United States military is prepared to back up NATO if the unrest in Ukraine escalates 1203141

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Defence & Security News - United States
 
 
Wednesday, March 12, 2014 06:16 PM
 
United States military is prepared to back up NATO if the unrest in Ukraine escalates.
The U.S. military is prepared to back up NATO if the unrest in Ukraine escalates, said Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. Dempsey said he’s been talking to his military counterparts in Russia, but he’s also sending a clear message to Ukraine and members of NATO that the U.S. will respond with military options if necessary.
     
The U.S. military is prepared to back up NATO if the unrest in Ukraine escalates, said Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. Dempsey said he’s been talking to his military counterparts in Russia, but he’s also sending a clear message to Ukraine and members of NATO that the U.S. will respond with military options if necessary.
General Martin Dempsey Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of United States Armed Forces
     

When asked if there is a chance of U.S. military intervention in the Ukraine crisis, Dempsey replied, “That’s a question that I think deserves to be assessed and reassessed and refreshed as this thing evolves.”

“But remember,” he added, “we do have treaty obligations with our NATO allies. And I have assured them that if that treaty obligation is triggered, we would respond.”

Last week, the American guided-missile destroyer, USS Truxtun, departed Greece headed toward the Black Sea. The destroyer will be passing through the region as part of the USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group bound for the Middle East. This trip, Kirby explained, had been planned well before the February unrest in Kiev began and new leadership took control of the embattled nation.

According to the General, the incursion of Russian troops into the Crimea creates risks for all the countries of Europe and NATO allies.

In Kiev, the new government announced that it would seek to create a National Guard, composed of perhaps 20,000 military veterans, in an effort to bolster Ukraine’s threadbare military. The plan was announced by the acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, during a session of Parliament and was discussed in a meeting between the first deputy prime minister, Vitaly Yarema, and the British ambassador to Ukraine, Simon Smith.