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-911

"Today the US media is owned by 5 giant companies in which pro-Zionist Jews have disproportionate influence."

You just cannot win for losing, Sir, can you?

[ballyhoo]

39. I would suggest not using

anti-Semitic posts. They tend to be frowned on here.

[The Magistrate]

41. So You Acknowledge Your Hero Roberts Is An Anti-Semtic Racist, Sir

Good to have that on the record.

[ballyhoo]

47. Negative. You are the one who made the

post. The admonition was to you--not a bounceback to me, who once again has no idea what the site you referred to even is.

[The Magistrate]

50. I Linked To A Column By Roberts, And Quoted From It; You Said That Was An Anti-Semitic Post

In other words, you acknowledged that Roberts writes anti-semitic material, which he does.

You can protest ignorance of the people he wrote columns for for years, and indeed, having proclaimed him someone you admire, you have little choice but to plead ignorance, but if you have been admiring and following the man for years, it strains credulity well past breaking to imagine you do not know of his writings and where they can be found, or their frequently racist and nativist content.

[ballyhoo]

53. Made by you. And my interpretations of Robert's

writings DO NOT have to conform to yours. Having communicated with you Joe; I hope to God they don't--

[The Magistrate]

58. It Is Not A Question Of Interpretation, Sir: It Is A Fact The Statement Is Anti-Semitism

The accusation Jews control the media is one of the sturdier props of the anti-semite's world view, and people who put it into print say much more about themselves than what they purport to describe.

Roberts is an old paleo-con pursuing a line set out some while ago by Justin Raimondo, with his 'anti-war' site: the idea is that a strain of anti-Israel feeling on the left could be approached and wooed over to the right, owing to its over-lap with classic antisemtism, if language and approach were carefully chosen, so that the target audience was not confronted with the full panoply of old-school 'hidden hand' until well softened up by wooing on 'let's declare independence from Israel, let's not go to war for Israel, we'd have practically no problems if it wasn't for Israel' lines.

[uhnope]

61. especially since Ballyhoo posted the most overtly racist post I've seen on DU

on another thread.

[The Magistrate]

62. You Mean The 'Gypsies' Hide Here, Sir?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014790244#post13

[uhnope]

63. yes, that one. My guess is

Ballyhoo is from Central or Eastern Europe, if not Russia itself, where antigypsism is rife.

[IronGate]

64. And I would suggest to you that you don't post racist, anti-gypsy comments.

Why you're still here is beyond me, but I suspect that will be remedied soon if you keep on your present course.

[Jefferson23]

25. The Doomsday Clock? Where do you get this horse shit from? n/t

[The Magistrate]

27. Lyndon LaRouche And Press TV, Sir, Are Pushing The "U.S. Seeks Nuclear War With Russia' Line Hard

A quasi-fascist cult-leader felon, and the mouth-piece of Iran's mullahs....

[Jefferson23]

33. Thank you for the heads up, Magistrate.

Why he believes such nonsense and posts it here, I don't know..I am not familiar with him.

One thing I have noticed, and perhaps due to our foreign policy so often is riddled with terrible
misjudgements and the consequences have been dire, to say the least..there is a tendency to presume
the US has been the main problem regarding the Crimea/Ukraine upset.

With that said, this situation rests foremost and squarely with Putin..I think that has been misunderstood,
somewhat, but it does not explain wacko notions the poster is spreading.

[ballyhoo]

29. What?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Clock

[Jefferson23]

35. Your hysterics are not convincing....nor your arguments. n/t

[ballyhoo]

37. I gave you a reference. Which was ostensibly what

your wanted.

[Jefferson23]

42. Context is everything, no? Your arguments are heavily reliant on a number of

false premises. Maybe you can explain to me why you find your sources reliable.

[ballyhoo]

44. You mean source, in the singular? Because Wiki

is an independent organization that thoroughly checks their own sources. Are you saying Wikipedia is not a good source? Let's keep this conversation confined to your knowledge or lack thereof of a Doomsday Clock, which you characterized as "a bunch of shit".

[Jefferson23]

46. No, your sources overall, are conspiracy and anti-semitic fueled arguments. Tell me why you believe

them? I took a few minutes to read other posts in this thread and I am not
familiar with your arguments..so, please explain.

So far, yes, a bunch of shit, you enjoy scaring people too with your Doomsday crap?

