In the era of the half-asleep, Cold War dinosaur Biden, the
logic of the Lithuanian elite would work: supposedly there is a war going on in
Lithuania, the war requires victims, there are already victims in Pabradė,
everything is normal here.
Now these fantasies do not work. The US is ruled by
practical people today. They follow the news. The tragedy in Pabradė will
certainly put the Lithuanian swamp on the negotiating table for the
normalization of US-Russian relations. The negotiations are taking place in
secret, which is why delusions are still spreading in Lithuania. Therefore, for
now, the Lithuanian elite and its alleged experts are naively comforting
themselves:
"Eitvydas Bajarūnas, a fellow at the Center for
European Policy Analysis in Washington, told Žinių radijas that after the disaster in Pabradė, there may be
those in the US who want to raise the question of what America is doing in our
country. However, he urges not to think that one event can change relations
built over decades.
Rescuers, the US and Lithuanian militaries are still
intensively searching for US soldiers who went missing during American
exercises at the Pabradė training ground, Žinių radijas reminds. The situation
at the training ground is being closely monitored by the Minister of National
Defence and the Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
"US soldiers are our soldiers - we will do everything
possible for each of them," says Dovilė Šakalienė. The US ambassador and
the military thank Lithuania for its comprehensive assistance in searching for
the missing soldiers.
Although the incident is likely an
accident, the tense political situation in the US is worrying - will Donald
Trump's administration start considering the possibility of withdrawing troops
from Eastern Europe?
The Guardian speculates that this event may have political
consequences, as the accident allegedly reflects the challenges that NATO
forces face when operating in unfamiliar areas.
However, Lithuanian politicians are reassuring - solidarity
with the Americans and tireless assistance will only further strengthen the
US-Lithuanian relationship.
How will America react? The interviewees were asked this
question by the Žinių Radio program "Aktualusis intervių".
Valionis: if a pretext is needed, it will be used
Former Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis says that there are
always those who want to take advantage of such tragedies.
“But what does that change, because they still talk about
the fact that the command post, which has always been led by Americans, should
be taken over by Europeans. And high-ranking military officials say that
America should also withdraw from Europe. So if a pretext is needed, it will
appear. If a reason is needed, this is not a sufficient reason to talk about
any more serious actions,” the program’s interlocutor emphasized.
He reminded that our soldiers were also injured while
participating in American missions, and a Lithuanian soldier even died in the
Kosovo peace mission.
“This is what is happening, and politics, in turn, is
politics. I think we will soon see how to use those facts, how much to escalate
them, make them public, and use them,” he said.
We are loyal partners
E. Bajarūnas, a fellow at the Center for European Policy
Analysis in Washington, D.C., says that we should not narrowly think that one
event can change relations.
“Relations are built over decades. Lithuania has
participated in many NATO and US operations, we are loyal partners, and I think
this is a closer message to the Americans than this disaster,” he said.
However, the interviewee of the show
added that if someone wants to, they will definitely use this news to raise
questions about what America is doing in our country in general.
“We cannot rule out that this will have some influence on
discussions in the public sphere. But let’s keep in mind that the situation has
been under control since yesterday evening,” he said, bearing in mind that
initially the news spread around the world that the soldiers were dead,
although they have not yet been found.
Americans’ attention is elsewhere
E. Bajarūnas said that the search for the soldiers in
Lithuania is not the main news in the US media at the moment – Americans are
now focused on the “Signal” scandal and Donald Trump’s decisions to raise
tariffs on goods.
The interviewee of the show added that we are already beginning
to understand D. Trump and his logic.
“Of course, if someone unsuccessfully delivers that message
to D. Trump “what are we doing there” it will be a good opportunity... But D.
Trump has other plans. And in our case, what we know from his administration
<...> confirms what we expect, that the US commitment to Lithuania, to
the Baltic region is not decreasing. And that is what we have to focus on at
the moment – let’s not thicken the colors until they thicken, let’s do our
jobs, let’s send that message about a loyal partner and I think that will
achieve its result,” he emphasized.
Speaking about D. Trump’s comment that he was not informed
about the US soldiers missing in Lithuania, A. Valionis emphasized that the US
political culture is specific.
“I would like to say that there are some stable signs that
there are commitments not only to Lithuania, but also to Europe. That the world
is beginning to be perceived in a similar way as it was perceived decades
before D. Trump's second term," the former minister said, speaking about
the mood in the US.
E. Bajarūnas said he hoped that the fact that D. Trump did
not comment on this incident shows that everything is not so bad.
Bajarūnas: I am an optimist
However, A. Valionis admitted that
the Signal message scandal showed that D. Trump's environment has a cynical
attitude towards Europe, and in addition, there is distrust among officials
towards Western Europe.
"In a word, there are many discourses, many different
directions, and it is very difficult to grasp the logic of US policy," he
admitted.
Valionis: that's what they are training for
Speaking about the problem raised in foreign media that US
soldiers are training in areas unfamiliar to them in Lithuania, A. Valionis
stressed that this is done so that the
unknown places they will have to defend become familiar to them (Deep
exploration of the place – 5 yards deep in the mud with a tank. Does this
statement sound a bit cynical to you? (K.)).
"And here is the whole point, that they learn to drive
and get acquainted with a raised bog
(are you serious? (K.), which, I don't even know if they have, and which on the outside looks like a solid,
sustainable area, but when you drive in, it turns out to be a 5-meter-deep
swampy lake. And this is a problem that really needs to be integrated into
the learning process and continue," he said.
Valionis emphasized that, unfortunately, people die not only
in war, but also in learning to fight."
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