Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/493837
ByJariTannerand David Keyton The Associated Press AMARI AIR BASE, ESTONIA Russia is so close that the F-16 fighter pilots can see it on the horizon as they swoop down over a train- ing range in Estonia in the biggest ever show of U.S. air power in the Baltic coun- tries. The simulated bombs re- lease smoke on impact, but the M-61 cannon fires live ammunition, rattling the aircraft with a deafening tremor and shattering tar- gets on the ground. The four-week drill is part of a string of non-stop exercises by U.S. land, sea and air forces in Europe — from Estonia in the north to Bulgaria in the south — scaled up since last year to reassure nervous NATO al- lies after Russia's military intervention in Ukraine. U.S. and Russian forces are now essentially back in a Cold War-style standoff, flexing their muscles along NATO's eastern flank. The saber-rattling raises the specter that either side could misinterpret a move by the other, triggering a conflict between two pow- ers with major nuclear arse- nals despite a sharp reduc- tion from the Cold War era. "A dangerous game of military brinkmanship is now being played in Eu- rope," said Ian Kearns, di- rector of the European Leadership Network, a London-based think-tank. "If one commander or one pilot makes a mistake or a bad decision in this situa- tion, we may have casual- ties and a high-stakes cycle of escalation that is difficult to stop." With memories of five de- cades of Soviet occupation still fresh, many in the Bal- tic countries find the pres- ence of U.S. forces a comfort rather than a risk. In recent months, Esto- nia, Latvia and Lithuania have seen hundreds of U.S. armored vehicles, tanks and helicopters arrive on their soil. With a combined pop- ulation of just over 6 mil- lion, tiny armies and no combat aircraft or vehicles, the last time tanks rum- bled through their streets was just over 20 years ago, when remnants of the So- viet army pulled out of the region. The commander of Esto- nia's tiny air force, Col. Jaak Tarien, described the roar of American F-16s taking off from Amari — a former Soviet air base — as "the sound of freedom." Normally based in Avi- ano, Italy, 14 fighter jets and about 300 personnel from the 510th Fighter Squad- ron are training together with the Estonians — but also the Swedish and Finn- ish air forces. Meanwhile, Spain's air force is in charge of NATO's rotating air pa- trols over the Baltic coun- tries. In Moscow the U.S. Air Force drills just 60 miles from the Russian border are seen in a different light. "It takes F-16 fighters just a few minutes to reach St. Petersburg," Foreign Min- istry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said, referring to the major Russian port city on the Baltic Sea. He expressed concern that the ongoing exercise could her- ald plans to "permanently deploy strike aircraft ca- pable of carrying nuclear weapons at the Russian border." Moscow also says the U.S. decision to deploy armored vehicles in Eastern Europe violates an earlier agree- ment between Russia and NATO. NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero called those allegations "baseless" and said it is Russia that has breached the agree- ment through its actions in Ukraine. She said NATO's in- creased military presence in Eastern Europe "is rota- tional and well below any reasonable definition of substantial combat forces. All our measures are de- fensive, proportional and in line with our international commitments." Russia has substantially increased its own military activity in the Baltic Sea region over the past year, prompting complaints of airspace violations in Esto- nia, Finland and Sweden, and staged large maneu- vers near the borders of Es- tonia and Latvia. EUROPEAN SECURITY US, Russian war games rekindle Cold War tensions MINDAUGASKULBIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A U.S. military fighter jet participates in a NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission practice mission in the Tapa training area, some 43miles southwest of Tallinn, Estonia, on Wednesday. By Bradley Klapper and Matthew Lee The Associated Press WASHINGTON Snap back? Not so fast. The biggest enforcement provision in the prelimi- nary nuclear agreement with Iran is turning into one of the mostly hotly con- tested elements. And the de- bate barely involves Iran. Instead, it concerns the Obama administration's promise to quickly re-im- pose sanctions on Iran if the Islamic Republic cheats on any part of the agreement to limit its nuclear program to peaceful pursuits. This would be relatively straightforward for the sanctions imposed by the U.S., as Congress is eager to keep the pressure on. But it is far from clear whether President Barack Obama can guarantee such ac- tion at the United Nations, which has imposed wide- ranging penalties that all U.N. members must enforce. At present, there's no firm agreement to how orwhen to lift the sanctions in the first place. Ayatollah Ali Khame- nei, Iran's supreme leader, and President Hassan Rou- hani said Thursday they want all sanctions lifted on the first day of implementa- tion. That's not the position of U.S. and other negotiators, a major issue that still must be worked out. Assuming it can be, that still would leave the big question of possible re-im- position. The disagreement on this issue is between the U.S. and its European al- lies on one side, and Russia and China on the other — all countries involved in the nu- clear negotiations. And even though all six world powers and Iran agreed last week to the framework agreement that is supposed to be final- ized by June 30, the "snap- back" mechanism for U.N. sanctions remains poorly defined and may prove un- workable. "If Iran violates the deal, sanctions can be snapped back into place," Obama de- clared last week. He went further this week, saying that restor- ing the international sanc- tions would not require consensus among U.N. Se- curity Council members. And Energy Secretary Er- nest Moniz, who helped seal last week's pact, insisted "no one country could block the snapback." That assertion rests on an informal compromise reached at the talks in Lau- sanne, Switzerland, to by- pass the typical U.N. Secu- rity Council process if Iran breaks the agreement. Nor- mally in that body, any one of the five permanent mem- bers — the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China, which are all party to the Iran negotiations — can veto resolutions. But many questions re- main, including what would happen if two or more coun- tries object. Russia and China have traditionally opposed almost all U.N. sanctions measures, and, perhaps tellingly, neither country's foreign minister was present when the April 2 framework was unveiled. Washington and its ne- gotiating partners plan to suspend or lift many sanc- tions after the U.N. nu- clear agency confirms Iran has scaled back its activ- ity in accordance with a fi- nal deal. But the U.S. and its European partners want the capacity to quickly rein- state the restrictions if Iran reneges. The U.N. sanctions ban the transfer of nuclear and ballistic missile technology to Iran, freeze assets of com- panies and individuals in- volved in the country's ura- nium enrichment program, impose an arms embargo on Iran and sharply limit the international activities of Iranian banks. All are pen- alties the U.S. wants fully enforced if Iran doesn't comply with a final deal. The Obama adminis- tration is tossing around different ideas to ensure it can snap back the U.N. sanctions, though there are problems with all of them. One idea would put the burden on the U.N. Security Council. Rather than vot- ing to re-impose sanctions, it would have to vote to stop the automatic re-imposi- tion, officials said. Or, an ex- traordinary procedure could be created with the perma- nent, veto-holding members voting by majority. Russia and China are unlikely to accept any pro- cess that sees them sacrifice their veto power. And they could block any plan with Iran that would leave them powerless to stop majority votes by the U.S. and its Eu- ropean allies. In each scenario and oth- ers, the final agreement will include "automaticity," the sense of sanctions return- ing automatically, a senior U.S. official said. That offi- cial and the others weren't authorized to speak publicly on the deliberations and de- manded anonymity. IRAN Snap back? Not so fast. Sanctions a big issue in Iran nuclear talks Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 737-5047 to find out how. ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. •DR.ASATO&DR.MARTIN • FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE CO. • WI N G S OLA R & W OO D EN ERGY • DOLLING INSURANCE • GUMM'S OPTICAL SHOPPE • OLIVE CITY QUICK LUBE • WA LM AR T • TEHAMA CO. DEPT. 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