In
early March, an estimated 7,500 American combat troops will travel to
Norway to join thousands of soldiers from other NATO countries in a
massive mock battle with imagined invading forces from Russia. In this
futuristic simulated engagement — it goes by the name of Exercise Cold
Response 2020 — allied forces will “conduct multinational joint
exercises with a high-intensity combat scenario in demanding winter
conditions,” or so claims the
Norwegian military anyway. At first glance, this may look like any
other NATO training exercise, but think again. There’s nothing ordinary
about Cold Response 2020.