Russia has amassed about 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine’s eastern border and could use the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission to invade, Nato has warned.
Stating that the conflict in Ukraine was fuelled by Russia, Nato said the troop build-up had further escalated “a dangerous situation”.
“We are not going to guess what is on Russia’s mind, but we can see what Russia is doing on the ground – and that is of great concern. Russia has amassed around 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine’s eastern border,” said Oana Lungescu, a Nato spokeswoman.
Nato was concerned that Moscow could use “the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission as an excuse to send troops into eastern Ukraine”, she added. Moscow denies Western accusations that it has armed and supported rebels fighting Ukrainian forces in the east. It announced new military exercises to take place all this week, involving bombers and warplanes, in a show of strength near the border with Ukraine.
The Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said the threat of a “direct intervention” by Russia in Ukraine was “definitely greater than it was a few days ago, or two weeks ago”.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-nato-raises-fears-of-russian-invasion-under-pretext-of-humanitarian-or-peacekeeping-mission-9652666.html_
Also related an idea from 2003 is starting to take effect
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jun/28/westafrica.usaUS proposes world peacekeeping force
Rumsfeld floats proposal to end Bush doctrine of unilateralism
The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, is discussing the idea of an international peacekeeping force which could be dispatched to maintain order in the world's trouble spots.
"It is not a civilian police force. It is not a political referee. And it is most certainly not designed to build a civilian society."
September 11 changed US foreign policy radically, and stabilising overseas countries is now viewed as a matter of national security.
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Today
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-us-help-africa-set-peacekeeping-force-223422388.htmlThe United States will help African nations set up a rapid response force to support United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions, President Barack Obama said Wednesday.
Obama, closing a summit with 50 African countries in Washington, said the force could be dispatched rapidly in support of UN-backed missions on the continent.
"African partner nations will commit to maintaining forces and equipment ready to rapidly deploy and state their intent to deploy as part of UN or AU missions," it said.
"The United States is not the only member of the international community that has a stake in this endeavor, so we will reach out to international partners," it added.
"We are also prepared to provide support, including training for headquarters staff and key enabler functions, such as engineers."
Ethiopia and Rwanda have both taken an active interest in conflicts in their neighborhoods, although the United States has criticized both countries on human rights grounds.
Obama also said that the United States was also working with Africans to develop an "early warning and response network" to identify emerging crises.
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Comment
A case of the POT calling the Kettle Black or something else in regards to peacekeeping
The peacekeeping forces sent from the USA and it's allies to other countries are OK but not if they are from Russia.
Just curious what opinions are on the idea of peacekeeping versus invasions.
Example Israel troops at their border crossing into the Palestine etc.
