US Military March Through Eastern Europe And Ukraine Cash Contribution To Clinton Foundation Gets Exposed
By Countercurrents.org
24 March 2015
Countercurrents.org
As U.S. military convoy pushes through countries in eastern Europe while cash contribution to Clinton Foundation gets exposed. Activists are protesting the U.S. military march.
An AP report said:
A U.S. army infantry convoy is driving through eastern Europe seeking to provide reassurance to a region concerned that the Ukraine conflict threatens its security.
The report said:
The U.S. "Dragoon Ride" convoy started its journey last week from Estonia and passed through Latvia and Lithuania before entering Poland on Monday.
The Warsaw datelined report said:
“Flying U.S. flags, dozens of Stryker and other armored vehicles from the 3rd Squadron of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment are driving down the roads on their way back to base in Vilseck, Germany. They took part in the Atlantic Resolve exercise that shows NATO's readiness to defend its members. They will stop in some Polish towns to meet local residents.
“The move comes at a time when Poland is stepping up its own defenses by calling thousands of reservists for urgent military training and by hosting major NATO and international exercises this year. Also Monday, Canadian and Polish troops held exercises at a test range in Drawsko Pomorskie, in the northeast.”
Poland, however, has bad memories of defense alliances with Britain and France that failed when Nazi Germany invaded in 1939.
The US army convoy rolled highway during the military exercise in Riga, Latvia on March 22, 2015. The US troops’ trek began on March 21.
Don’t throw tomato
Another media report said:
The Czech people were told not to throw tomatoes and eggs at a US military convoy. Fearing that protesters could stage “provocations”, the Czech government has instructed its military to protect the U.S. military convoy during its march through the country.
The Czech TV Nova broadcast a warning: Those found throwing egg and tomato may get up to three years if convicted. In case of skirmishes, offenders can expect to spend up to 3 years of prison, and serious violence may incur 10-year sentences for the perpetrators.
The Czech Army Press warned: If someone decides to sabotage the US operation, he or she would also face charges. “Sabotage and/or attacks including attempts to undermine defense capabilities are subject to imprisonment ranging from 8-12 years or forfeiture of property.
It is expected that the US military convoy will cross the Czech Republic between March 29 and April 1 on its way to a base in the Germany.
No tanks, thanks
Czech anti-war activists have launched the ‘Tanks? No thanks!’ campaign to protest the US Army convoy march. They say the military march is a “provocative victory parade” near the Russian border.
The U.S. procession has been labeled “an unnecessary and dangerously provocative military maneuvers, which only increase international tension” on the ‘Tanks? No thanks!’ page on Facebook.
The campaigners say the relocation of vehicles has been turned into “a victory parade” as the US convoy is expected to “organize activities to impress local residents with their military power.”
Besides creating public opinion through social networks, the activists have placed fake road signs, with a tank in a red circle and a red line though it, along the announced route of the U.S. military convoy
“We don’t want such vehicles from foreign armies coming here ever again,” said Tana Bednarova from the ‘World without Wars and without Violence’ organization.
Bednarova has also slammed the expansion of NATO to the east, saying that if the U.S. and its allies really “wants to create security in the world then Russia and China and all other countries of the world should be invited to join.”
Last week, the US military convoy march was authorized by the Czech government without any debate in the parliament.
Czech communists speaking out against the ride say it will only cause traffic jams and annoy locals.
The Stryker vehicles are usually transported by rail, but it was decided that they would take a ride through Eastern Europe to demonstrate U.S. commitment in the region.
Ukraine cash contribution to Clinton
Media reports from the U.S. said:
“From 2009 up to 2013, the year the Ukrainian crisis erupted, the Clinton Foundation received at least $8.6 million from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, which is headquartered in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, a new report claims.
“In 2008, Viktor Pinchuk, who made a fortune in the pipe-building business, pledged a five-year, $29-million commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative, a program that works to train future Ukrainian leaders “to modernize Ukraine.” The Wall Street Journal revealed the donations the fund received from foreigners during 2009-2014.”
The report said:
“Several alumni of the program have already graduated into the ranks of Ukraine’s parliament, while a former Clinton pollster went to work as a lobbyist for Pinchuk at the same time Clinton was working in government.
“Between 2009 and 2013, the very period when Hillary Clinton was serving as US secretary of state, the Clinton Foundation appears to have received at least $8.6 million from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.
“The Pinchuk foundation said its donations to the Clinton-family organization were designed to make Ukraine ‘a successful, free, modern country based on European values.’ It went on to remark that if Pinchuk was hoping to lobby the US State Department about Ukraine, ‘this cannot be seen as anything but a good thing,’ WSJ quoted it as saying.
However, critics have pointed to some disturbing aspects regarding the donations including the coincidence of the Ukrainian crisis, which began in November 2013, and the heavy amount of cash donations being made to the Clinton Foundation on behalf of wealthy Ukrainian businessmen.
“First, as already mentioned, Clinton was serving as the US secretary of state at the time that the donations to her family’s charity were being made. Although it is true that the Clinton Foundation refused donations directly from foreign governments while Clinton was serving in the Obama administration, the door remained wide open to donations from public citizens like Pinchuk, who has advocated on behalf of stronger ties between Ukraine and the European Union.”
The report added:
“Political connections in the Pinchuk family run deep. Not only did Viktor Pinchuk serve two terms as a Ukrainian parliamentarian, but his wife is the daughter of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.
“After being introduced to former US President Bill Clinton by Doug Schoen, a political analyst and pollster who has worked for both Clintons, Pinchuk and his wife began making donations to Clinton-family charities, WSJ reported.
“During Hillary Clinton’s time at the State Department, Schoen began work as a congressional lobbyist for the Ukrainian oligarch. Schoen defended his lobbying activities, saying there was no connection to Pinchuk’s hefty donations.”
The report said:
“Schoen said he and Viktor Pinchuk met on several occasions with Clinton aides including Melanne Verveer, a Ukrainian-American who holds membership in the influential Council on Foreign Relations, as well as the Trilateral Commission.
“The purpose of these meetings, according to Schoen, was to encourage the U.S. government to pressure Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovich to release his jailed political opponent, Yulia Tymoshenko.”
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