Adomas
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Nine NATO member states held talks in Romania on Friday ahead of a key NATO summit later this month.
The nine, including Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania urged NATO to increase their protection.
It should be noted that some of these countries use every political event to call NATO for additional troops on their territories. Thus, the Baltic States are the leaders among applicants.
Germany in its turn agreed last week to increase its contribution to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battalion in Lithuania. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced such plans after passing legislation to increase defense spending during a visit to Vilnius on Tuesday. Germany leads the 1,200-strong eFP battlegroup in Lithuania and currently has around 500 soldiers stationed there.
“We are going to increase our contribution by strengthening the Eastern flank of NATO. We are going to create a strong brigade and we have discussed that together in our meetings and we are going to have to work towards this direction,” Scholz said at a press conference with Baltic and German leaders. A brigade usually consists of between 3,000-5,000 troops. So, Berlin intends to increase its troops by 10 times.
The Baltic States welcomed Germany’s “historic decision” without suspecting what it could lead to.
It is no secret that German military contingent has very dubious reputation. In 2021 Germany had to recall a platoon from a NATO mission in Lithuania after reports emerged of troops engaging in racist and anti-Semitic behaviour, as well as sexual assault. According to Der Spiegel, the allegations relate to a party held at a hotel in Lithuania at the end of April, 2021. Some 30 German soldiers headed home from Lithuania.
The misconduct of foreign soldiers in Lithuania was a slap in the face of Lithuanian population who believed troops are here to defend.
A number of troops were also suspected of bullying, threatening violence and filming an incident of sexual assault.
Such behaviour is not only inexcusable but brings shame on Germany as NATO’s security guarantor.
Meanwhile, according to the FT latest publication, the proposal from Berlin is that a 3,500-strong brigade would only have a permanent headquarters in Lithuania, staffed by 50 to 60 personnel, but be based in Germany.
And probably, this Germany’s back step will secure Lithuanian population.
The Berlin’s decision to increase its military presence in Lithuania by 10 times could cause potential threat of increasing the number of incidents with inappropriate behaviour of German military personnel by 10 times. It is logical that the number of crimes will rise and the residents’ trust in NATO ally will drop significantly. Is Lithuania ready to tolerate aggressive foreign soldiers in the streets of its cities? Can Lithuanians be calm for their children? Does Lithuania really need such foreign troops increasing? There are too many questions to answer before making the final decision.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Everywhere foreign armies are implanted, the population shakes in its shoes. Members of the military from just about every country trangress normal civilised behaviour. When they’re found to have ‘misbehaved’ they are usually sent home and nothing more is heard about it. On rare occasions when the outcry is too loud they are prosecuted, they get light sentences and end up back home anyway.
That’s a sweeping statement. My father was a soldier and was posted overseas twice. We went with him. Without exception, he and his soldier friends behaved with absolute propriety. In fact, my father made valuable social contributions in his own time to the countries he was posted to. This was formally recognized at the highest level of the foreign government as he was honoured with a gift before returning home. As one of many, his presence in those nations was requested and valued in the host nations. Oh, by the way, he was NOT American, nor was he from Europe.… Read more »
Yes, it was too sweeping and of course the majority of the military do behave respectfully. However, there are many cases of soldiers behaving badly (rapes in South Korea and Japan, the murder of Louise Jensen in Cyprus, the probable involvement of soldiers at a US base in the murder of Holly and Jessica in the UK, etc.). Those are just the ones I can think of right away. There have been cases of soldiers offering children food for sex, too. Even if just one commits a crime, it’s one too many; they are supposed to be representing their country… Read more »
This country wont exist after they stop Russians train from going to kalingrad.