The mega war game “Trident Juncture 2018”
This is the second of the two articles we are publishing today on NATO’s Trident Juncture 2018 military exercise being held October 25-November 7, 2018.
by Manlio Dinucci, October 25, 2018, via VoltaireNet
Far from being a simple military exercise, the war game « Trident Juncture 2018 » aims at eradicating the ideal of neutrality and press-ganging the Nordic countries into the US crusade against Russia. The states which are participating either believe or will come to believe in the imaginary danger of the « Russian peril ».
US Marines disembarked from convertibles and helicopters from the amphibious attack ship « Iwo Jima », and « secured » Keflavik airport in Island, where Poseidon P-8A aircraft had arrived from Sigonella to take part in the hunt for enemy submarines. That was the start, on 17 October, of the NATO exercise Trident Juncture 2018, whose principal phase will be taking place from 25 October to 7 November in Central and Eastern Norway, in the areas adjacent to the North Atlantic (as far as Iceland) and the Baltic Sea (including the airspace of Sweden and Finland).
The armed forces of the 29 member states of NATO will be taking part, plus those of their two partners, Sweden and Finland. Total deployment – approximately 50,000 men, 65 major ships, 250 aircraft, 10,000 tanks and other military vehicles. If they were lined up, one element behind the other, they would create a column 92 kilometres long. The commander of the exercise, one of the largest of the last few years, is Admiral James Foggo. Nominated by the Pentagon, like his predecessors, he is the commander of the Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) whose headquarters is in Lago Patria (Naples), the US Naval Forces in Europe, and the US Naval Forces for Africa, whose headquarters is in Naples Capodichino. The Admiral is commanding Trident Juncture 2018 from the « Mount Whitney », the flagship of the Sixth Fleet, transferred from Gaeta to the North Atlantic – a floating headquarters which is connected to the Pentagon’s global command and control network, including the Muos di Niscemi station in Sicily.
This confirms the importance of these US and NATO command centres and bases in Italy, not only for the Mediterranean, but also for the whole « area of responsibility » of the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, who is always a US General, currently Curtis Scaparrotti, nominated by the President of the United States. Since 2002, this geostrategic area « has been extended in order to cover all NATO operations, independent of their geographical situation ».
The official objective of Trident Juncture 2018 is to « ensure that NATO forces are ready to respond to any form of aggression wherever it may occur ».
But it’s enough to glance at the map to realise that this major war exercise is focused in only one direction – towards the East, against Russia. Admiral Foggo claims that the « Fourth Battle of the Atlantic » has already begun, after the battles of the two World Wars against German U-boats, and that of the Cold War against Soviet submarines: it is now being waged against Russia, the new « aggressive maritime power », whose « increasingly sophisticated submarines threaten NATO’s capacity to maintain maritime control of the North Atlantic, and consequently, the lines of maritime communication between the United States and Europe ». Turning the facts on their head, the Admiral claims that Russia « defies the presence of the United States and NATO » not only in the Atlantic, but also in the « Baltic and the Black Seas », in other words the seas which border European Russia.
Thus we discover the other finality of Trident Juncture 2018 – it’s a massive psyop (psychological operation) aimed at reinforcing the idea that Europe is under the threat of an increasingly aggressive Russia. In Sweden, a NATO partner country, 4.8 million families were handed a survival manual explaining how to prepare for war, by storing reserves of food and other essential goods, learning how to behave when the signals of alert are sounded to warn of the Russian attack. So NATO is preparing to swallow up even Sweden, an old « neutral » state.
Manlio Dinucci is an Italian geographer and geopolitical scientist. His latest books are Laboratorio di geografia, Zanichelli 2014 ; Diario di viaggio, Zanichelli 2017 ; L’arte della guerra / Annali della strategia Usa/Nato 1990-2016, Zambon 2016. Guerra nucleare. Il giorno prima. Da Hiroshima a oggi: chi e come ci porta alla catastrofe, Zambon 2017; Diario di guerra. Escalation verso la catastrofe (2016 – 2018), Asterios Editores 2018.
This article first appeared in its original Italian in Il Manifesto. It was translated into English by Peter Kimbereley.
