Do Russia/NATO Military Drills Signal Something Ominous?Brandon Turbeville For instance, most scholars present the events leading up to World War I as an immediate reaction to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand by a shadowy semi-secret society that was not fundamentally connected to any other secret establishment. The truth, however, is that not only was the Black Hand a part of a Revolutionary Freemasonic structure and the war itself a carefully orchestrated plot that involved the personal attention and assembly of King Edward VII as well as British and French Freemasonic Lodges, but it was not solely a reaction to the assassination of Ferdinand. More importantly for the context of this article is the fact that, for thirty days after the assassination, life, for the most part, continued on without any apparent changes in the lives of the general public. Indeed, in the month after the assassination of Ferdinand, the majority of the worlds population had returned to what has been described as a dreamlike trance of ignorance even as the declarations of war were being prepared behind the scenes. The time of this dreamlike trance July 1914 may very well bear relevance to the time in which we find ourselves today. While we must do our best to avoid sensationalism, the question of US-Russia relations, US imperialism, and the geopolitical imperatives of the US, Russia, China, and NATO compounded by the overwhelming ignorance of the general public is one that should cause some concern as to whether or not we find ourselves in a similar situation today. For instance, over the last few months, Russian and NATO war games have become increasingly aggressive despite being largely ignored in the mainstream media except for the obvious propaganda opportunities. Any real and legitimate discussion about what these drills may actually mean has obviously been left out with the Western mainstream press using them to simply promote the infantile narrative that NATOs drills are for readiness and protection of the free world against the aggressive Hitlerian Russians while the Russian drills are preparations to storm Eastern Europe and re-impose the Iron Curtain. Virtually since the conflict began, US/NATO have provoked the situation even further (quite the feat after having engineered the Euromaidan color revolution to begin with) by arming and training Ukrainian fascists and by holding military drills across Eastern Europe and even Western Ukraine. While the fact that the Euromaidan movement and the subsequent ouster of Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych was initiated by the United States and NATO is clear enough, which side of the geopolitical tug of war initiated the first round of military drills over Ukraine is not as easily determined. While Russias position is undoubtedly defensive in regards to Ukraine, both sides of the geopolitical conflict have been flexing their muscles since the crisis began in earnest. Early on, of course, these drills appeared as mere muscle flexing between to world powers intent on showing off each others military strength as well as their commitment to their respective positions. Yet, as time moved on these military drills developed into something more physically imposing, suggesting that the drills were in fact a public but subtle warning that military force would be met with equal or greater military force. Despite reports by the Western mainstream press suggesting a Russian Troop Buildup Along the Border with Ukraine which was, in actuality, nothing more than photographs of drills that had taken place in August of 2013 (months before the US-backed protests toppled Yanukovych), military drills appear to have been conducted in tandem with one another and by both sides of the conflict equally. For instance, in May, 2014, both the United States and Russia conducted large-scale nuclear war drills within a week of one another. Despite the apocalyptic nature of the drills, the maneuvers were largely seen as a show of strength and veiled threat between the two countries. The next month, Vladmir Putin ordered snap military drills to take place across central Russia which were the largest since Russia annexed Crimea a few months earlier. In August, Russia took part in another drill near the Ukrainian border. In September, 2014, the United States and NATO then went further to stage military drills inside Western Ukraine even as intense fighting was taking place in the countries eastern region. It was during this Rapid Trident exercise that MH17 crashed over Ukraine. Another NATO drill, BREEZE 2014, concluded on July 17th, the day that MH17 crashed and involved commercial traffic monitoring as well as reaction to asymmetric threat warnings, anti-submarine warfare and artillery firing. BREEZE 2014 also involved commercial air traffic monitoring. The most assertive and concerning military drills from the Russian side (only to be eclipsed by the drills of the American side taking place at the same time) came after nine-day absence of Vladmir Putin and involved the infantry, Air Force, Spetsnaz troops, and other military branches all across the country. The drills were set to practice repelling a land-sea-air military invasion on its western, northern, southern, and eastern fronts. As RT reported at the time, Motorized infantry, combat aviation and Spetznaz troops have been put on alert in all nine time zones of the Russian Federation, including the Volga region, Urals, Western Siberia, the Far East region and the Pacific, the North Caucasus and along the borders of NATO member states from the Arctic through to the Baltic and Black Sea. RT reports the drill deployments as follows: The operational zone of the Northern Fleets drills has been expanded to the Norwegian Sea, and the number of deployed naval task groups has been increased to five, the Defense Ministry reported. The commanding staff of the Northern Fleet has decided to build up the contingent