British media are reporting Thursday morning that the UK will deploy troops, tanks and jets to Eastern Europe to deter feared Russian aggression. According to the reports, the troops will remain six months and then be replaced by a similar force from another NATO country. They say this is the biggest military build-up in Eastern Europe since the Cold War. The destination of the force is Estonia, one of three Baltic states (Estonia and Lithuania are the others) which fear that Vladimir Putin is a Stalin in disguise. They cite his intrusions into the Ukraine. Former prime minister Harper believed that Putin had covert ambitions if not a precise plan for extensions of power. It is not known where the present Canadian government stands on that type of thinking.
