 | SELF-PROCLAIMED: Like certain others, Pridnestrovie is merely a "selfproclaimed" state. This fact alone means that it is illegal, some say. [more] |  | | |  | TRANSNISTRIA was an artificial name used by Romanian fascists and Nazi Germany for the largest killing field in the Holocaust. Never a real name, it is not in use locally. [more] |
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Moldova and USA confirm closer military ties
Moldova and the United States will increase their military collaboration, says Moldova's Defense Ministry. The information comes after a two day visit by US Major General William Ingram to inspect military facilities in Moldova. At the same time, Pridnestrovie is seen by the United States as "one of the worst thorns in the side of Europe and NATO" and a barrier which stops NATO expansion towards the east.
U.S. Major General Bill Ingram, left, pledges collaboration with Moldova's Defense Minister Vitalie Vrabie (Official photo)CAHUL (Tiraspol Times) - Just ending a two-day visit by an American military leader, Moldova's Ministry of Defense reaffirmed its commitment to closer military collaboration with the United States.
A meeting on Wednesday between Moldova Minister of Defense Vitalie Vrabie and Commander of the National Guards of North Carolina (USA), Major General William E. Ingram was concentrated on the development of the bilateral cooperation between the Moldova National Army and the National Guards of North Carolina, Chisinau based news agency Infotag reported.
Moldovan Defense Minister Vitalie Vrabie praised his country's close cooperation with the USA, which according to the ministry "facilitates the process of the military reforms in Moldova." Moldova's Defense Minister went on the record and publicly stated that Moldova is interested in the further development of these relations.
In turn, U.S. Major General William E. Ingram thanked the Moldovan troops who participated in the war in Iraq. Moldova has been a long-time coalition partner in the American-led occupation of Iraq and still keeps sending soldiers to the wartorn country.
William Ingram also inspected the General Headquarters of the Moldovan National Army as well as Moldova's Dacia Infantry Brigade, stationed in Cahul, whose operative plans include a contingency for a possible future occupation of Pridnestrovie by Moldovan forces.
Moldova is eager to expand military ties with the United States. A cooperation agreement between the Moldovan National Army and the National Guards of North Carolina has been in force since December 1995.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense, the sides also discussed issues relating to the international and regional security. In the international area, Moldova has repeatedly sided with the United States and positioned itself as an opponent of Russian influence in Russia's near-abroad. In the regional sphere, Moldova has repeatedly expressed its desire to end the current format of the peacekeeping operation which has guaranteed the ceasefire between Moldova and Pridnestrovie for the last 15+ years.
The United States National Guard is a reserve forces component of the United States Army and the United States Air Force. It has a troop strength of just under 500,000 men. Troops for the current US-led wars are primarily drawn from the National Guard, whose members and reservists make up about 43 percent of all frontline fighting forces in Iraq and 55 percent in Afghanistan. National Guardsmen now comprise a larger percentage of frontline fighting forces than in any war in U.S. history.
- Pridnestrovie prevents NATO expansion
With a total of 816 km's of borders between Moldova and Ukraine, Pridnestrovie serves as a buffer against future NATO expansion towards the east and the north. Pridnestrovie, which is also known informally as Transnistria or Transdniestria, has great value as an "irritant to the US and the EU", said a Western official which was quoted anonymously in The Sunday Telegraph of London on 12 May 2007.
In the same article, a US State Department official also identified the unrecognized country as "one of the worst thorns in the side of Europe and NATO."
Earlier this year, Valeriu Plesca - a former Moldovan defense minister - confirmed his country's desire to join NATO, but the unresolved status of Pridnestrovie prevents Moldova from doing so since NATO will not accept members with ongoing or unresolved military conflicts.
Moldova has military cooperation with the United States. In 2003, Moldova and the US European Command signed a memorandum to establish a US Bureau for Military Cooperation in Moldova.
" - The bureau complements the bilateral military cooperation already in place between the United States and Moldova," said Moldova's former ambassador to the United States, Mihail Manoli.
The United States has trained and providing technical assistance to the Moldovan army. The collaboration with NATO increased after Donald Rumsfeld (as US Defense Secretary) personally visited Chisinau in 2004.
Moldova is a full member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, which is the first step to a membership in the military alliance. Under NATO-auspices, American forces participate in annual training exercises in Moldova which the United States pays for. The United States has funded Moldovan changes to upgrade its army to NATO standards, and in return Moldova actively supports the US invasion of Iraq. Moldova currently has uniformed soldiers in Iraq as part of the US-led occupation. (With information from Infotag)
See also:
» Moldova "bogus neutrality" draws fire from Transnistria
» Fears of new war as Moldova upgrades military capacity
» NATO wargames on Pridnestrovie's border criticized as "political blunder"
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