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'We told you so' - Baltic jitters grow over former ruler Russia
Reuters ^ | Mon Sep 1, 2014 10:27am EDT | Aija Krutaine and Andrius Sytas

Posted on 09/02/2014 7:01:40 AM PDT by WhiskeyX

(Reuters) - Nervously eyeing Russian naval maneuvers and military flights near their borders, the three ex-Soviet Baltic states fear they may emerge as the next geopolitical flashpoint after Ukraine in a confrontation that could test their cherished Western ties.

With President Barack Obama heading to Estonia on Wednesday on a visit designed to underline U.S. solidarity with the Balts ahead of a NATO summit in Wales, the three tiny republics are renewing calls for troops on the ground and military help.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: estonia; latvia; lithuania; russia

1 posted on 09/02/2014 7:01:40 AM PDT by WhiskeyX
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To: WhiskeyX
With President Barack Obama heading to Estonia on Wednesday on a visit designed to underline U.S. solidarity with the Balts

I'd be worried too. We still don't know what that more flexible comment was about.

2 posted on 09/02/2014 7:08:26 AM PDT by McGruff (You can lead a human to knowledge but you can't make him think)
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To: WhiskeyX
'We told you so'???

Who told you so? It certainly was NOT Reuters who has been deliberately oblivious to the circumstances to protect der fuer Obama!

3 posted on 09/02/2014 7:11:39 AM PDT by celmak
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To: WhiskeyX

“Hello, Estonia! I’m Barack Obama, and I’m here to help!”


4 posted on 09/02/2014 7:18:21 AM PDT by Eccl 10:2 (Prov 3:5 --- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding")
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To: WhiskeyX
Putin is a thug. He won't do as much as he wants because Russian can't afford Putin's "dreams" of becoming its new czar.

My husband and I went to Russia a in 2008 and we both agreed that Russia had a LONG, LONG, LONG way to go to even begin to catch up with the West, let alone the US. Putin is all talk.

He is the man who would be king tsar/czar.
Ain't gonna happen, Vlad-o.

5 posted on 09/02/2014 7:20:39 AM PDT by cloudmountain
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To: cloudmountain

Russia is Saudi Arabia with nukes.
Even if he manages to take those countries he won’t be able to hold them.
It’s a 100%,resource based economy. We could crash them just by going all out to develop our shale gas and building the infrastructure to export it to Europe. We could do it in 2 years IF WE TRIED. But with Dear Leader in charge, we won’t. Nevertheless, Putin has stupidly guaranteed no one will want to count on him for their energy.


6 posted on 09/02/2014 7:25:41 AM PDT by Kozak ("It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal" Henry Kissinger e)
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To: Kozak
Russia is Saudi Arabia with nukes. Even if he manages to take those countries he won’t be able to hold them.
It’s a 100% resource based economy. We could crash them just by going all out to develop our shale gas and building the infrastructure to export it to Europe. We could do it in 2 years IF WE TRIED. But with Dear Leader in charge, we won’t. Nevertheless, Putin has stupidly guaranteed no one will want to count on him for their energy.

ALL true.

There are THOUSANDS of Americans living and working in Saudi Arabia, as we were in the early 1980's. The Saudis will protect their petroleum and natural gas and those EXPATS they most heavily rely on to get those resources out of the ground, processed and shipped to the rest of the world.
They had South Korean Army regulars (Rae Dik Dae Lim) stationed over there as their "go-to" military to protect their industries. They don't mess around.

The Saudis have too much invested in America, via their petroleum and natural gas industries to be any other way. It's all they have and they will run out of it one day.

Russia, on the other hand, has a good chunk of the planet earth to play with. I can't IMAGINE what Siberia has in the way of resources, but a WHOLE lot more than Saudi Arabia.

There IS a time line for the end of the petroleum/natural gas in KSA. I don't see ANY time line for Russia. A large chunk of planet Earth is THEIRS.
Am I wrong?

7 posted on 09/02/2014 7:49:06 AM PDT by cloudmountain
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To: cloudmountain

Yeah I think so. They can have all the gas and oil they want. If no one will buy it from them, no economy.


8 posted on 09/02/2014 7:56:57 AM PDT by Kozak ("It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal" Henry Kissinger e)
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To: cloudmountain

“Am I wrong?”

The average Russian woman has 5-7 abortions. Russia has land but no people. Their medical industry has collapsed and the life expectancy for men has fallen (never seen in a major civilized country). Mark Steyn’s book, “America Alone”, years back pointed out that the Chinese could wait until 2030 and simply walk across the border to annex Siberia (all of it). The elderly Russians are in the hinterlands, the young in cities and the country could do nothing about losing all that mineral wealth. So, yeah, you’re wrong. Russia has a birth rate in the 1.3 area well below replacement level.... And the Chinese don’t hit the replacement wall until a lot later...


9 posted on 09/02/2014 10:14:19 AM PDT by Frank Sheed (The injustice of trendiness is nearly dualistic in its isomorphism.)
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