Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 35 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
General News    H2'ed 6/22/22

Lithuanians Stick New Finger in Eye of Russian Bear

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   2 comments
Message Ray McGovern
Become a Fan
  (176 fans)

This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
(Image by Mika Stetsovski)
  Details   DMCA

Lithuania is trying to create new "facts on the ground," hoping to provoke the kind of response from Russia that will determine tone and substance of the important NATO summit scheduled for June 28-30 in Madrid.

Trouble Ahead

On June 17 the Lithuanians announced they were banning the rail transit of goods through Lithuania to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The ban went into effect on June 18. Sandwiched between EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania, Kaliningrad receives supplies from Russia via rail and gas pipelines through Lithuania including goods sanctioned by the EU.

Moscow's response came on June 20, with a foreign ministry statement calling the denial of transit "openly hostile." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov branded Lithuania's actions "illegal" and told reporters:

"This decision is really unprecedented. It's a violation of everything. We consider this illegal. The situation is more than serious " We need a serious in-depth analysis in order to work out our response."

This is just the latest divisive issue. Indeed, the Madrid summit is scheduled at such an inauspicious time that former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Robert Hunter, says it should be postponed, since it "risks creating serious problems when the alliance can least afford them." (Hunter is the kind of highly experienced diplomat for which the Blinken-Sullivan twins have no use. They will, of course, go ahead and add the coming summit to their distinctive diplomatic achievements.)

It is still not possible, a week before the summit, to forecast whether (1) it will take shape as the usual lemming-like performance by NATO bloc heads, jumping (this time off the cliff) to the US tune, or (2) whether to expect some unaccustomed fireworks from more seasoned lemmings, who squint at disaster ahead for Europe, if the dance in Ukraine does not end soon.

Stopping the music, of course, would require painful concessions, as well as putting the usual arms-makers on a reduced diet. NATO leaders will be convening just as Russia consolidates it's hold on the Donbass. Lemmings normally cannot read tea leaves, though, and it seems a safe bet that the Germans and the French will do little more than frown at the Lithuanians and similarly bellicose Poles, and kowtow to Washington's plan for the NATO agenda.

That's What Always Happens

Professor John Mearsheimer recently addressed the seemingly innate inability of German and French leaders to stand up to US presidents. In a speech on Ukraine, Mearsheimer noted that Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy, lacked the courage to stand up to President George W. Bush as he pressed for NATO membership for Ukraine 14 years ago.

Both Merkel and Sarkozy were dead-set against inviting Ukraine (and Georgia) into NATO at the Bucharist summit in April 2008, but, as Mearsheimer indelicately put it, "They caved big time; they always do." The eventual NATO declaration stated "Ukraine and Georgia shall become members of NATO." Mearsheimer recalled that Merkel was quoted as saying that "Putin will see this as a declaration of war." It seems a safe bet that Scholz and Macron will take the lemming route and jump when the US says jump. I wish the following quip were more funny that it actually is in present circumstances:

"Two lemmings are chatting while standing in the line to the cliff. One says to the other, 'Of course we have to go over the edge. Anything else would dishonor all the lemmings that have gone before us.'"

In the less likely event the Germans and French summon the courage to resist US, Lithuanian, and Polish pressure to up the ante in Ukraine, the meeting this June could be a benchmark for the unraveling of NATO (even as it, presumably, adds Finland and Sweden) under the impact of the severe economic damage the sanctions are just beginning to inflict on Europe. Adding the two Nordic nations may come to be seen as high irony as the last new passengers on a foundering NATO boat. (Ukraine is not likely to find its passenger ticket amid the current turmoil.)

Marking 25 Years of NATO Expansion

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Valuable 5   Must Read 4   News 3  
Rate It | View Ratings

Ray McGovern Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was an Army infantry/intelligence officer and then a CIA analyst for 27 years, and is now on the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). His (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

What's Hayden Hidin'?

Asylum for Julian Assange -- Former Awardee for Integrity

Petraeus Cons Obama on Afghan War

Obama Stands Up to Israel, Tamps Down Iran War Threats

Note to Nancy Pelosi: Colin Powell Got Snookered at CIA, too

Mullen Wary of Israeli Attack on Iran

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend