Free Republic

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened the alliance by telling it to withdraw forces from member nations or face consequences. This goes far beyond Ukraine," Stoltenberg warned. "This is about how Russia is actually challenging, contesting core values for our security. Then warning that NATO should withdraw all forces and infrastructure from almost half of our members. "They said that if we don't do that, if we don't meet their demands, there will be what they call ‘military-technical consequences,'" he added. The leader of the 30-member alliance said that in response to...

NATO Unveils Strike Force, Key to Alliance Future BRUNSSUM, Netherlands (Reuters) - A cutting-edge force of warships, fighter planes and 9,000 troops was born on Wednesday, the product of NATO's drive to provide the answer to post-Sept. 11 security threats wherever they blow up. It was a rare moment of glory for the Cold War alliance, which was plunged into self-doubt when Washington sidelined it after the 2001 hijacked airliner attacks on the United States and was then roiled by transatlantic divisions over Iraq. The alliance's top soldier, U.S. Marines General James Jones, said the birth of the NATO Response...

United States Marines Antiterrorism ForceSpecial weapons and tactics of this new elite brigade BY SCOTT R. GOURLEY Carefully adjusting the variable scope on top of the new sniper rifle, a unit marksman squinted toward the far end of the training site where a fellow Marine was removing his chemical protection mask. "This is sweet," he chuckled. "I can look down his ear canal with this thing." The next person whose ear comes in the crosshairs of the enhanced Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) will get more than an impromptu earwax inspection. Already field-tested in Afghanistan, the DMR version of the 7.62mm...