Moldova nearly doubles Iraq troop presence

[Robbien]

Source: Tiraspol Times

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - Nearly doubling its current troop presence in the occupation of Iraq, Moldova's government has announced that it is increasing from 11 to 20 the sixth group of soldiers that it is sending to the troubled country.

. . .

In return for their loyalty, Moldova's national army is being armed by the American military with new equipment that will help it launch a new war against Transdniestria (officially, Pridnestrovie). In 1992, Moldova attempted to take control of Transdniestria but the attack failed in part due to the low quality of its outdated Soviet-era military hardware.

Today, the United States is actively equipping Moldova with "high-quality equipment, the latest equipment" for winning what some now fear could be a future war against Transdniestria.

" - Thanks to the United States’ assistance, our troops - particularly those who deal with explosives - have high-quality equipment, the latest equipment," says Alexei Carasiov, a ranking Moldovan officer. "We have it in our hands," he confirms.

Read more: http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/node/1460

[jaysunb]

1. I want to laugh, but...

oh well, :rofl:

[Teaser]

2. that's some surge

.

[Newsjock]

3. Don't forget Moldova!

or their national tennis team.

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. Or their national football team, playing tennis

The follow-up to British comedian Hawks's Round Ireland with a Fridge (a chronicle of his efforts to make good on a liquor-sodden wager to hitchhike Ireland with a refrigerator in tow) employs a similarly ridiculous premise. While watching a football game between Moldova and England, Hawks, an ex-junior-tennis-champion, and his friend argue the importance of technique in sportsmanship. The conversation culminates in a ridiculous bet; Hawks must beat the Moldovan football team at tennis, or else strip naked in a London street and sing the Moldovan anthem. What follows is an oddball travelogue spanning Moldova, Northern Ireland and Israel as Hawks tracks down and plays each team member. Hawks, who admits to knowing nothing about Moldova, offers few insights about the country; his socioeconomic and cultural observations lean toward the superficial. However, Hawks offers plenty of easy laughs (mostly at his own expense) as he brazenly and good-naturedly takes on local bureaucrats, would-be capitalists and seemingly insurmountable language barriers in pursuit of an admittedly pointless goal. "Things can be done," Hawks notes as he gears up for the journey. "The people in life who get them done are the ones who know that, and the ones who don't are the rest." Noting his reliance on the kindness of others, Hawks engages in a social experiment, demonstrating the willingness of strangers to help another achieve even the most whimsical of goals.

http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Moldovans-Tennis-Tony-Hawks/dp/0312305184

[Newsjock]

28. Oops, my bad

Shows how long it's been since I actually read the book! Quite the entertaining volume, too.

[TwilightGardener]

4. Wow. Get ready for some more Shock and Awe, Iraq!

[boricua79]

5. what...from 1?

What's next...Transylvania is upping its Vampire Brigades to 2 in Iraq?

Give me a break...this is such a joke.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

20. The Vampires are afraid of Blackwater

They know a real blood sucker when they see one. :scared:

[Javaman]

21. But don't you believe for a second that moron* won't use this in his* next speech...

"our friends the mol...mol...mol-dove-eye-ins...are doubling their troops in Iraq. The coalition is not falling apart as some of the demo-crats would like us to believe".

[Xipe Totec]

6. Thank goodness - we're saved now nt

[stillcool]

7. wow..we're sending them more arms?

I followed your link...my head is still spinning. Maybe someone can explain.

The President announced that, in his eyes, the presence of Moldovan soldiers in Iraq improves the image of Moldova.
That image was severely tarnished when Moldova was connected to the 2006 supply of 200,000 Kalashnikov rifles that fell into the hands of insurgents in Iraq. Earlier, the United States had sanctioned two Moldovan firms with official involvement for supplying weapons to the region. A Moldovan transport airplane which perished in Iraq in January of 2007 was also tied to gunrunning.
-----------------------------------------
Moldova plane crash in Iraq tied to insurgency arms smuggling
TransnistriaTurkey's Transportation Minister raised suspicions that the 10 January downing of a Moldovan cargo plane in Iraq could have been a military action. Hidden from international oversight, Moldova has shipped arms to Middle Eastern troublespots since 2002. A recent delivery of 200,000 Kalashnikovs fell into the hands of insurgents in Iraq.
By Jason Cooper, 31/Jan/2007
Moldovan cargo planes similar to the crashed Antonov-26 (shown in file photo) show a pattern of hushed-up arms transfers to Iraq

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - Investigators examining the downing of a Moldovan "Antonov-26" cargo plane in Iraq have raised doubts over whether the plane was shot down or crashed due to human error. Moldova’s Aerian-Tur M’s An-26, registered No.: ER-26068, was en route from Adan, Turkey, to Iraq’s Balad.

