Former NATO Commander Warns of Putin's Next Move

According to former Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Wesley Clark,US Army retired,it looks to him as if the Russian armed forces are primed to take swift action against Ukraine.They have been modernised and have likely assured an eager Russian President Vladimir Putin that they can reconstitute part of the Soviet Union in short order if instructed to do so.And Russia has most recently accused the US and Ukraine of planning to use chemical weapons,which could be a pretext concocted to justify a Russian attack on Ukraine.The charge is blatantly false,since the US decades ago canceled its chemical weapons programme.* General Clark,speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer,suggested that Romania,a NATO Ally that borders Ukraine and is located in the Black Sea Region,be reinforced by air to protect against spillover of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.Russian troops,the former 14th Guards Army,illegally occupy part of NATO Partner Moldova,which also borders Romania.He believes the Russian buildup on Ukraine's borders is reaching the point where Russian forces cannot sustain their posture much longer.* Russia has recently made a number of demands that it knows NATO cannot accept,such as forbidding Ukrainian membership in NATO and refraining from deployment of NATO forces in Central and Eastern Europe.So the Kremlin seems to be fabricating a rationale for further aggression against Ukraine.* A senior Biden administration official rejected the demands: We will not compromise on key principles on which European security is based.* Asked by a journalist about Mr.Putin's red lines,President Joseph R. Biden had previously stated: I don't accept any red lines.*

In Tribute:Ambassador Richard Holbrooke

The man who symbolized American diplomacy for more than four decades,Ambassador Richard Holbrooke,has died from complications of epic surgery to repair his torn aorta,the main artery leading from the heart.Dr.Sanjay Gupta said the tear is typically caused by years of high blood pressure in men in their 50s and 60s.Mr.Holbrooke was 69,but had no intention of slowing down at an age when most have at least partially stowed their shingles.
Mr.Holbrooke was a significant associate of Democratic presidents from Lyndon B. Johnson to Barack Obama,beginning his career at the Saigon embassy in Vietnam,where he served from 1963-66.His greatest achievement was brokering the Dayton Accords in 1995,the peace treaty which ended the Bosnia War,but he also participated in the Paris peace talks that ended the Vietnam War and the reopening of relations with China.
A tough and demanding boss with a vast knowledge of history,Richard Holbrooke knew all the reporters by name and was quite open with them.A man of charisma and great intellect,the tall ambassador was described by those who knew him well as being larger than life and a force of nature who saw the U.S. as a force for good in the world.
Mr.Holbrooke held a number of posts,including Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia,Ambassador to Germany and U.N. Ambassador.His current title was Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan,but he was regarded as the architect of President Barack Obama's policy for that region and worked closely with General David Petraeus,commander of coalition forces in the Afghan War.
General Wesley Clark,U.S. Army Retired,said Richard Holbrooke epitomized everything great and good about U.S. diplomacy and the United States of America.He had a tremendous vision of what Europe was all about.He pushed for NATO alliance enlargement,shifting U.S. policy on the matter.He could always step back from a problem.He was an outstanding leader.We were in awe of what he delivered.