© AP
On June 5, the military's Office of Net Assessment commissioned the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) for a study and war games called Gaming Allies: Geostrategic Change and Alliances, Pentagon records obtained by USA Today show.
The contract announcement said CEPA will conduct "a study on shifting dynamics in US alliance networks in East Asia, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe."
Comment: The shifting dynamics are simply that Russia and China are two countries that are finally showing a willingness to stand up to Western imperialism.
Prior CEPA studies have called for abandoning the policy of "strategic patience" in favor of moving defenses closer to the borders with Russia on behalf of countries like Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia — all NATO members.
CEPA President A. Wess Mitchell wrote earlier this year in an article about Russia:
"While the post-Cold War West may have hoped that Russia might eventually become a supersized version of Poland, with liberal institutions and a de-militarized foreign policy, what we got instead was a latter-day version of Carthage - a sullen, punitive power determined to wage a vengeful foreign policy to overturn the system that it blames for the loss of its former greatness."
Comment: That's complete horse hockey! Oh poor Americans, they couldn't turn Russia into another of its colonial states. Instead of living with that fact, they go and spread nonsensical propaganda like the above statement. If anyone is a "sullen, punitive power determined to wage a vengeful foreign policy" on the world, it's the U.S. by a mile! Who else has invaded and occupied numerous countries and covertly brought violent regime change throughout the world?
The Pentagon's link with analysts promoting a more aggressive military policy on the part of the United States comes as a plan to store weapons in central Europe for up to 5,000 troops is being discussed, American and allied officials confirmed to United Press International.
By early 2016, there will be enough pre-positioned equipment - like weaponry including battle tanks, infantry vehicles and other heavy armaments - for a US military brigade, reported USA Today.
"This is a very meaningful shift in policy. It provides a reasonable level of reassurance to jittery allies, although nothing is as good as troops stationed full-time on the ground, of course," James G. Stavridis, former NATO supreme commander, told UPI.
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the developing policy was still in its early stages. Earnest said the United States and its NATO allies discussed the need for more rapid deployment of troops at a summit in Wales last year.
"That is a treaty that the United States and this president is serious about upholding," Earnest was quoted as saying by USA Today.
The constant dribble of escalations, accusations and provocations makes for itchy trigger fingers, given the close proximity. Once the shooting starts, nobody will know how to undo it. One cool head on one side does not douse the fires that have been lit, nor stop the playing with matches.