SUPPORT OFFGUARDIAN
If you enjoy OffG's content, please help us make our monthly fund-raising goal and keep the site alive.
For other ways to donate, including direct-transfer bank details click HERE.
Can’t the US play it’s war games on it’s own soil and leave Europe in peace?
We might start to get along with the Russians if the Americans would stop interfering in the affairs of our continent.
https://youtu.be/kFeduoDWKj4
Gift from our enemy.
“Here recently at the meeting, the United States said that Russia is preparing for war. Yes, Russia is preparing for war, I have confirmed it. We are preparing to defend our homeland, our territorial integrity, our principles, our values, our people. The Russian Federations is preparing for war, and the United States of America is preparing for a war. … That is the fact.”
Andrei Belousov – deputy director of Russia’s Department for Nonproliferation, and economic assistant to president Putin
“We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists that we are engaged in today, but great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of U.S. national security,” U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis – in a speech presenting America’s new defense strategy in January of 2018.
https://theduran.com/50000-nato-troops-stage-massive-military-drills-on-russias-border-video/
Good analysis of the current wargames aimed against Russia
The wind up merchants just won’t stop!
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/11/by-way-of-deception-false-flag-terror-acts-press-europe-to-sanction-iran.html#more
The fight to break the EU cohesiveness takes another ratchett with the dumb bacon farmers – if it isn’t a false flag against Russia, it’s Iran.
Their days are numbered. The UK government will not last. Labour will have a massive majority. Mossad and their actions will be banned and investigated.
They have even managed to get the Great Crested Duck to unilaterly instigate an investigation into Labour ‘antisemites’ without any complaint being made to the police!
Yup that Dick, who ran that ff London bombing campaign and vilely executed a innocent foreign electrician going to work on the underground train. And got the Met gig for getting blood on her hands.
I bet she is worried about having her actions properly investigated by a uncompromised Labour government. Not.
Time to print and distribute millions of leaflets throughout all European countries telling their citizens that they are in grave danger of nuclear annihilation because of American interference and aggression towards Russia endorsed by their own governments. Spread the word.
Trident Juncture is led by the US, you know the leader of the free world, and if you want to remain free, then you will do everything the US requires, /s including having to spend 2% of every NATO members GDP on armaments, which in turn will be spent on the US military Industrial complex [to keep interchangeability paramount you understand, no buying better and cheaper products on the open market etc].
The European states behave like vassals to the US, hence Poland hopes the US builds bases in Poland by offering the US 2 billion dollars and a promise to name the bases after Trump as incentives to do so.
Perhaps the most egregious aspect of European subservience was on display not long ago, when the new US Ambassador to Germany said…… “German businesses should immediately halt their operations in Iran following President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, the US ambassador to Germany said on Tuesday.
“As @realDonaldTrump said, US sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy.
“German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately,” tweeted newly-appointed Richard Grenell”.
https://www.thelocal.de/20180509/us-tells-german-businesses-to-stop-trade-in-iran-immediately
How much more arrogant can the US get, If the US can push Germany about, how can smaller and more economically insignificant European states stand up to the US?
The USA and Israel can be just as arrogant as ‘Gods Upon the Earth’ desire, and the invertebrate scum of the Western stooge regimes will simply roll over and take it. Thermo-nuclear war on European soil? Yes, sir!!!
As well as Trident Juncture there has also been Clear Skies 18 – joint NATO US air games over Ukraine.
All this is being driven by weak politics which is leading to what we have been seeing over the last few years, a rise in power of intelligence agencies in moves to shape the future. We are also able to see that the WMSM are not reporting on this. The psyops scandals are sensationally promoted. The military actions and build-ups are not.
It’s not the first time the intelligence services have been running rouge operations, the 1st cold war had plenty of examples.
Stephen Cohen had this to say recently that sanctions on Russia is an elite project:
“All of these dangerous developments, indeed the new US-Russian Cold War itself, are elite projects-political, media, intelligence, etc. Voters were never really consulted. Nor do they seem to approve. In August, Gallup asked its usual sample of Americans which policy toward Russia they preferred. Fifty-eight percent wanted improved relations vs. only 36 percent who wanted a tougher US policy with more sanctions. (Meanwhile, two-thirds of Russians surveyed by an independent agency now see the United States as their country’s number-one enemy, and about three-fourths view China favorably.)”
