US 'Muscle-Flexing' by Hosting Major Drills Amid Tensions With Russia

© AFP 2023 / FRANCISCO LEONGUS marines disembark their armoured vehicles from the overcrafts deploid by the USS Arlington amphibious transport dock during the NATO's Trident Juncture exercise at Pinheiro da Cruz beach, south of Lisbon, near Grandola on October 20, 2015
US marines disembark their armoured vehicles from the overcrafts deploid by the USS Arlington amphibious transport dock during the NATO's Trident Juncture exercise at Pinheiro da Cruz beach, south of Lisbon, near Grandola on October 20, 2015 - Sputnik International
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The NATO Trident Juncture military drills represent Washington's gung-ho attitude in light of the increased tensions between the United States and Russia, the co-chair of the Legislative Working Group for United for Peace and Justice told Sputnik on Tuesday.

US marines push a Humvee stuck on the sand as they disembark from the overcrafts deployed by the USS Arlington amphibious transport dock during the NATO's Trident Juncture exercise at Pinheiro da Cruz beach, south of Lisbon, near Grandola on October 20, 2015 - Sputnik International
Trident Juncture 2015: What is NATO Training for During Massive War-Games?
MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko — The alliance is showcasing its military readiness in the October 21-November 3 active phase of the Trident drills, taking place in Spain, Italy, Portugal, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Over 36,000 troops, 140 aircraft, 90 vessels and submarines from 30 member and partner countries are involved in what is the largest NATO exercises in over a decade.

According to Carolyn Eisenberg, the drills "reflect the mounting tension between Russia and the United States, it is an obvious attempt to display military power at a time of heightened rivalry."

Eisenberg said that, whether or not these exercises destabilized the geopolitical situation in any immediate sense, they contributed to an atmosphere of fear and belligerence on both sides.

She added that peace activists in the United States had long believed that NATO expansion was a mistake.

"We think that US policy should be aimed at the demilitarization of Europe, rather than increased military activity on either side. Whether in the Middle East or on strictly European matters, the need of the hour is for a greater emphasis on diplomacy and a renunciation of the use of force," she pointed out.

NATO-Russia relations deteriorated sharply in 2014, after Crimea joined Russia and fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine. The alliance accused Russia of meddling in the Ukrainian conflict and began to reinforce its presence in Eastern Europe, implementing a plan that includes setting up six new command and control units in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Russia has repeatedly dismissed the Ukraine-related accusations and stated that NATO's increased activities near the country's borders undermine regional and global stability.

The US-led drills triggered anti-NATO demonstrations in Spain, Portugal and Italy in October.

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