involved in training missions to defend Russias borders in the Arctic, the ministry said in a statement. More than 20 ships of the Russias Baltic Fleet are out at sea conducting defense drills, the Russian Western Military Districts press service announced on Wednesday. [] A tactical group of the Russian Black Sea fleet will hold military exercises on Thursday, targeting decoy enemy bombers and battleships. Paratroopers from the Ivanovo Airborne Division have been relocated inside the Arctic Circle next to the Norwegian border on Ilyushin Il-76 airlifters to train countering subversive groups, maintain anti-aircraft defense, perform engineering and radiation reconnaissance and sharpen field camouflage skills. The Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that Russian marines from Temryuk in south Russias Krasnodar region have been put on full combat readiness and are training next to the Kerch Strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The units are conducting exercises in conditions similar to real military activities, using simulation tools to train counteracting subversive groups and repelling enemy amphibious assault landings. Russias strategic command has put mechanized troops of the Eastern Military District, deployed on the island of Sakhalin in the Pacific, on the highest levels of combat alert. Up to 3,000 troops and nearly 1,000 military vehicles are training defense of the coast in close cooperation with the Air Force. Over 30 army aviation crews are being relocated from airfields in the Leningrad and Smolensk regions to a military airfield in the Arctic. Mil Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters are set to cover over 1,500 kilometers with a stopover for refueling in the Karelia region. About 80 military pilots of the Eastern Command are taking part in Airdarts contest that includes performing air stunts, bomb-dropping and unguided missiles firing, using Su-25, Su-27SM, Su-24M2 assault and fighter jets. Assault helicopter pilots are training live ammo shooting, ultra-low flying and evading air defenses. Over 2,000 engineer troops and 350 special vehicles of the Central Military Command are training in demining all types of military explosives, using brand-new standoff IED detection vehicles. The ongoing snap check of the military involves about 76,000 troops, over 10,000 units of military hardware and special equipment, 65 battleships,16 support vessels, 15 submarines, 200 warplanes and helicopters. The drills being held in Russia are the largest yet and represent an escalation in the crisis despite a shaky ceasefire in Ukraine. Still, the American side has responded concurrently with drills of its own, flooding a number of Baltic states with US/NATO military personnel and equipment. Operation Atlantic Resolve has resulted in thousands of US troops alone and hundreds of US tanks flooding several of these Baltic countries receiving a mixed welcome from the locals. This drill has resulted in what has been referred to as a line of troops. RT quotes Col. Michael Foster of the 173rd Airborne Brigade as stating that, As you connect countries, there is almost a line of US troops. The host nations include Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia as well as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Western Ukraine. The Black Sea is also a site of US/NATO drills. These troops are being deployed not only in countries that border Russia but in areas that themselves are physically close to the Russian borderline. Thus, with the Russian forces on high alert and with virtually the entire country being put in place under the pretense of drilling to repel any land, air, or sea based force that may try to invade Russia (as well as subversive groups) and the US militarys line of troops placed right at Russias doorstep, one would be justified in wondering whether or not Russia and the US/NATO are truly taking part in legitimate military drills even for the show of strength and deterrence or if they are actually putting their military personnel in place for a direct military conflict. In other words, it is a legitimate question to wonder whether or not Russia and NATO are engaging in troop placement under the guise of drills for a real war. Indeed, one would be entirely justified in wondering whether we are seeing the chess pieces being set for a major military confrontation beginning in Eastern Europe but finding its way to North America and eventually enveloping the entire world. Given the track record of both governments, it is entirely plausible to believe that, if both nations were indeed placing their military personnel in strategic positions, the cover of drills could and would be used so as not to forewarn the general public or cause panic in society and hamper the war effort. In addition, the cover of military drills and exercises is obviously a tactic available to governments whereby they are able to position military personnel in prime locations before any actual combat has taken place.[1] With all of this in mind, we must begin to ask ourselves, Are the American people in a dreamlike trance? Are we in July, 1914? Notes: [1] Stalin: The First In-depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russias Secret Archives, Anchor, (1997) ISBN 0-385-47954-9, pages 454-459 Recently from Brandon Turbeville: Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Florence, South Carolina. He has a Bachelors Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of six books, Codex Alimentarius The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies,Five Sense Solutionsand Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, and The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria.Turbeville has published over 500 articles dealing on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbevilles podcast Truth on The Tracks can be found every Monday night 9 pm EST at UCYTV. He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com. 