[pjw] INFO: Biden sending 2000 troops to Europe / Local action happening Sat

[Peace and Justice Works]

PJW supporters
The tensions in Eastern Europe continue to be accelerated, in part by the 
US's non-diplomatic way of telling Russia certain topics are 
"non-starters." In addition to 2000 troops being sent to E. Europe, 1000 
are moving within Europe. While this does nothing to de-escalate the 
situation, it is kind of a miniscule gesture compared to the alleged 
120,000 plus troops Russia has moved to the Ukrainian border, so we can 
hope it's all posturing all the way around and not ground being laid for a 
large scale war.

Meanwhile, some national groups (listed in the announcement here) called 
for actions to take place on Saturday. Since we're still hosting the 
Friday rallies and haven't been able to connect directly with organizers, 
it's likely we'll just focus attention on the issue on Friday and announce 
this event there. But those who feel comfortable with it, I received this 
info from someone about Extinction Rebellion doing an event outside Sen. 
Wyden's office. I actually didn't see this even on the XR website, maybe 
it's from a facebook post or something.

------------------------------

   Portland: No War with Russia Rally

   Join CODEPINK, ANSWER, Veterans for Peace, MLK Coalition, Progressive
   Democrats of America, and more on February 5, 2022 to demand an end to
   the drumbeat of war with Russia over Ukraine! We are gathering in front
   of  Wyden's office because he, like Merkley, is a co-sponsor of that
   horrible Senate bill to rush $500 Million to Ukraine, as well as slam
   Russia with sanctions.

   This rally will coincide with activities around the country to resist the
   normalization of war and demand that not a single bullet or gun be sent
   to Ukraine! Diplomacy not war!

   Bring pink signs with the following messages:

     - No War with Russia @CODEPINK #NoWarWithRussia
     - NO to war YES to peace! @ CODEPINK #NoWarWithRussia
     - Give PEACE a budget!  @ CODEPINK #NoWarWithRussia
     - Fund HEALTHCARE NOT WARFARE #NoWarWithRussia @ CODEPINK

   Sign our petitions to stop war with Russia & learn more here!
   <https://www.codepink.org/russia> | Download graphics and posters here!
   <https://www.codepink.org/no_war_with_russia_graphics_and_posters>

   See you there in PINK!

   *This vigil is being organized by Extinction Rebellion PDX: xrpdx.org
   <http://xrpdx.org>*

   WHEN

   February 5, 2022 at 12:00pm - 2:00pm (PST)

   WHERE

   [Outside the office of Sen. Ron Wyden]
   911 NE 11th Ave
   Portland, OR 97232, United States,

   Google map and directions
   <https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Portland%2C+OR+97232%2C+United+States>

------------

Anyway, that's an FYI and below is the AP news article about US troop 
movement.

dan handelman
peace and justice works



   https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-united-states-moscow-e3336e8a1e04e35d29e687575b5258a9
Biden sending more troops to Europe amid Ukraine tension
    By LOLITA C. BALDOR, AAMER MADHANI, LORNE COOK and DASHA
    LITVINOVA February 2, 2022 GMT

    WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000
    U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 soldiers
    from Germany to Romania as demonstrations of America's commitments to
    allies on NATO's eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of
    Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

    Russia fired back with a sharply worded objection, calling the
    deployments unfounded and "destructive."

    Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a new telephone exchange with
    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Readouts from both governments
    showed no progress, with Putin saying the West was giving no ground on
    Russia's security concerns and Johnson expressing deep concern about
    Russia's "hostile activity" on the Ukrainian border.

    Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the soon-to-deploy U.S. forces
    are intended to temporarily bolster U.S. and allied defensive positions
    and will not enter Ukraine.

    "These are not permanent moves," he said, stressing that the purpose is
    to reassure allies at a time of heightened tension over Russia's
    buildup of an estimated 100,000 troops along Ukraine's borders. Kirby
    said Russia had continued its buildup, even in the previous 24 hours,
    despite U.S. urgings that it deescalate.

