U.S. troops on Russia’s borders while Russia vows ‘totally asymmetrical’ response to major US troop build-up in Europe

Official Washington’s hype about “Russian aggression” has cloaked a U.S. military buildup on Russia’s borders, possibly increasing risks of escalation and even world war, explains ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.

Consortium News
U.S. Troops on Russia’s Borders
 Paul R. Pillar

“We are not passive observers, we consistently take all the military measures we consider necessary in order to counterbalance this reinforced presence that is not justified by anything,” Moscow’s permanent representative at the alliance, Aleksandr Grushko, said in an interview with TV channel Russia-24 on Wednesday. “Certainly, we’ll respond totally asymmetrically.”

Grushko did not elaborate on his statement, but said Russia’s actions would correspond to its “understanding of the extent of the military threat, would not be extremely expensive, but also highly effective.”

RT
Russia vows ‘totally asymmetrical’ response to major US troop build-up in Europe
The US-led NATO build up in Western Europe is intended to provoke a new arms race to Russia's economic disadvantage and to the economic advantage of the US military-industrial complex.

Russia's answer to the US challenge is that it can counter the US on the cheap. I also expect it involves forcing the US to spend much more on the military by arming potential US adversaries around the world. China is receiving advanced missile technology (S-400), for example.

Russia's arms industry is going gangbusters and orders are increasing both owing to the advantage of a low ruble over a high dollar and also the impressive display in Syria that took the world by surprise.  So the new arms race is benefitting Russia, too.

Unfortunately, Europe is a pawn in this game, being used as a buffer zone by the US. This is not lost on many Europeans, who are getting increasingly rattled by it.