Some 300 U.S. Marines landed in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment, the first time since World War II that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there.

Officials played down any link between the operation and NATO concerns over Russia.

However, the deployment coincided with the U.S. sending several thousand troops to Poland to beef up its Eastern European allies worried about Moscow’s assertiveness.

Soldiers from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina landed a little after 10 a.m. CET at a snow-covered Vaernes airport near Trondheim, Norway’s third-largest city, where temperatures were reaching -2 degrees Celsius.

Report says U.S. troops are to stay in Norway for a year, with the current batch of Marines being replaced after their six-month tour is complete.

A spokesman for the Norwegian Home Guards, who will host the Marines at the Vaernes military base, about 1,500 km from the Russian border, said the U.S. troops will learn about winter warfare.

“For the first four weeks they will have basic winter training, learn how to cope with skis and to survive in the Arctic environment.

“It has nothing to do with Russia or the current situation.

“In March the Marines will take part in the Joint Viking exercises, which will also include British troops,’’ he added.

The Russian Embassy in Oslo did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

It questioned the need for such a move when it was announced in October.

A spokeswoman for Norwegian Ministry of Defence also said the arrival of U.S. Marines had nothing to do with concerns about Russia.

However, in a 2014 interview with Reuters, Norway’s Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said Russia’s annexation of Crimea showed that it had the ability and will to use military means to achieve political goals. </s> Some 300 U.S. Marines landed in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment, the first time since World War Two that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there, in a deployment which has irked Norway's Arctic neighbour Russia. Officials played down any link between the operation and NATO concerns over Russia, but the deployment coincides with the U.S. sending several thousand troops to Poland to beef up its Eastern European allies worried about Moscow's assertiveness.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Star Online. </s> 300 US Marines arrived in Trondheim, Norway, on Monday.

That is the first deployment of foreign troops in Norway since the First World War. Norwegian officials were quick to dismiss any connection with Russia and to specify that the US would not set up a base in the country.

The US marines will remain in Norway for a six-month rotational deployment, stationed in Trondheim. Another 300 Marines will then replace them. The deployment takes place the same day as US troops arrived in Poland.

US soldiers will exercise in winter warfare, including ski and survival training in an Arctic environment. They will also participate in a Viking NATO exercise in March, along with British troops.

Until Norway joined NATO in 1949, it assured Russian that no foreign combat troops would be allowed to transit through its territory. </s> OSLO (Reuters) - Some 300 U.S. Marines landed in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment, the first time since World War Two that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there, in a deployment which has irked Norway’s Arctic neighbor Russia.

Officials played down any link between the operation and NATO concerns over Russia, but the deployment coincides with the U.S. sending several thousand troops to Poland to beef up its Eastern European allies worried about Moscow’s assertiveness.

Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina landed a little after 10 am CET (0900 GMT) at a snow-covered Vaernes airport near Trondheim, Norway’s third-largest city, where temperatures were reaching -2 degrees Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenheit).

U.S. troops are to stay in Norway for a year, with the current batch of Marines being replaced after their six-month tour is complete.

A spokesman for the Norwegian Home Guards, who will host the Marines at the Vaernes military base, about 1,500 km (900 miles) from the Russian border, said the U.S. troops will learn about winter warfare.

“For the first four weeks they will have basic winter training, learn how to cope with skis and to survive in the Arctic environment,” said Rune Haarstad, a Home Guard spokesman. “It has nothing to do with Russia or the current situation.”

In March the Marines will take part in the Joint Viking exercises, which will also include British troops, he added.

The Russian Embassy in Oslo did not immediately reply to a request for comment by Reuters on Monday. It questioned the need for such a move when it was announced in October.

“Taking into account multiple statements of Norwegian officials about the absence of threat from Russia to Norway we would like to understand for what purposes is Norway so ... willing to increase its military potential, in particular through stationing of American forces in Vaernes?” it told Reuters at the time.

Slideshow (3 Images)

A spokeswoman for Norwegian Ministry of Defence also said the arrival of U.S. Marines had nothing to do with concerns about Russia.

However, in a 2014 interview with Reuters, Norway’s Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said Russia’s annexation of Crimea showed that it had the ability and will to use military means to achieve political goals.

(Corrects reference in third paragraph from soldiers to marines) </s> Some 300 U.S. Marines landed in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment, the first time since World War Two that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there, in a deployment which has irked Norway's Arctic neighbor Russia.

Officials played down any link between the operation and NATO concerns over Russia, but the deployment coincides with the U.S. sending several thousand troops to Poland to beef up its Eastern European allies worried about Moscow's assertiveness.

Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina landed a little after 10 am CET (0900 GMT) at a snow-covered Vaernes airport near Trondheim, Norway's third-largest city, where temperatures were reaching -2 degrees Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenheit).

U.S. troops are to stay in Norway for a year, with the current batch of Marines being replaced after their six-month tour is complete.

A spokesman for the Norwegian Home Guards, who will host the Marines at the Vaernes military base, about 1,500 km (900 miles) from the Russian border, said the U.S. troops will learn about winter warfare.

"For the first four weeks they will have basic winter training, learn how to cope with skis and to survive in the Arctic environment," said Rune Haarstad, a Home Guard spokesman. "It has nothing to do with Russia or the current situation." </s> OSLO: Some 300 US Marines landed in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment, the first time since World War Two that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there, in a deployment which has irked Norway’s Arctic neighbour Russia.

Officials played down any link between the operation and Nato concerns over Russia, but the deployment coincides with the US sending several thousand troops to Poland to beef up its Eastern European allies worried about Moscow’s assertiveness.

Soldiers from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina landed a little after 10 am CET (0900 GMT) at a snow-covered Vaernes airport near Trondheim, Norway’s third-largest city, where temperatures were reaching -2 degrees Celsius. US troops are to stay in Norway for a year, with the current batch of Marines being replaced after their six-month tour is complete.

A spokesman for the Norwegian Home Guards, who will host the Marines at the Vaernes military base, about 1,500 km from the Russian border, said the US troops will learn about winter warfare.

"For the first four weeks they will have basic winter training, learn how to cope with skis and to survive in the Arctic environment," said Rune Haarstad, a Home Guard spokesman. "It has nothing to do with Russia or the current situation."

In March the Marines will take part in the Joint Viking exercises, which will also include British troops, he added.

The Russian Embassy in Oslo did not immediately reply to a request for comment by Reuters on Monday.

It questioned the need for such a move when it was announced in October.

"Taking into account multiple statements of Norwegian officials about the absence of threat from Russia to Norway we would like to understand for what purposes is Norway so ... willing to increase its military potential, in particular through stationing of American forces in Vaernes?" it told Reuters at the time. A spokeswoman for Norwegian Ministry of Defence also said the arrival of US Marines had nothing to do with concerns about Russia.

However, in a 2014 interview with Reuters, Norway’s Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said Russia’s annexation of Crimea showed that it had the ability and will to use military means to achieve political goals.

US Marines land in Norway, irking Russia was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on January 17, 2017 and was last updated on January 17, 2017. This news story is related to Print/179735-US-Marines-land-in-Norway-irking-Russia/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "US Marines land in Norway, irking Russia" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/179735-US-Marines-land-in-Norway-irking-Russia. </s> Three hundred U.S. Marines arrived in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment angering their Arctic neighbour Russia.

This is the first time since World War Two that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there.

Before Norway joined NATO in 1949, it allayed Russian fears by pledging not to open its territory to foreign combat troops “as long as it is not under attack or threat of attack.”

The deployment comes just one week after thousands of US troops arrived in Poland to “support NATO’s Anti-Russian buildup” across Eastern Europe.

The US has had large quantities of military materiel pre-positioned in tunnels dug into Norway’s mountains, but until now, there were no troops.

The agreement for stationing the American troops will last for at least a year. The contingent that has come this week will be rotated in six months. The Marines will be hosted at the Vaernes base of the Norwegian Home Guards near Trondheim, Norway’s third-largest city.

The stated goal of the mission is to train the US troops in Arctic warfare.

“For the first four weeks they will have basic winter training, learn how to cope with skis and to survive in the Arctic environment,” said Rune Haarstad, a Home Guard spokesman, as cited by Reuters. “It has nothing to do with Russia or the current situation.”

In March, the Marines will take part in the Joint Viking exercises, which will also include British troops, he added.

Both Norway and the US deny the notion that the deployment is meant to irk Russia as part of NATO’s wider campaign to oppose what it calls “Russian aggression” in Europe, by sending additional troops and weapons closer to the Russian border.

A founding member of the alliance, Norway pledged not to host foreign forces to allay Moscow’s concerns that it could serve as a platform for a surprise attack. For decades the Scandinavian country stashed massive stockpiles of weapons in preparation for a possible conflict, but only allowed in other allies’ troops for training purposes.

