4 ms·

According to the Latvian minister of defense, Inara Murniece, the adoption of the Law on State Defense Service is “[t]he Latvian response to new regional securi

According to the Latvian minister of defense, Inara Murniece, the adoption of the Law on State Defense Service is “[t]he Latvian response to new regional security challenges, and is aimed at strengthening all defense capabilities and developing comprehensive national defense service.” This has to be because of Russia, right?

sach1 3y ago
That's a safe assumption. I found this article an interesting take on Latvian defense policy: https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/06/latvias-new-state-defense-concept/ https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/06/latvias-new-state-defen...
- m0llusk 3y ago
  That is an interesting document. In particular, the focus seems to be on preventing Latvia from being suddenly and completely invaded as happened in all three Baltic states last time. This includes gear and forces dedicated to detecting enemy operations, relatively high tech gear and systems like anti air missile defenses, and also the capability to keep the government functioning such as fortification and relocation. One take away from all of this is that many of the actions being proposed for defense appear to be just as suitable for female service members as males. Operating detectors and signal scanners, staffing drones and anti air missile batteries, and keeping the government functional are all tasks that require awareness and training but not necessarily physical strength or robustness.
gumballindie 3y ago
Not only. A visibly weakened continental western europe, russia, turkey, discontent within the eu (ie austria increasingly resurgent), an increasing domestic risk, all pose a real threat to european stability. The situation is likely to blow up soon.
- jeltz 3y ago
  How is Western Europe weakened? Of anything the war in Ukraine showed the power of the European countries if they want something done.
  - codedokode 3y ago
    The following is true for many European countries: 1) citizens do not receive military training so they will be unable to defend the country in case of invasion 2) there is not enough weapon and ammunition 3) the border is not properly fortified and supervised, so it is possible to advance fast and capture large territory with a surprise attack, and it will be very difficult to take it back > war in Ukraine showed the power of the European countries No. The war showed that it is easy to capture large territory with a well planned surprise attack and it is difficult (or maybe even impossible) to take it back once there are trenches, minefields and other fortifications. Also the war showed that Europe is unable to provide necessary amount of ammunitions.
    - RandomLensman 3y ago
      A surprise attack on Ukraine - when and where did that happen? Russian troops were massing for quite a while.
      - codedokode 3y ago
        Probably people were thinking that it was a bluff and there would be no invasion. If you look at the map, most of the territory was captured in first days, and then, after Russia has built trenches and minefields it takes lots of resources and time to take back even a single village. So what we should learn from this is that if you want to take a land from some other country (for example: Finland, Sweden or any non-NATO country) then this "surprise attack" strategy is working. You advance 50-200 km into enemy's territory within several days while your enemy is unprepared and then entrench and now your enemy has to storm your well defended positions, go through the minefields, losing many times more soldiers and equipment than you. And you can just sit and wait until they exhaust and surrender. If you don't want that happening to your country then you should fortify your borders and build minefields and trenches first.
- RandomLensman 3y ago
  In what world is Austria resurgent? It has about zero power projection on its own.
- flohofwoe 3y ago
  Lol right, you forgot that evil Germany is starting to rearm and no doubt will soon invade Poland again /s
  - thfuran 3y ago
    Well that just goes without saying.
  - gumballindie 3y ago
    No need - see Germany has already achieved its goals by controlling the EU. Also who's going to supply the oil? This time Romania's run out of it, and Russia is not particularly keen.
saaaaaam 3y ago
It says in the previous paragraph that this is because of the war in Ukraine. So yes, Russia.
jalapenos 3y ago
Yes, just sounds more formal than "Russia prob gonna get us so let's get ready".
madspindel 3y ago
In Swedish Military we have this term about "Fiende Röd från Öst" (Enemy Red from the East). Definitely not about Russia.
- zogrodea 3y ago
  Thinking of Sweden-Russia relations reminded me of this (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/06/06/how-a-nondescript-tweet-sparked-a-huge-debate-on-swedish-hospitality https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/06/06/how-a-nondescr..., where people were mocking Sweden for not giving food to others’ kids who are guests. I seem to recall Swedish authorities followed up on the claim, checking if it’s propaganda from Russia, but they failed to find any links (their conclusion was that it’s wholly unconnected). Does anyone else rem this latter part as well or am I misremembering?