The 10 January incident, which killed 34 people including all Moldovan crew members, has been described as a puzzle and has been linked to a pattern of illegal Moldovan arms trafficking to the Middle East. Throughout 2006 and the first two weeks of 2007, planes from Moldova have continually been involved in shipping weapons for Sunni insurgents in and around Baghdad.

-----------------------------
U.S. government battles Moldova over Jihad weapons pipeline

A veritable pipeline of weapons from Bosnia and Moldova have been flowing steadily to fuel the Jihad in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East for at least five years, with Moldovan Antonov-26 cargo planes at the center of the trafficking network.

Moldova, officially the poorest country in Europe, has been caught in numerous cases of weapons trafficking to groups in the Middle East. There is clear and unrefutable evidence of the Moldovan connection in arming the Jihad against the West, showed by sources such as the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2002, the U.S. Government sanctioned two Moldovan companies for selling selling small arms and other military equipment to Iran, considered by American intelligence analysts to be the main state sponsor of the insurgency in Iraq. Shortly thereafter, another investigation put the spotlight on the transfer of huge amounts of Kalashnikov rifles and ammo to Islamic troublespots. (Source: Small Arms Survey 2003, a project of the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, page 109).

[rockybelt]

16. You don't think that the US

was supplying arms to Moldova to be sold to Iraqi insurgents do you? Does this sound like a sort of Iran-Contra only more sinister?
What possible motive could Bush have for doing such a thing? Hmmmmmhhhh.

[russian33]

8. so for their help, US will finance their war?

putting aside the 'doubling current troop presence' nonsense....it's a very disturbing article

[Swede]

9. Aren't there Russians backing the Transdniestria independence with troops?

Russians getting killed with American weapons is not a good thing.

[DrDebug]

22. Yes, Russia is allied with Transdniestria

To make matters more complicated, the only access to that breakaway republic is via the Ukraine which - quite rightfully - still hasn't decided whether they belong to NATO or Russia, because they will be screwed either way. Also there is also the autonomous region of Crimea which is mainly inhabited by Russians.

So if the Americans are arming Moldova, it is likely that the Russians will arm Transdniestria via the Ukraine which will have to choose: if the Ukraine choses to allow the Russian troops, it'll upset NATO and their much craved European Union membership, if it will not allow the troops to pass through their land, it'll upset their own troublesome region as well as their economy which is more or less based on imports and exports to Russia.

How to fuel an already volatile region... for a mere 10 troops...

[OnyxCollie]

10. Moldava nearly doubles Iraq troop presence?

I guess that means there's three guys there now.

[daleo]

27. No, it's 20

Really, such cynicism.

[Lithos]

11. Tiraspoltimes

Appears to be from Transdniestria, so I wonder how much of a spin is going on with the supplies. Seems like doubling the number (by 10 or so) would not be worth a lot of money or supplies from the US.

L-

[bhikkhu]

12. Bad idea to mess with Transdniestria

From what I have read, it had no trouble defending its independence from Moldova back in the nineties. They maintain a massive arsenal from the old soviet days, have a large weapons industry, a populace that is apparently not dissatisfied with independence, and a history of close relations with Moscow.

Ideologies aside, why would we wish war upon them? First, it would destabilize a peaceful region. Second, lots of people will die. Third, with us backing one side and Putin backing the other side, massive long term destruction of lives and property seems assured, in a war with no winners and no exit strategy.

[shadowknows69]

13. Not to diminish any sacrifice by the brave Moldavan army of course but

BWAH HA HA HA HA!

[krispos42]

14. Oh! It's a real country!

Sorry, I was confusing it with the Dutch of Grand Fenwick from "The Mouse That Roared"!

:blush:

I thought this was a satirical article...

:blush: :blush:

[rocktivity]

18. You did better than me, Krispos

I got it confused with that Marx Brothers movie!



:blush::blush::blush:
rocknation

[BrotherBuzz]

15. Grand Fendwick want's in on these modern arms, too.

Tully Bascombe and his platoon are just itching (from rust?) to join in on the fun.

[rocktivity]

17. (Pre-click prediction) From what--two troops to four?

Oh, from 11 to 20--that puts the joke on me.

And how many U.S. troops will CONTINUE to go without "high-quality equipment" because because the Moldova troops got them?

:eyes:
rocknation

[LynnTheDem]

19. Eleven. To twenty.

:rofl:

[RedCloud]

24. Wake me up when they get to one Brazilian troops...

That would be a lot!

[izquierdista]

25. Just in time for winter!

Those 9 Moldovans are going to be lucky. Beats staying at home with no heat through the winter and only potatoes and cabbage to eat. If they are attached to some U.S. unit, they will be FAR better off than the people at home, provided that they don't get blown up in the process. If ever there was a country that could be bought off, it would be Moldova, it is the poorest country in Europe.

[samsingh]

26. to what 2?