Oslo dismisses the notion that the deployment goes against the old commitment, saying that American troops would be rotated rather than stationed permanently. NATO routinely applies the same reasoning to all its deployments in Eastern Europe as a way to circumvent the alliance’s agreement with Russia, which bans permanent deployments of “significant” forces near Russia.

The US Marine Corps touted the practical benefits of a full-time deployment as the reason for the move.

“We’ve been going to Norway for 25 years. So I don’t really know what the hype is about,” Maj. Gen. Niel Nelson, commander of Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, told Military.com ahead of the deployment. “We’re just doing our job, from a more economical standpoint. I don’t put a lot of stock in people pointing back and forth.”

“By putting Marines in Norway and above the Arctic Circle for 30-60 days at a time, that’s a whole different environment,” Nelson added. “You not only learn to survive, you are surviving. It’s a harsh environment; it takes a lot of tough lessons and we reinforce that by the length of time.”

When the rotational deployment of US Marines in Norway was confirmed last year, Russia said it was puzzled by it.

“Taking into account multiple statements of Norwegian officials about the absence of threat from Russia to Norway, we would like to understand for what purposes is Norway so willing to increase its military potential, in particular through the stationing of American forces in Vaernes?” the Russian embassy said at the time.

Norway and Russia share a small land border far in the north. The Vaernes base is located 1,500km from any part of Russia, but the Arctic training program involves traveling closer to it. </s> Oslo — About 300 US Marines arrived in Norway on Monday for a rotational deployment in the Scandinavian country, to neighbouring Russia’s dismay amid rising tensions with the West.

After leaving North Carolina aboard a chartered 747 on Sunday evening, the troops landed with their luggage and weapons at the trump airport near the central town of Trondheim, television footage showed. It is the first time since the Second World War that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there.

The deployment coincides with the US sending several thousand troops to Poland. </s> Some 300 US Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, have landed in Norway for a six-month deployment.

This is the first time since World War II that foreign troops have been allowed to station in Norway.

As tensions grow with Russia, the deployment signals a departure from the NATO member’s decades-old policy of not hosting foreign troops on its soil.

Shortly after the Obama administration began deploying American troops across Russia’s border in a number of countries, including Lithuania, some 300 U.S. Marines landed in Norway for a six-month deployment. Their Monday deployment marks the first time since World War II that foreign troops have been allowed to station in Norway.

The Marines will spend a year in total in Norwegian territory, and the current deployment will be replaced after their six-month service is completed.

Unsurprisingly, it’s doubtful Russia will view this move favorably. When questioned about the proposal to station U.S. troops in Norway in October last year, Russia questioned the motives behind such a move. As the Russian embassy in Oslo told Reuters:

“Taking into account multiple statements of Norwegian officials about the absence of threat from Russia to Norway we would like to understand for what purposes is Norway so … willing to increase its military potential, in particular through stationing of American forces in Vaernes?”

A spokeswoman for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense said the arrival of U.S. troops had nothing to do with concerns about Russia.

Clearly, that is not the case. In 2014, Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide told Reuters that Russia’s actions in Ukraine raised questions about NATO’s collective defense, stating, “[W]e are in a completely new security situation where Russia shows both the ability and the will to use military means to achieve political goals.”

Norway is Europe’s number two gas exporter after Russia and is a founding member of NATO. Despite this, relations between Norway and Russia have historically been good. In fact, the two countries were on track at the end of last year to strengthen ties even further after Norway and Finland revived economic and trade contacts with Russian ministers for the first time since the annexation of Crimea.

It is not in Washington’s interest to have a Europe that cooperates with Russia. Following the mainstream media’s dishonest hysteria over Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed more Americans now view Russia as a threat.

This fear-based mentality is exactly what the U.S. establishment wants as it allows the U.S. to encircle Russia with troops, tanks, and missiles while it keeps the military-industrial complex rolling.

Why would this be?

In a few days, Donald J. Trump will take the top seat at the White House. His unpredictability and admiration and respect for Russian President Vladimir Putin, coupled with his intentions to normalize relations with Russia, might mean the United States will lose a valuable scapegoat and enemy in global affairs. It could also mean the U.S. will have to accept defeat in Syria.

By deploying troops to Russia’s borders, including to countries Russia is set to renew relations with, the Obama administration is locking the incoming Trump administration into an anti-Russia policy he may not be able to back out of without perceivably abandoning America’s NATO allies in the region.
Three hundred U.S. marines arrive in Norway for a six-month deployment, becoming the first foreign troops in Norway since World War II. The marines will be stationed at Værnes Air Station in Stjørdal.