Tag Archives: Eastern Europe
Trump Hosts Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis
Iohannis’ White House visit was reassuring for those Eastern European NATO countries that feel threatened by Russia. For the Western European leaders, the message sent by President Trump was that they must meet the 2% of GDP annual payment for … Continue reading
Putin Meddling in Eastern Europe and the Middle East
Will President-elect Trump confront the Russian psychological operations in Europe and Moscow’s meddling in the Middle East? Will the new administration be capable of strengthening the NATO alliance, thus keeping the Germans in and the Russians out? By Nicholas Dima … Continue reading
Brexit Calls for U.S. to Reconsider Foreign Policy
With Germany economically dependent on the natural gas provisions from Russia, it is hard to expect any strong German support for NATO activities on the eastern flank. This is proven by the German reaction to the joint NATO war games, Anaconda 16, that are taking place in Eastern Europe. A NATO member, as it is, Germany denied the right of passage to the allied troops on their way to the games referring to them as “saber-rattling and warmongering.” The centers of power in Europe are shifting and Washington needs to choose its allies carefully. When we look at the map of Europe, it is quite clear that the new rampart of NATO is no longer Germany but Poland and the Baltic States. Continue reading
Rule Britannia, and Now What?
Will the spirit of decentralization descend onto central and eastern Europe? That probably won’t happen right away because the denizens of the post-Soviet zone are too scared of the Russians to leave the imaginary security blanket of the EU behind. They keep forgetting that it is not the EU, but NATO that defends them. And there is no NATO without American leadership. Continue reading
Western Civilization: Crisis of Confidence
We’re caught in an awful contradiction when we welcome into our midst members of a culture that accepts chattel slavery, the brutal subjugation of women, the murder of apostates, honor killings, murdering homosexuals, and killing those who insult their religion. Try to put yourself into the mind of a man who would murder his own daughter for being raped, daring to choose her own husband, or just getting uppity in public. Honor killings have come to Europe with Muslim immigrants, and lately to America. Continue reading
Twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall: A realist perspective
In the West, the “fall” of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 functions as a powerful symbol of the implosion of communism and the end of the Cold War; in Germany it is celebrated as the watershed initiating German reunification. The wall – which the East German communist propaganda apparatus called the “Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart” – was built by the Soviet puppet regime of the “German Democratic Republic” in 1961, primarily to halt the mass exodus of East Germans to the West. The wall was thus a reminder of the real nature of the communist bloc, which was essentially one giant Gulag – stretching from the heart of Europe all the way to the Sea of Japan – and that Marxist-Leninist regimes could not remain in power without terror, coercion, and intimidating border fortifications to prevent the slaves from “voting with their feet” and escaping from the “Socialist Paradise.”
A Comparative Look at the European and American Right
This problem of mass immigration, coupled with dangerously low European birth rates, has produced a “demographic time bomb.” Europeans are being replaced instead by a growing Third World population with a much higher birth rate. Karsten Lorentzen describes this problem … Continue reading
Ukraine: American Illusions and Russian Delusions
To further intimidate Kyiv, Vladimir Jirinovsky, chief of Russia’s communist party and a member of parliament, reminded Ukraine that it has inherited lands belonging to its neighbors, including Romanian lands. And he alluded to the possible further dismemberment of Ukraine. While annexing Crimea, President Putin assured Kyiv that Moscow would react severely if Romania dares to make a territorial claim.
Ukraine: A New Battleground Between Russia and the West
Ukraine is the biggest East European country; it represents the real core of Eastern Europe; and it is currently a bone of contention between Moscow and the West. With an area almost as big as France, a population of 46 million people, with good agricultural land and huge industrial complexes, Ukraine is a country of utmost importance.
The war in Syria: Building upon the sand?
In Syria, the endemic conflict that lays siege to Christianity, where it once stood as a partner of Assad’s strategic minority rule, consumes the region. At the advent of the Arab Spring, anti-government violence was ignited into a nationwide uprising that has not abated since 2011.
The United States and Romania: Security Arrangements and Mutual Interests
STRATFOR is a professional electronic publication that deals with geopolitical issues and global intelligence. Its founder and chairman, George Friedman, is well-informed and aware of contemporary Eastern European affairs.
