Worried about Russia? Lithuania says 'Keep calm and read the war manual'
"Keep a sound mind, don't panic and don't lose clear thinking," the manual explains. "Gunshots just outside your window are not the end of the world."
The manual, which the Defence Ministry will send to libraries next week and also distribute at army events, says Lithuanians should resist foreign occupation with demonstrations and strikes, "or at least doing your job worse than usual".
In the event of invasion, the manual says Lithuanians should organize themselves through Twitter and Facebook and attempt cyber attacks against the enemy.
...
It is increasingly worried about Russia, not least because of a military drill in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad last month that featured 9,000 soldiers and more than 55 naval vessels.
"The examples of Georgia and Ukraine, which both lost a part of their territory, show us that we cannot rule out a similar kind of situation here, and that we should be ready," Defence Minister Juozas Olekas told Reuters.
http://news.yahoo.com/worried-russia-lithuania-says-keep-calm-read-war-103856106.html
Evacuate or Get a Weapon If War Breaks Out, Lithuanians Told
When evacuating, people should secure food and water, stay away from armed troops, travel only in the daytime and use a white blanket to identify themselves as civilians.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2015-01-06/evacuate-or-get-a-weapon-if-war-breaks-out-lithuanians-told
Sounds like a good book with solid tips, on how to resist and survive foreign hybrid war invasion and occupation.
The manual isn't released yet, but from news reports it says:
* Evacuate or get a gun and stay inside
* Don't panic, keep a clear head, "gunshots outside the window aren't the end of the world"
* I tells citizens to resist the occupation, or at least "or at least doing your job slower"
* Organize the occupation resistance on twitter, and facebook
* If living under occupation, demonstrate and protest and go on strike
* If evacuating, secure food and water, travel by day, avoid troops, and wear a white blanket to identify as a civilian.
The Lithuanian government is going to distribute the manual to its military, the schools, and libraries.
My opinion?
This is making the USA look bad, and hurting our national security here at home. It's hard to believe they would do this, the Russians really would go into Lithuania next, but nobody thought it would happen in other places either and nobody predicted Ukraine.
If Russia can do this in a nato state, then Russia may feel emboldened to do things here in the US. More bomber incursions into our airspace. Possibly cyberattacks. More aggressive espionage.
Putin will always go as far as he is allowed to, so either draw that red line on nato's edge or you're just gonna have to draw it in Cincinnati. We'd rather it be over there, right?
You defend the West's frontier, on the frontier, so you don't get a cyberattack taking out your electrical grid at home and then total collapse of the USA from that.
If they can take a Lithuania, then our troops garrisoned all over the world would be under more threat. We'd be seen as a paper tiger. South Korea would be in danger, Taiwan, allies in the middle east.
Rather than our allies having to do publish occupation resistance manuals, maybe it would be better to avoid it all proactively -- move some US troops out of Germany and into Lithuania, as a garrison. And make it clear to Russia that they cannot invade that anymore than China or North Korea can invade South Korea or Taiwan.
Make it very clear that separatist state "little green men" hybrid war is not a clever legal loophole that's gonna work, for them, and we are not idiots and were not born yesterday.
Be firm, and clear. It's deterrence. It's worked for half a century now and kept the peace. Are we so sure that being unclear and weak is such a good idea and will somehow work better? Does it not invite more testing, on our allies on the frontier, and even here against us at home?
