US Marines Rush on Urgent Business Trip - Liepāja Rockers Say: 'Need More Guitars, Fewer Tanks'

Here we go again! The US is accelerating the deployment of 2,200 Marines to the Middle East, because apparently someone at the Pentagon decided the situation there wasn't complicated enough. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit from San Diego will hit the road earlier than planned, because as we all know, the best things in life happen spontaneously.

The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer and at least two additional ships are carrying these soldiers to a region where the heat is greater than in Liepāja during summer, but the conflicts are more complex than figuring out who was first to start singing 'Blow, Little Winds' in our rock capital. Liepāja rock music veterans comment between concerts on Putnu Street: 'Americans are going off to fight with weapons again, but we've known for ages - the best way to resolve conflict is to organize a rock concert. Everyone sings together, nobody fights!'

Several thousand US sailors will be deployed to a region where diplomacy often means speaking with a louder voice. While politicians in Rīga discuss peacekeeping from a safe distance, Liepāja is already planning the next rock festival, because our city knows - music unites nations better than any international treaties.

The only thing that truly worries Liepāja is that the American ships won't sail past our port. 'It would be interesting to see how they react to our sea storms,' says local fisherman Gunārs. 'But they probably don't have songs about the sea like we do.'