After only a little bit of thought, most people wouldn’t buy the fact that the Soviets or Americans would have much to gain from each other in regards to simple parachute jumps and medical evacuations, marksmanship and communications. Even boot camp for entry-level military personnel undergo this. Both nations respectively have an advanced military. It can be plainly seen that this is nothing less than an intelligence gathering operation on the Soviet’s part.
Having said this, two points remained unanswered:
What information do the Russians really gain from this exercise and how will they use this against America in the future?
Joint U.S.-Russia military training raises concerns that the U.S. military will increase Moscow threat to friends and allies in Europe
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The U.S.-Russian Bilateral Presidential Commission stated in its June newsletter that “the training consisted of tasks common to both units: marksmanship, parachute jumps, communications, and medical evacuations.”
“The end result of this program is an improved understanding of how the other foreign military works, thus enhancing the operational effectiveness of allied forces,” the newsletter stated.
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The U.S. government, while seeking closer ties with Moscow, is “insulting” Georgia by holding the joint exercises, since the Obama administration remains unwilling to sell the Georgians needed defense equipment and arms and has held very little training joint training with its military, the aide said.
Additionally, the Georgians are “under constant threat from a large-scale Russian military mobilization set for Georgia’s Oct. 1 parliamentary elections,” the aide added.
“The idea that some of these same Russian paratroopers could drop into NATO territory someday is not a fantasy,” the aide said. “What is a fantasy is thinking that they would never have to do it.”
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The senior aide criticized the exercises as “more of the reset foolishness and weakness,” a reference to the Obama administration’s conciliatory policies toward Russia.
“Why don’t we do more in NATO? I guess Obama has reset that, too,” the aide said.
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Ariel Cohen, a Russia affairs analyst with the Heritage Foundation, said now is not the time for such military exercises with Russia.
Russia has sent military intelligence agents disguised as special forces soldiers to spy on American troops, tactics, techniques, and procedures, he said.
“Today, Russia, together with Iran and Venezuela is among the troika of the most virulent anti-American countries, not counting Cuba and North Korea,” Cohen said.
“Russia is playing the godfather of Syria and is threatening to aim nuclear tipped missiles on our European allies because their military is still thinking we will deliver the nuclear first strike. This is why they oppose our European missile defense.”
The Russian exercises came weeks before several episodes of Russian military activities that also prompted concerns among Republicans in Congress.
In June, Russia’s military conducted a large-scale strategic bomber exercise in the arctic that included Russian Bear H bombers flying inside the U.S. air defense zone near Alaska. U.S. and Canadian jets were scrambled to intercept the jets.
The exercise, according to U.S. officials, appeared to violate the 2010 U.S.-Russia START arms treaty, which requires Russians to provide advance notice of such bomber exercises. None was given, either in advance or after the war games ended. A Russian military spokesman said the bomber exercises included practice targeting of “enemy” strategic defenses, presumably U.S. missile defense sites in Alaska.
Then, on July 4, another Russian Bear H bomber flew within 100 miles of the West Coast near California prompting a second scrambling of interceptor jets.
U.S. officials called that incursion the closest a Russian strategic bomber has flown to U.S. territory since the Soviet Union collapsed.
U.S. officials then disclosed that a Russian attack submarine sailed undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks before being spotted outside the Gulf.
Full article: Russian Troops Trained in U.S. (Washington Free Beacon)
Global Geopolitics 