British Tanks Roll on Channel Tunnel Test Run Amid Trump, Russia Fears

LONDON — Tourists know the Channel Tunnel as the undersea railroad that allows cheap and easy trips from Britain to mainland Europe.
But in the dead of night this week, Britain's military sent five tanks down the 30-mile "Chunnel" to test whether it would be an effective route for forces if deployed to places such as Eastern Europe amid tensions between Russia and NATO.

British Tanks Roll on Channel Tunnel Test Run Amid Trump, Russia Fears 170119-channel-tunnel-ok-1007_8fa1d75704d05764d73f8abd8e93b20f.nbcnews-ux-600-480

British Tanks Roll on Channel Tunnel Test Run Amid Trump, Russia Fears 170119-channel-tunnel-ok-1007_8fa1d75704d05764d73f8abd8e93b20f.nbcnews-ux-600-480

The fact that Wednesday's exercise came two days before President Trump's inauguration appears coincidental; the British army told NBC News the test had been planned for a year.

Quote :: .@BritishArmy moving tanks through Channel Tunnel in long-planned test tonight – means we can move kit by rail as well as sea & air. pic.twitter.com/cjj4LMsq7x
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) January 17, 2017

But the potential need to fast-track forces to the Russian front served as a reminder of how seriously Washington's allies in Europe perceive the threat on their doorstep.
These allies have traditionally felt that Washington has their back, something thrown into doubt by Trump cozying up to Moscow and branding NATO "obsolete" earlier this week.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said these remarks caused "astonishment" and "agitation" across the continent, and NATO members are now facing a future where they may no longer be able to rely on Washington.
"We cannot trust Trump to take care of [Europe's] security," said Josef Braml, a transatlantic expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. "If Trump cuts a deal with Putin, then maybe there will be fewer tanks, American tanks, on European soil and we should prepare for that scenario.

Trump's comments this week came after he suggested during his campaign that he might not honor NATO's central tenet that an attack against one member state would be seen as an attack against all.
"It's certainly freaked people out," according to Alexander Lanoszka, an expert in American foreign policy at City, University of London. He said Trump's comments have brought European concerns about an emboldened Russia "into sharp focus."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/british-tanks-roll-channel-tunnel-test-run-amid-trump-russia-n708856
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British Tanks Roll on Channel Tunnel Test Run Amid Trump, Russia Fears

British Tanks Roll on Channel Tunnel Test Run Amid Trump, Russia Fears

Anarcho-Capitalist Categorical Imperatives

Via AnCaps: Law & Enforced Unnatural Order