Russia

Submitted by Saxo Bank's Michael McKenna via TradingFloor.com,

Three hundred U.S. Marines arrived in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment angering their Arctic neighbour Russia. This is the first time since World War Two that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there. Before Norway joined NATO in 1949, it allayed Russian fears by pledging not to open its territory to foreign combat troops “as long as it is not under attack or threat of attack.” The deployment comes just one week after thousands of US troops arrived in Poland to “support NATO’s Anti-Russian buildup” across Eastern Europe.

The leader of the UK’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has been accused of being a Russian spy after he called for a de-escalation of tensions between NATO and Russia.  Corbyn told the BBC on Thursday that he wishes to see a de-militarisation of the border between Russia and surrounding countries. Theintercept.com reports: Along with the U.S., the UK has been rapidly building up its military presence in the Baltic region, including states which border Russia, and is now about to send another 800 troops to Estonia, 500 of which will be permanently based.

Just one week after thousands of US troops arrived in Poland to "support NATO's Anti-Russian buildup" across Eastern Europe, 300 U.S. Marines from Camp Lejeune landed in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment, marking the first time since World War II that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there, in a deployment breaking with decades of tradition by Norway not to host foreign forces, and angering Norway's Arctic neighbor Russia, according to Reuters.

A 747 carrying 300 Marines arrived on Monday. Photo: Ned Alley / NTB scanpix

Submitted by Federico Pieraccini via Strategic-Culture.org,

The preceding three parts of this series analyzed the mechanisms that drive great powers.

 

The most in-depth understanding of the issues concerned the determination of the objectives and logic that accompany the expansion of an empire.