I think we can agree with that.
As John Lennon said:
“Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That’s what’s insane about it.”
Well, he was put away.
War is Business carried on by other means. War and Peace are two sides of the same coin. Above is the face of anti-Russia War side; below is the face on EU Peace side:
“A group of bankers and lawyers have robbed Europe’s taxpayers of €55 billion according to #CumExFiles, a joint investigation by 19 European media from twelve countries, coordinated by the German non-profit newsroom CORRECTIV.”
https://cumex-files.com/en
And Business is War by other means: EU$A stole frozen Libyan accounts, used the money to finance NATZO’s war on Libya.
https://southfront.org/billions-of-euro-disappeared-from-frozen-accounts-of-muammar-gaddafi-they-were-used-to-finance-war-in-libya/
So let me do a little test to see if I my “programing” is functioning properly. My country the U.S. has invaded and destabilized or destroyed the governments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, and is salivating to do the same in Iran – (but “Russian aggression is the problem”). My U.S. government has facilitated countless coups ousting democratic governments most recently in Ukraine and Honduras leading to right wing violence and massive human suffering and refugees – (but “Russian aggression is the problem”). My U.S. government is amassing missiles in Poland along the Russian boarder and through NATO is carrying out massive provocative military exercises on Russia’s doorstep – (but “Russian aggression is the problem”). My U.S. government is in violation of it’s signed contractual agreements by nixing everything from arms limitations agreements with Russia to the Iran nuclear deal (but “Russian aggression is the problem”). My U.S. government has nearly 900 military bases around the globe while Russia has 8 – (but “Russian aggression is the problem”). This is of course only a partial list of many similar such examples of – (“Russian aggression is the problem”).
There – I think I’ve effectively demonstrated that my “American exceptionalism programing” is in fine working order, and I am happy to report that I feel absolutely no cognitive dissonance whatsoever when I mouth absolutely bat-shit crazy platitudes about “Russian aggression” as if they have some basis in physical reality, while totally ignoring my own nation’s endless and ongoing global violence and aggression. It appears my programing is just fine and that I am as sane and well adjusted as the next American – for what that’s worth.
PS – note to my U.K. and European brothers and sisters: if you expect anything but more war mongering bat-shit-crazy to emanate from the U.S. government and our media you are sadly mistaken and perhaps as delusional as most Americans.
The U.S. is a rogue nuclear state, a clear and present danger to all of humanity, and NO, unfortunately it didn’t start with the arrival of The Orange One.
@IGT. Your Trauma is truly Inter Generational, and goes right back to the mantra of ultra-pious Founding Fathers: “The only good Indian is a dead Indian”.
And yet deep down there is much good in Uncle $cam (“Only he never let on”?). I really must get down to my long delayed project: In praise of The Yankees.
Excellent!
This purported NATO defensive operation is pure provocation! Truly useless but great propaganda. The US seems to be getting desperate. Is it realizing finally that its hold on NATO and its allies is starting to fail?
The dying US Reich is lashing about in its rabid death-throes, threatening any and everybody, but the most groveling stooges. Really, who expects to see 2020 at this rate? The Thanatopian psychopaths expect Russia and China to surrender and be pillaged, and, as that won’t happen, are feverishly preparing for a thermo-nuclear war that none above the level of cockroaches will survive, and there you see the psychopaths’ survival plan.
My town in Kent vies to become more and more militaristic every year, especially around poppy time. I noticed the town hall is now displaying a huge poppy splattered message ‘They bravely died facing the foe’ or words to that effect. I want to rearrange the letters to read, no they died facing ordinary Germans just like them, the foe were in the House of Commons and City of London, safely hundreds of miles behind the front line.
