Monday, July 8, 2013
Russian troops to "protect" Washington, DC area
The European Union Times and the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry have announced that Russian troops, at the invitation of the occupant of the Oval Office, will come to American soil to police natural disasters and provide security at events such as the Super Bowl.
On June 25, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry signed an agreement to exchange "experts" during joint rescue operations in major disasters. The EU Times translates this agreement into Russia providing some 15,000 troops to keep the peace in FEMA's Region III, which includes Washington, DC, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The Russia news agency Itar-Tass reported June 26, "EMERCOM spokesperson Irina Rossius told Itar-Tass, "The delegations expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the RF and the US in the prevention and elimination of the aftermath of emergencies, and agreed to develop it with a with a view to responding effectively to all kinds of calamities." The sides also approved a working plan for Russia-US cooperation in this respect for the 2013-2014 period.
The Plan presupposes the sharing of experience, including that in the fields of monitoring and prediction of emergencies, the training of rescuers, the development of rescue business, and ensurance of security during mass events."FEMA has nothing on its website except a picture of FEMA and Russian officials meeting. The EU Times reported on June 27: "An unsettling report prepared by the Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) circulating in the Kremlin today on the just completed talks between Russia and the United States in Washington D.C. says that the [sic White House] has requested at least 15,000 Russian troops trained in disaster relief and "crowd functions" [i.e. riot control] be pre-positioned to respond to FEMA Region III during an unspecified "upcoming" disaster."
Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, however, quoted an unnamed FEMA spokesman saying there will be "no exchange of security or military personnel" under the partnership.Russia's EMERCOM website has three releases about the FEMA meeting speaking of documents being signed, but there are no texts of those documents.
Sources: FEMA photo of meeting with Russia in Washington, DC: http://www.fema.gov/photolibrary/photo_details.do?id=42702Russian Emergency Situations Ministry: http://en.mchs.ru/news/item/434203/EU Times story: http://www.eutimes.net/2013/06/obama-requests-15000-russian-troops-for-upcoming-disaster/
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