By SEAN CARNEY
People welcome soldiers of the U.S. Army arriving in Ruzyne barracks during the “Dragoon Ride” military exercise in Prague March 30, 2015. REUTERS/David W Cerny
A surge of Anti-American messages from the Kremlin has failed to catch on in the Czech Republic, where locals aren’t shunning visiting U.S. troops as forecast by Russian media but instead coming out in droves to welcome them.
The American convoy is passing through the country on its way back to Germany as it wraps up Operation Dragoon Ride, a multi-day tour of the Baltic nations, Poland and the Czech Republic.
The overwhelming support from Czechs, which was somewhat unexpected, is dampening concerns among Western leaders that the Czechs were moving closer to Moscow’s orbit. “The whole entire way there have been people along the roads, thanking us, waving to us,” Cpl. Tristan Miller of Iron Troop, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, told Stars and Stripes.
He said that he had been expecting far less support. “We see American flags all over the place. It’s been amazing, probably the highlight of my military career so far,” Mr. Miller said.
Several anti-NATO and anti-U.S. protests were announced by Czech pro-Russian organizations ahead of the convoy’s arrival.
The flames were fanned by Kremlin-sponsored television and Internet sites such as RT and Sputnik News, which generated a wave of stories saying Czechs were strongly against foreign troops entering the country and likening the convoy’s visit to a foreign occupation.
Some Western diplomats have worried that Prague was out of step with the European Union’s opposition to the Kremlin’s recent incursions into Ukraine and other nearby countries. The left-leaning Czech coalition government has been restrained in its criticism of Moscow. President Milos Zeman has drawn criticism for calling the Ukraine conflict a civil war, downplaying any Russian involvement, and for his plans to attend a Moscow military parade in May.
“I do think the symbolism [of him] probably being the only EU head of state standing on a platform reviewing a [Russian] military parade at a time when that military is destabilizing a European nation…is not really a good message to send,” Andrew Schapiro, the U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, told Czech television Monday.
Yet ordinary Czechs, some wary of being labeled Russophiles, have become active in voicing support for their fellow members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Czechs have come out by the thousands in recent days to wave American flags and offer the troops Czech beer and cakes.
Lukas Hurt, a translator from the small town of Ceska Trebova, said he was happy to see the warm welcome for the U.S. troops and proud that regular Czechs were standing up to the Russian provocation.
Social media since have been abuzz since Sunday with photos of Czechs smiling for the camera with American service men and women, juxtaposed against older photos of the violent Moscow-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Czech defense minister Martin Stropnicky said Tuesday Russia’s anti-Western propaganda has backfired, leading to increased support for NATO.
On Tuesday, some of the American soldiers will visit the city of Pilsen, or Plzen, to pay homage to American soldiers who died freeing the western part of Czechoslovakia in 1945. Also Tuesday, a concert fwith a range of Czech musical legends will accompany a public gathering at the Prague military base that is hosting the U.S. troops.
The troops return Wednesday to their base in Germany.
Filed under: Information operations Tagged: #RussiaFail, #RussiaLies, Czech Republic
