Poland marks Army Day with parade, call for US military base

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Vanessa Gera, Associated Press
Updated 12:35 pm CDT, Wednesday, August 15, 2018

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's president voiced hope for a permanent U.S. military presence in his country, speaking as the nation put on a large military parade on its Armed Forces Day holiday Wednesday replete with tanks and people marching in historic uniforms.

Poland is fearful of Russia's renewed aggression, and President Andrzej Duda said that a permanent presence by the U.S. Army would "deter every potential aggressor."

The U.S. military, on its own and as part of a NATO effort, began rotating troops in and out of Poland and other nervous countries on NATO's eastern flank, including Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, after Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Poland has recently been lobbying for a permanent U.S. base and more American forces. There hasn't yet been a response on whether Washington will agree to a move that would be expensive and sure to infuriate Moscow.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Poland-marks-Army-Day-with-parade-call-for-US-13157754.php

[Wwcd]

1. Here's a piece on Trump/Putin and Latvia from March 2018

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/29/trump-fbi-hotel-latvia-investigation-russia-links?__twitter_impression=true


FBI looked into Trump plans to build hotel in Latvia with Putin supporter

Exclusive: US authorities made inquiries even before 2016 election campaign into Trump property dealings in former Soviet Union


Thu 29 Mar 2018 

Trump in Moscow: what happened at Miss Universe in 2013
They wanted to build the Las Vegas of the Baltics.

In 2010, a small group of businessmen including a wealthy Russian supporter of Vladimir Putin began working on plans to build a glitzy hotel and entertainment complex with Donald Trump in Riga, the capital of Latvia.

A senior Trump executive visited the city to scout for locations. Trump and his daughter Ivanka spent hours at Trump Tower with the Russian, Igor Krutoy, who also knows compatriots involved in arranging a fateful meeting at the same building during the 2016 US election campaign.

Then the Latvian government’s anti-corruption bureau began asking questions.

The Guardian has learned that talks with Trump’s company were abandoned after Krutoy and another of the businessmen were questioned by Latvian authorities as part of a major criminal inquiry there – and that the FBI later looked into Trump’s interactions with them at Latvia’s request.

MORE at LINK..

No wonder the Baltic Region, Poland would welcome a US Base.
They know Trump won't be President forever, unlike Putin, their biggest looming threat.

[pecosbob]

2. With the Russians, it always comes back to Poland

[blue-wave]

3. The present Polish government needs to be held

accountable. Accountable for their move toward totalitarianism. It's a shame because so many had high hopes for Poland after the fall of communism. Now it seems they want one party rule.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/polands-autocratic-counterrevolution-draws-nearer/2017/12/11/578176e0-dea8-11e7-bbd0-9dfb2e37492a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e4ee6219a5cf

If they do get a base, I'm sure it will be with Uncle Vlad's approval. That would be like WTF? Are the Poles, Trump and Putin all in the same bed together?

[Yupster]

4. If the purpoe of US troops in Europe is to deter Russian aggression, then

having troops in Germany seems pointless. They need to be where Russia would be tempted to invade which would be the Baltic States and Poland.

[Biden My Time]

5. Yup, Yupster!

West Germany made sense during Cold War I, but those troops need to be shifted east. Of course, we'll have to oust Putin's Orange Viceroy first.

[Xolodno]

6. They don't want the base for "protection".

...If we a put a base in Poland, Russia will be required to put one in Belarus bordering Poland. They want the base for the "investment income" that comes with it.

[Yupster]

7. With the long history of Poland and Russia

Poland has every right to fear Russian encroachment. Poland has a very unfortunate geography being in between Germany and Russia. They have been overrun from each direction and have even been partitioned out of existence.

[Xolodno]

8. I'm aware of that.

But a base just makes them more of a target. Unless Belarus rejoins Russia...which is entirely possible, there isn't a need for one. Now if Belarus does reunify, then fuck yeah, and they will need more than one.