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Responsibility Zones

The USA has divided the world into responsibility zones for its five regional military Headquarters - Atlantic, Pacific, Southern, European and Central. Four functional Headquarters - space, transport, strategic and special operations - assist the regional ones in their supervision of the territories. (Kommersant - Vlast No. 8, March 10, 1998).

The CIS territory is also subject to this supervision. Previously a series of international military exercises was conducted in the immediate vicinity of the Russian borders: "Sea Breeze-97" in the Crimea, "Baltic Battalion- 97" in the Baltic Area, "Central Reconnaissance Battalion -97" in Central Asia. In each case landing operations against armed separatists with the subsequent taking over of the most important communications were carried out. 

Two of the nine groups of the US Armed Forces will keep an eye on the CIS territory (Kommersant, February 28, 1998). Since October 1, 1998 Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and the Transcaucasus have been included into the responsibility zone of the troops deployed in Western Europe (with their headquarters in Stuttgart, FRG). From October 1, 1999 the whole region of Central Asia will come under observation of the highly mobile force of the Central Command (General Anthony Zinni). The combat infrastructure of the command is deployed in the area of the Persian Gulf, and the personnel are positioned on US territory (Tump, Florida). The Caspian zone comes under supervision of the Central Command, while the European Command are bound to maintain order at the communications, connecting the Caucasus with the West. The Supreme allied Commander of US Forces in Europe Wesley Clark has extended the influence of his group to the whole territory of the Republic of Belarus as far as the borders of the Smolensk region. The independent Ukraine has established the pro-American Chernigov Command on its border with Russia. The Americans are planning to create a system of deployment bases for the armed forces along the Arch from Lvov up to Tien Shan.

Why hasn't the territory of Russia been taken under supervision of one of the commands of the US Armed Forces? Russia is still too powerful and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, i.e. the US General Staff, will see to it. Of course, it can be explained by the possession of nuclear forces by Russia. Russian military experts presume that there are strategic plans for dividing the territory of Russia into responsibility zones. The Russian zone is probably allotted to the three US regional commands: European (territory as far as the Urals), Central (Western Siberia), Pacific (Eastern Siberia and the Far East).

At present, however, the main orientation of the US anti-Russian policy is to separate Russia from its immediate neighbourhood.