BALTIMORE, Maryland April 16, 2014 - More Fighter Jets, More Battleships, and More NATO Troops are heading to Europe in an expedited manner, and the difference on the ground in the troubled area will be noticed "in a matter of days," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said today in Brussels, Belgium after a meeting of the Alliance in Stuttgart, Germany.
Despite the deployment, NATO stopped short of establishing a permanent forward presence in the region, the military publication, Stars and Stripes, reported today. Rasmussen conceded that a decision on a more sizable troop deployment is pending.
The announcement came even as President Obama's former ambassador to Iraq, James Jeffrey, urged NATO to also deploy in Ukraine if that is what it took to deter Russian Strong Man Vladimir Putin. Jeffrey, currently a fellow at the Washington-based Institute for Near East Policy, was critical of his former boss' response, to date, to Russia's open aggression. He warned that a failure to respond with strength would endanger other Eastern European allies.
“We will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water, and more readiness on the land,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters after a meeting of the North Atlantic Council.
Among the measures to be taken include an intensification of NATO air policing missions over the Baltic region and more allied ships bound for the Baltic Sea, eastern Mediterranean and other regions as required, Rasmussen said.
“Military staff from allied nations will deploy to enhance our preparedness, training and exercises,” Rasmussen said. “Our defense plans will be reviewed and reinforced.” Rasmussen announced that other measures will follow if they prove to be necessary.
“Our decisions today are about defense, deterrence and de-escalation,” Rasmussen said. “They are entirely in line with our international commitment.”
The opinion article by Ambassador Jeffrey is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-should-send-ground-troops-to-ukraine/2014/04/15/aa40b238-c408-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html
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