Something is rotten in the state of Atropia. Neighboring Badaria has massed its troops on its western border with Atropia, and with 4,000 ethnic Badarians having formed an illegal militia on the Atropian side of the border, the Atropian government was increasingly nervous about a possible Badarian incursion. Amid escalating tensions, it was time to call for backup from the United Nations. On Thursday, U.S. and Russian brigades under UN authority pulled off a joint operation to secure the Atropian border zone and round up members of the illegal Badarian militia. A real, full-blown international crisis, or a sequel to the Hollywood black comedy "Wag the Dog"? Well, actually, it is neither. Atropia and Badaria are, of course, fictitious countries, and the operation was held at the Russian Army's well-known Vystrel training center 30 kilometers west of Moscow. It was part of the first-ever command post exercise by U.S. and Russian officers designed to practice the joint defense of a third country. The Torgau 2004 exercise, which began Monday and will run through Saturday, involves more than 100 officers from the Russian Ground Forces' Combined Arms Academy, the U. S. Army Southern European Task Force (Airborne) and the U.S. 7th Army Training Command.
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