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US, NATO war games in Baltics threaten major war: Analyst

NATO and US's military buildup near Russian borders “is a tremendously dangerous and provocative step for NATO and for the Obama administration to take,” says James Jatras, a former US Senate Foreign Policy analyst.

The US military’s move to deploy strategic B-52 bombers and other weaponry on Russian borders for joint drill with NATO is a dangerous move that could spiral into a full-fledged war threatening the whole world, says an American analyst based in Washington.

James Jatras, a former US Senate Foreign Policy analyst, made the remarks in the wake of two massive US-led war games that are about to begin in the Baltic region, near Russia’s borders.

Three US B-52 Stratofortress bombers took off from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on Thursday to “train and integrate” with 6,100 US allied forces during the annual Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) drills from June 3 to June 19.

The bombers will also take part in NATO’s Saber Strike drills that are being held in Baltic States-- Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia -- from May 30 to June 22 and involve nearly 10,000 forces from 14 countries.

US-led forces storm a beach during the 2015 BALTOPS war games.

This “is a tremendously dangerous and provocative step for NATO and for the Obama administration to take,” Jatras told Press TV on Thursday.

Moscow could respond to the move by deploying its own nuclear-capable bombers on American borders, the analyst suggested, adding that the US response in that case would be very clear.

Russia does not look favorably upon the increased presence of NATO troops close to its borders and has pledged to respond accordingly to any threats posed by the alliance.

US Marines take the offensive during Saber Strike in eastern Europe (file photo)

“This can only be seen as a very dangerous provocation, this mentality the Obama administration has of poking the bear, poking the bear to see if he growls and then when he growls they could point at them and say look how dangerous he is,” Jatras further explained.

The analyst noted that such unsafe measures by the US could escalate to a “nuclear war” with Russia if Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton finds her way into the White House as the next president.

“It is a snapshot of what we would get if by some horrible chance Hillary Clinton is elected president where we very well could be looking at a Third World War, a nuclear war, with unimaginably catastrophic consequences,” he continued.

The analyst also noted that there is no way to stop Washington from conducting the exercises as basically the US constitution and Congressional control are “dead letters” and provide no real authority to control government policies.


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