sach1 3y ago

That's a safe assumption. I found this article an interesting take on Latvian defense policy: https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/06/latvias-new-state-defense-concept/ https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/06/latvias-new-state-defen...

m0llusk 3y ago
That is an interesting document. In particular, the focus seems to be on preventing Latvia from being suddenly and completely invaded as happened in all three Baltic states last time. This includes gear and forces dedicated to detecting enemy operations, relatively high tech gear and systems like anti air missile defenses, and also the capability to keep the government functioning such as fortification and relocation. One take away from all of this is that many of the actions being proposed for defense appear to be just as suitable for female service members as males. Operating detectors and signal scanners, staffing drones and anti air missile batteries, and keeping the government functional are all tasks that require awareness and training but not necessarily physical strength or robustness.

gumballindie 3y ago

Not only. A visibly weakened continental western europe, russia, turkey, discontent within the eu (ie austria increasingly resurgent), an increasing domestic risk, all pose a real threat to european stability. The situation is likely to blow up soon.

jeltz 3y ago
How is Western Europe weakened? Of anything the war in Ukraine showed the power of the European countries if they want something done.
- codedokode 3y ago
  The following is true for many European countries: 1) citizens do not receive military training so they will be unable to defend the country in case of invasion 2) there is not enough weapon and ammunition 3) the border is not properly fortified and supervised, so it is possible to advance fast and capture large territory with a surprise attack, and it will be very difficult to take it back > war in Ukraine showed the power of the European countries No. The war showed that it is easy to capture large territory with a well planned surprise attack and it is difficult (or maybe even impossible) to take it back once there are trenches, minefields and other fortifications. Also the war showed that Europe is unable to provide necessary amount of ammunitions.
  - RandomLensman 3y ago
    A surprise attack on Ukraine - when and where did that happen? Russian troops were massing for quite a while.
    - codedokode 3y ago
      Probably people were thinking that it was a bluff and there would be no invasion. If you look at the map, most of the territory was captured in first days, and then, after Russia has built trenches and minefields it takes lots of resources and time to take back even a single village. So what we should learn from this is that if you want to take a land from some other country (for example: Finland, Sweden or any non-NATO country) then this "surprise attack" strategy is working. You advance 50-200 km into enemy's territory within several days while your enemy is unprepared and then entrench and now your enemy has to storm your well defended positions, go through the minefields, losing many times more soldiers and equipment than you. And you can just sit and wait until they exhaust and surrender. If you don't want that happening to your country then you should fortify your borders and build minefields and trenches first.
RandomLensman 3y ago
In what world is Austria resurgent? It has about zero power projection on its own.
flohofwoe 3y ago
Lol right, you forgot that evil Germany is starting to rearm and no doubt will soon invade Poland again /s
- thfuran 3y ago
  Well that just goes without saying.
- gumballindie 3y ago
  No need - see Germany has already achieved its goals by controlling the EU. Also who's going to supply the oil? This time Romania's run out of it, and Russia is not particularly keen.

saaaaaam 3y ago

It says in the previous paragraph that this is because of the war in Ukraine. So yes, Russia.

jalapenos 3y ago

Yes, just sounds more formal than "Russia prob gonna get us so let's get ready".

madspindel 3y ago

In Swedish Military we have this term about "Fiende Röd från Öst" (Enemy Red from the East). Definitely not about Russia.

zogrodea 3y ago
Thinking of Sweden-Russia relations reminded me of this (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/06/06/how-a-nondescript-tweet-sparked-a-huge-debate-on-swedish-hospitality https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/06/06/how-a-nondescr..., where people were mocking Sweden for not giving food to others’ kids who are guests. I seem to recall Swedish authorities followed up on the claim, checking if it’s propaganda from Russia, but they failed to find any links (their conclusion was that it’s wholly unconnected). Does anyone else rem this latter part as well or am I misremembering?