US tanks roll across Europe
“The last time that vehicles like this came to the Czech Republic, they were Soviet tanks coming to crush moves towards democracy in 1968. We don’t want such vehicles from foreign armies coming here ever again,” ‘World without Wars and without Violence’ member Tana Bednarova said according to ‘RT News’. Czech anti-war demonstrators protested the convoy’s arrival by starting a ‘Tanks, No Thanks’ campaign.
A US military convoy is touring through Eastern Europe as part of a new exercise called “Dragoon Ride”.
“For those participating in it, Dragoon Ride is a unique opportunity,” US Army Europe spokesman Lt. Col. Craig Childs said to ‘Stars and Stripes News’.
Military officials aim to demonstrate commitment to America’s European allies as well as test their ability to move forces freely across the region.
“This is what the US Army does, we can move a lot of capability a long distance,” Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said to ‘Defense News’.
“I’ve been watching the Russian exercises … what I cared about is they can get 30,000 people and 1,000 tanks in a place really fast. Damn, that was impressive.”
The convoy was received with open arms in Lithuania, but received some pushback in the Czech Republic, where officials warned of harsh penalties to deter protesters.
“If (the incident) causes serious injuries, the attacker can receive a sentence of up to 10 years,” Czech television station TV Nova said according to ‘Russia Insider’, which also warned of prison sentences for anyone throwing tomatoes or eggs at the tanks.
