NATO gathers 50,000 troops in Norway for biggest military exercises since Cold War end

Some 50,000 troops will kick off NATO’s biggest military exercises since the Cold War on Thursday in Norway. Trident Juncture 18, which runs until November 7, is aimed at “training the Alliance to mobilize quickly to defend an ally under attack.” The head of NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command, US Navy Admiral James Foggo, said the exercise was intended to “show NATO is capable to defend against any adversary,” AFP reports. “Not a particular country, anyone,” Foggo added. Russia, which carried out its biggest ever military exercises in September in the Far East, has not been officially identified as the intended adversary. “Russia doesn’t represent a direct military threat to Norway,” said Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen. While the exercises will take place at a distance from Norway’s 198-km border with Russia in the Arctic, Russia has expressed anger over the maneuvers.