9/14/2017 Putin's aggression in Europe should worry the US - CNN

admitted into the Russian Federation, Putin majored on the threat the West posed to Russia by its continued
encirclement and warned about the possibility of pushback: "If you compress the spring to its limit, it will snap
back hard: something you should remember," while claiming the right to protect the interests of Russian speakers
everywhere, "even if it will worsen our relations with some states."

Overnight, Putin became NATO's strategic adversary, starting

a dynamic that could lead to a clash with NATO over the Baltic
states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (which have signicant
Russian-speaking minorities).

Two years on and the threat is even greater. Indeed, the

ratchet of tension clicks tighter on an almost weekly basis:
Even this week we wake up to news of Russia sailing warships
near the British coast in "a show of force and a show of
capabilities," according to Peter Felstead, editor of Jane's
Defence Weekly.

Unprecedented levels of military activity on the borders and in

Related Video: Who are Putin's allies? the airspace of the Baltic states, Finland and Sweden have
been matched by the rapid buildup of military forces in
01:40 Russia's Western Military District on the borders of NATO.

For example, in January, Russia announced the formation and

deployment of three motor rie divisions, about 60,000
troops, along the Russian frontier with the Baltic states. And the Russians have kept themselves busy with regular
so-called snap exercises to test the readiness of their military, at least one of which was based on a scenario of
invasion and occupation of the Baltic states.

Putin's strategic aim is clear: to re-establish Russia's status as one of the world's great powers and to dominate the
former republics of the Soviet Union -- imperialist intentions that might have been acceptable to great powers in
the 19th century but which are an a ront in 2016. If the opportunity presents itself, he may well activate long-held
plans to march into the Baltic states.

To paraphrase British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's

1938 comment on Czechoslovakia, why are events in these
faraway countries of which we may know little important to
Americans?

First, because if Russia puts one soldier across the borders of

the Baltic states it means war with NATO.

Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have been members of NATO

since 2004 and are therefore protected under Article 5 of the
Washington Treaty, the founding document of NATO, which
Opinion + states that an attack on one is an attack on Live
all. ATV
Russian
attack on the Baltic states puts America at war with Russia --
Related Video: Russian relations with the meaning nuclear war, because Russia integrates nuclear
weapons into every aspect of its military doctrine.
West at new low 02:29
And don't think Russia would limit itself to the use of tactical
nuclear weapons in Europe. Any form of nuclear release by
the Russians would almost certainly precipitate nuclear
retaliation by the United States, and the dreadful reality of mutually assured destruction and the end of life as we
know it would follow.

Indeed, Russia is at war with America already. Russian hacking of Democratic Party email servers and, if
conrmed,By using this
WikiLeaks site, youofagree
publicizing Clintontocampaign
the Privacy
emailsPolicy and Terms
to discredit of
the Democrats and propel Donald Trump
Service.
-- arguably what Putin would classify as a "useful idiot" into the White House -- is classic maskirovka -- deception,

aimed at undermining the intelligence and integrity of the enemy in

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/21/opinions/russia-aggression-nato-shirreff-opinion/index.html a way that remains below the threshold of 2/3