Humanity is being frog-marched to auto-genocide. The Rightwing, sub-fascist, religiously fundamentalist thugs running the genocidal Austfailian regime have been investing billions in militaristic jingoism for decades. Now they want to spend half a billion on expanding the War Memorial in Canberra. And when the Zionazis and their Saudi and US allies attack Iran, you can bet that both sides of politics, egged on by the Murdoch and other media cancers, will be slobbering to join in the ‘obliteration’. Evil reigns everywhere, and the mugs are too dumb, greedy, brainwashed and pig ignorant to notice the doors of the global gas-chamber being locked and bolted behind them.
Mulga Mumble: saw that the other day about expanding the war memorial in Canberra. Big enough then for flag drenched cloyingly nationalistic Nuremberg style rallies? Liberal and Labor are both bought and paid for whores of the Empire. Beyond contemptible. I travel all over one of biggest cities in Australia selling a street mag, and the complete lack of awareness is just mind boggling. This is what the presstitutes in the media have achieved, especially the Murdoch rags. There’s a famous quote of Noam Chomsky: ‘they don’t even know that they don’t even know’ which applies to the vast majority of Aussies. No, not a fan of Chomsky (my eyes have been opened last few years with him) but his quote is very relevant here. I didn’t even know about these war ‘games’ until I read them here, and another site. I agree that things are coming to a head, and the real shit will soon hit the fan.
“No, not a fan of Chomsky (my eyes have been opened last few years with him)” Please explain what opened your eyes?
Please excuse my interruption: I too have some serious misgivings about comrade Chomsky – particularly because of his dis missal of the significance of the CIA’s assassination of JFK. “Who cares?” says Chomsky. I believe his reaction to 9/11 is similar. Thus the major false flag events of our lifetimes are not important. Thus, I don’t care overmuch for Chomsky either.
I greatly admire Chomsky, who really opened my eyes to US and Israeli crimes. I cannot fathom his attitude towards JFK, but I think he probably realises just who did 9/11 (the Zionazis and their Sabbat Goy stooges)but realises that revealing the truth would lead to catastrophe for US Jewry, and a geo-political cataclysm. As the Zionazis have often stated, if they feel threatened by a ‘New Holocaust’, then they are prepared to ‘ …take the world down with us’, by using their nukes.
It’s the same everywhere and seems to have been put into top gear since the last of the old soldiers who actually fought in WW1 died. While they lived, we heard the truth from men like Harry Patch, who kept patriotic nationalism in check. ” We believe it is time to think about all of those who lived through this tragic and remarkable time – and who put Britain on the path to becoming what it is today.” says the poppy shop….remembrance and loss with a happy outcome.
Smells like headless chicken blind panic by the USA, who having thrown all their eggs into the Military Industrial Complex basket, cannot undo what they have started without completely losing face. .
They have to keep the people in jobs for now… to keep them subdued and on side.
But the bunkers are prepared, so it will be to hell with the gullible proles when the sh*t hits the fan.
Re Trident Juncture…..”it’s a massive psyop (psychological operation) aimed at reinforcing the idea that Europe is under the threat of an increasingly aggressive Russia”. Hermann Goering was right………
“Why of course the people don’t want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don’t want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or fascist dictorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peace makers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
A last gasp by the MIC and $hagemons to split the EU unity.
As soon as the UK has fucked off to its long planned 51st state debasement.
Then the EU can get its own defence force properly setup – missiles will be aimed in EVERY direction. Costs will be well below 1% of GDI – a massive saving on the current gangster fire insurance premium demanded by Nato.
With the EU GPS satellite system active the yanks can go toss off elsewhere instead.
The EU army is on the 1% agenda.
Funny. The EU is deeply embedded in NATO and fully on-board American foreign policy. The guns are all trained on Russia.
It’s a psy op on multiple levels quite apart from the vast sums of profit & debt being generated in this venture. If ground war and nuclear war are out of the question (my belief despite the facts on the ground) what is left but an even more massively locked down Europe unlike anything Europe has ever known? This is not to say that unplanned for aggression can’t be tripped off, or proxy war in some strategically placed “insignificant” country.
Unfortunately, nuclear war is all too possible: Hiroshima & Nagasaki were habitable one year after they were bombed.
The 1%s can disappear for a year into their deep underground bunckers, then emerge with their favoured slaves.
A huge world depopulation is one of their top strategies.
John Doran.