US Deploys Troops to the Baltic States, Poland, and Romania

Transitioning from one president to another is always a fascinating time.  This one will be all the more so due to the numerous and profound differences between Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump.  This is all going to keep news and editorial writers very busy.

One of the areas of stark difference between Obama and Trump is the approach taken with regard to relations with Russia.  From at least the time of the Crimean and Ukrainian crises until today with the conflict in Syria, Mr. Obama has been highly critical of Russia and Mr. Putin.  There has been a clearly adversarial tone to the relations between the two governments.

Had Hillary Clinton won, that adversarial relationship would have no doubt continued or gotten worse as she referred to Mr. Putin as a new “Hitler.”

On the other hand, Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to work with Mr. Putin in improving relations.  And, for what it’s worth, Mr. Putin has made reciprocating remarks.

Of course, Mr. Trump is not yet president.  So it will be fascinating to watch how military actions such as those discussed below might change under the Trump administration.

The United States is accelerating its deployment of troops to Poland, the Baltic states, and Romania meant to ensure security in the region, according to Polish and U.S. defense officials.

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz first announced the decision on Wednesday, in the wake of a discussion with Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of U.S. Army Europe, in Poland, the Associated Press reported.

The U.S. will deploy an Armored Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Carson, Colorado, to Zagan in western Poland in early January and will send an additional U.S. battalion to Orzysz in northeast Poland at the start of April, according to the officials.

This highlights some of the tensions Mr. Trump will be called on to address:

NATO member states inked a separate deal to send four multinational battalions on a rotational basis in 2017 to Poland and the Baltic states, which have been rattled by Russian aggression in Europe following Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the resulting conflict in Ukraine.

Germany will lead the battalion in Lithuania, the United States one in Poland, Britain one in Estonia, and Canada one in Latvia.

Russia has threatened to counter NATO’s build up, which Moscow views as a threat to its national security, with its own forces. In October, Russia deployed nuclear-capable missiles to Kaliningrad, it’s military enclave bordering Poland and Lithuania.

Mr. Trump represents a dramatic departure from the policies and politics that typified the Obama administration.  As such, relations with Russia will be just one of a myriad of opportunities to chart a different course from his predecessor.

Source:  Free Beacon