[ballyhoo]

49. That is not the point. You said something

was not true, or indicated that. I showed you it existed. However, your question is not unreasonable. I believe the West in the person of Victoria Nuland was instrumental in the Kiev riots because of the propensity of articles I have read including those from persons here; one, by someone named Catherina, who I believe is the greatest researcher on this site. Furthermore, I would not even have take this postion were it not for so many people on the site agreeing that the West was instrumental in fomenting the riots that led to the loss of Crimea. Now, I don't know how much you post. Go look at all the posts regarding Crimea and the riots and see if what I am saying is not valid. I have little use for Putin, but in the case of Crimea I feel the common people will do far better under Russia than Ukraine. And look how they voted.

[Jefferson23]

52. I am not certain you understand my question. It has nothing to do with whatever someone

else may have said or not and I will tell you upfront, I do not take your word on the translation
you have offered.

Your sources are permeated with conspiracy and anti-semitic qualifiers, casting aspersions
about Nuland, not only for the role she played, but who she is and her relationships.

Do you understand? There are two levels here, one the veracity of your argument that
Nulands activity was significant enough as a major precursor for the political upset and two, your
sources stating the menacing motivations behind them...the Zionists.

You happen to be wrong on both counts. I would like to know why you believe such
anti-semitic garbage. That you suggest you would not have taken this position if not
for the support displayed here on DU is unbelievable..literally.

[ballyhoo]

54. I do not have any anti-semetic

positions. I had never seen that site before. It was the first site that popped up when I put in Nuland's name. You are extrapolating from one post and the repetition of the same links from someone else. However, this is getting boring. I shall keep posting my positions on Ukraine and the responsible parties. When they appear too controversial, I will do it privately. AND, I shall be careful of posting to those whose point of conjecture is "what is this shit". Ego mihi arbitror.

[Jefferson23]

56. You own your posts, and I asked you a fair question.

snip* Baloney. It's because of Victoria Nuland and her band

of nincompoops actions. Putin was just out riding his hog when the tires in Kiev started burning. He had to do something. Maybe if Nuland hadn't been listening to her neoncon husband Kagan, none of this would have happened. Look at this woman: if she ain't possessed, no one is.

http://wideawakegentile.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/fuck-you-victoria-nuland-and-fuck-your-whole-miserable-neocon-zionist-family/


I am not trying to goad you, I would appreciate you telling me why you believe such a thing..it is a terrible
way to look at people. You wrote this, not Craig Roberts, his writings, he owns his own words too, we all do.

Again, it is one thing to argue Nuland's action were as significant as you believe them to be, there
can be conversations about that. Then there is your statement above which is another aspect altogether
and you seem to either not recognize how ugly your accusations are about her or you're just full of shit
with the pretense.

If you need to have your ideas kept privately, as you suggest, it is likely because you are dead wrong
and it is never too late to change. Wide awake gentile website is your choice for information, do not
expect respect for your positions.

[TwilightGardener]

19. China is our greatest geopolitical foe, in terms of drawing us into a foreseeable war

or at least an arms race, and in terms of massively impacting our trade and economy if war does break out. Russia is trying to hang on to its shrinking sphere of influence with hard power because it has little else besides that and oil/gas as a means to do so. Putin would have to be nuts to attack a country we have a real defense treaty with--meanwhile China is considering doing just that (over the Senkaku Islands with Japan, in particular) and actually is trying to restrict airspace and sea access. Growing and feeling its oats vs. flailing regional troublemaker, that's the difference between China and Russia, as far as the US is concerned. Our eye is still primarily on China.

[The Magistrate]

15. We Know Who You Blame This On, Sir

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014787623#post7

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014787623#post10

Your recurring assaults on Ms. Nuland take on a certain glow from your linking to 'wide awake gentile', as demonstrated in the links posted above.

[Jefferson23]

45. Oh geeze, and he is still a member here?? n/t

[malthaussen]

20. We should send them to Nevada instead. n/t

[Jefferson23]

23. The prick, Putin, is the responsible party here.

I am surprised we did not push for tougher sanctions right away.

[tavernier]

55. I haven't been to Lithuania, but Riga, Latvia is a gorgeous city, both old and modern.

It is often referred to as the Paris of the North. It has always been coveted by Russia for many reasons.

But it is no Afghanistan, and still at peace, so our troops will at least enjoy their stay on their days off. There are many American tourists, or at least were when i visited, so most shop keepers and waiters speak English.