    The newly announced U.S. troop movements are in line with expectations
    based on Biden administration efforts to reassure allies and
    demonstrate U.S. resolve without undermining efforts to find a
    diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. In Moscow, however, a senior
    official said they will complicate the crisis.

    "The unfounded destructive steps will only fuel military tensions and
    narrow the field for political decisions," Russian Deputy Foreign
    Minister Alexander Grushko said in remarks carried by the Interfax news
    agency.

    Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again played down fears of a
    Russian attack in a call with reporters but said that if Russia makes
    moves that could signal an imminent invasion Ukraine would react as
    necessary.

    The U.S. already has several thousand troops in Poland, and Romania is
    host to a NATO missile defense system that Russia considers a threat to
    its security. Biden notably has not sent American military
    reinforcements to the three Baltic countries on NATO's eastern flank --
    Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- that are former states of the Soviet
    Union.

    Of the 2,000 newly deploying from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, about
    1,700 are members of the 82nd Airborne Division infantry brigade, who
    will go to Poland. The other 300 are with the 18th Airborne Corps and
    will go to Germany as what the Pentagon called a "joint task
    force-capable headquarters."

    Poland's Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter that the
    U.S. deployment to his country is "a strong signal of solidarity in
    response to the situation in Ukraine."

    The 1,000 U.S. troops going to Romania are members of the 2nd Cavalry
    Regiment based at Vilseck, Germany. They will augment about 900 U.S.
    troops already in Romania, Kirby said.

    The cavalry deployment's purpose is to "deter aggression and enhance
    our defensive capabilities in frontline allied states during this
    period of elevated risk," the Pentagon said in a separate written
    statement.

    "It's important that we send a strong signal to Mr. Putin and to the
    world" of the U.S commitment to NATO, Kirby said.

    He said France has decided it, too, will send troop reinforcements to
    Romania under NATO command, and he noted that a number of other
    European NATO countries are considering adding forces on NATO's eastern
    flank.

    NATO has been beefing up its defenses around allies in Eastern Europe
    since late last year. Denmark, for example, said it was sending a
    frigate and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania, and Spain was sending four
    fighter jets to Bulgaria and three ships to the Black Sea to join NATO
    naval forces. The Netherlands plans to send two F-35 fighter aircraft
    to Bulgaria in April and is putting a ship and land-based units on
    standby for NATO's Response Force.

    Biden has said he will not put American troops in Ukraine to fight any
    Russian incursion, although the United States is supplying Ukraine with
    weapons to defend itself and seeking to reassure allies in Eastern
    Europe that Washington will fulfill its treaty obligation to defend
    them in the event they are attacked. Ukraine is not a NATO member and
    therefore the U.S. has no treaty obligation to come to its defense.

    The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia over its
    military buildup at Ukraine's borders. And they underscore growing
    fears across Europe that Russian President Putin is poised to invade
    Ukraine. Smaller NATO countries on the alliance's eastern flank worry
    they could be next.

    The Pentagon also has put about 8,500 U.S.-based troops on higher alert
    for possible deployment to Europe as additional reassurance to allies,
    and officials have indicated the possibility that additional units
    could be placed on higher alert soon. The U.S. already has between
    75,000 and 80,000 troops in Europe as permanently stationed forces and
    as part of regular rotations in places such as Poland.

    Washington and Moscow have been at loggerheads over Ukraine, with
    little sign of a diplomatic path forward. However, Kirby on Wednesday
    confirmed the validity of a document reported by a Spanish newspaper
    that indicated the United States could be willing to enter into an
    agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in
    Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine.

    The daily El Pais published two documents that Kirby confirmed were
    written replies from the United States and NATO last week to Russia's
    proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe. The U.S. State
    department declined to comment on them.

    In reference to the second document, NATO said that it never comments
    on "alleged leaks." But the text closely reflects statements made to
    the media last week by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as he
    laid out the 30-nation military organization's position on Russia's
    demands.