‘We're not interested in a fair fight’ – US army commander urges NATO to confront Russia | World Defense

‘We're not interested in a fair fight’ – US army commander urges NATO to confront Russia

Redheart

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‘We're not interested in a fair fight’ – US army commander urges NATO to confront Russia — RT News

US army commander in Europe says Russia is a “real threat” urging NATO to stay united. The alliance is not interested in a “fair fight with anyone” and wants to have “overmatch in all systems,” Lieutenant-General Frederick "Ben" Hodges believes.

“There is a Russian threat," Hodges told the Telegraph, maintaining that Russia is involved in ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.

A key objective for NATO is not to let Russia outreach it in terms of capabilities, the general said.

"We're not interested in a fair fight with anyone," General Hodges stated. "We want to have overmatch in all systems. I don't think that we've fallen behind but Russia has closed the gap in certain capabilities. We don't want them to close that gap,” he revealed.

“The best insurance we have against a showdown is that NATO stands together,” he said, pointing to recent moves by traditionally neutral Sweden and Finland to cooperate more closely on defense with NATO.

Moscow has expressed “special concern” over Finnish and Swedish moves towards the alliance viewing it as a threat aimed against Russia.

“Contrary to past years, Northern European military cooperation is now positioning itself against Russia. This can undermine positive constructive cooperation,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Hodges also said US expects its allies to contribute financially to the security umbrella provided by the NATO alliance, as its member states have been failing to allocate 2 percent of every member nation’s GDP to NATO budget.

“I think the question for each country to ask is: are they security consumers or security providers?” the general demanded. “Do they bring capabilities the alliance needs?”

However, the general does not believe that the world is on the brink of another Cold War, saying that "the only thing that is similar now is that Russia and NATO have different views about what the security environment in Europe should be.”

"I don't think it's the same as the Cold War,” he said, recalling “gigantic forces” and “large numbers of nuclear weapons” implemented in Europe a quarter of a century ago. “That [Cold War] was a different situation.”

“We did very specific things then that are no longer relevant. We don't need 300,000 soldiers in Europe. Nobody can afford that anymore,” General Hodges acknowledged.

However, there was a sharp increase in the intensity of the training of NATO troops near the borders of Russia last year, Russian General Staff reported.

“In 2014, the intensity of NATO’s operational and combat training activities has grown by 80 percent,” said Lieutenant General Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Main Operation Directorate of General Staff.
 

vegito12

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I think, this could have consequences as the both sides could attack anytime and do immoral things in war and torure the surviviors who have no part in the war. Russia has been preparing for quite awhile now and also, maybe getting it's wish soon and Putin needs to think does he want this and can he handle this as well. I think, security in each country needs to be reviewed and seen as is it good enough to handle invasions and also can it protect the country well.
 

UnslaadKrosis

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Why not ally with Russia? The whole proxy war was due to ideological differences. And now since communism has almost vanished from the country, why not leave the old differences behind and work together? The US can't afford to go into a multi-pronged war with powers like the ISIS, North Korea, the Taliban etc at the same time. As of now, with the rapid advancement of military technology, the US needs more allies than it needs enemies. It can't just boss around other countries like it did until a few years back, with its economy in shambles and being deeply in debt. So labelling every other country which doesn't bow down to its demands a threat and gearing for war seems like a really foolish move, at least, to me.
 

SCSullivan

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I have to agree with Unslaad Krosis on this one. Russia is nothing close to being the threat it once was, and we have far more in common with the Russians than we do with many other countries. Ironically, I would tend to trust Vladimir Putin more than the leaders of many NATO countries. Just as Germany was once the enemy but is now an ally, the same treatment needs to apply to Russia.
 

explorerx7

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Every now and then there is the seemingly alarming revelation that Russia is a threat. What's new? We have heard this time and again. There will be talk and then it will be business as usual. . Neither the Western Allies or Russia is going to back down from their stance and the rhetoric and the stalemate will just continue. Because none of them will be willing to commit to any military aggression right now.
 

xTinx

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Perhaps because I'm living in a place that doesn't involve itself in the conflict between NATO and Russia (and its communist minions), I do not feel like the latter is a big threat to the community of states. This is a personal issue between the United States and Russia - not something other countries should embroil themselves in. If they drag us into their own mess, then I think it's fitting to impose sanctions on and unite against these two countries instead of letting them disrupt the world's political-economic landscape whenever they wish. They don't own the world.
 

Corzhens

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Pardon me for this but it seems to me that Lieutenant-General Frederick "Ben" Hodges has a hangup of the cold war in the 1960s. Maybe he grew up in a bomb shelter? And why urge NATO with his statement that Russia is a threat. In truth, Russia has been always a threat to world peace in the eyes of the Americans and probably vice versa too. I don't know that that Lt. General wants aside from getting attention.
 
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