Russian Nuclear Bombers Returning to Their Old 'Cold War' Patrols
Once again we have the Bush administration to thank for this madness
See Reports from CNN and the UK Independent
This is what many of the hawks in the Bush administration have wanted, a resumption of hostile relations with the Russians. This serves to benefit the Defense industries of Both countries.... (both countries having political leaders with ties to the defense industries in their respective nations.... a terrible conflict of interest in my opinion).
Russian Bombers have been intercepted near Norway, Iceland, Alaska, Guam and various other locations in recent years...with some of these incidents occurring within the past few months. This is part of a larger trend of troubling Russian foreign policy. Within the past few weeks, the Russians attempted to lay claim to parts of the resource rich North Pole (an area that could be the spark for future conflict). Russia has also refused to cooperate with the British in the murder investigation of former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko, appeared to have abandoned a European Security Treaty regulating troop strength near its border with NATO, has threatened Russian dissidents in foreign countries, has used its oil resources for political leverage and to intimidate other nations, has pledged to expand its military and to return to Soviet glory, and seems to be forming a military alliance with China, among other troubling moves.
The biggest problem with these bomber flights is that they could easily lead to a miscalculation or an accident. Many from the current generation of Russian & American pilots are not used to the protocols and the interactions that were common as part of the cat and mouse activities during the height of the Cold War... increasing the risk for a mistake.
The Russians have been antagonized & disrespected by the last two U.S. Presidents, and they are now more than happy to meet the U.S. halfway in any resumption of Cold War activities.
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4 comments:
You blame Bush for this yet you spend most of the posting telling us how Russia isn't co-operating with the British on the mysterious poisoning of one of their own in London, you tell us how Russia has been provoking people left and right. Could it be Bush has NOTHING to do with it? mmmm could be you have just an anti-Bush animus. Face it, it isn't Bush that is causing this, (god knows he can screw up a lot of things) it is just Putin playing the tough guy, which he loves to do. Put the blame where it belongs, not on some Anti-Bush agenda because that is what people want to hear....
THE WHOLE WORLD IS IN A KNOT,WE HAVE BEEN THE TARGET OF ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY THAT IS AGAINST FREEDOM.THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT WANT NOTHING MORE THAN TO KILL AMERICANS BECAUSE OF THAT.EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THE FREEDOM TO LIVE,NOT TO KILL.THERE WILL ONLY BE PEACE WHEN WE ARE ALL FREE OR ALL DEAD.WHICH DO YOU THINK IS PREFERED.
Perhaps you have been living under a rock since the last days of the Soviet Union. Bush (& Clinton) policy or lack of policy with Russia has led to distrust, and the overall poor relationship between the two countries.
The massive expansion of NATO which continues to move east into former Russian controlled territory, the abandoning of the ABM Treaty by the United States, The attack on Yugoslavia in 1999, the rampant U.S. military aggression around the world and the chest pounding & bullying that has gone along with it, and basically the unwillingness by the U.S. to listen to Russias concerns, whether in the UN or through country to country ties.... all has led to the present situation.
The U.S. also failed to make an effort (when it had the chance) to really improve relations after the fall of the Soviet Union, and to support Russias move towards a market economy and a more democratic system. The UN and the U.S. failed to provide the support they needed.
This caused the Russian people (who expected to see their lives improve quickly) to distrust Democracy... So it's no surprise now that people there are actually open to the current backslide...and they are not protesting in huge numbers.
Also, the constant taunting by the U.S. over the years has led the Russian people to resent our country and to support strong-men like Putin in their own country.... they support any candidate who would stand up to the U.S. and talk tough and bring back aspects of old Russia.
U.S. policy has contributed a great deal to the situation inside Russia today.
TheeAI: "This caused the Russian people (who expected to see their lives improve quickly) to distrust Democracy... So it's no surprise now that people there are actually open to the current backslide...and they are not protesting in huge numbers."
This has hardly been a natural process. There are democracy-demanding leftists, but they've been persecuted by the government, shut out of the television and print media, their parties outlawed by the courts, and beaten in the streets when they've protested.
And if you've missed that drama, you can read about some of it by googling 'Other Russia' or 'Russia Republican Party.' Here's The Guardian on March 24:
Supreme court ban on liberal party wipes out opposition to Putin
· Republicans accused of violating electoral law
· Protest rally planned amid fears of a police state
"Russia's next parliament is likely to have no genuine opposition after a court in Moscow yesterday banned a leading liberal party from standing in elections.
Russia's supreme court announced that it had liquidated the small Republican party, claiming that it had violated electoral law by having too few members. The party is one of very few left in Russia that criticises President Vladimir Putin.
The move against Russia's opposition came as pro-democracy activists prepared for the latest in a series of anti-government rallies that have infuriated Russia's hardline authorities."
You know how the rest of the article goes.
Meanwhile it's more of the same 'feeling their oats' chuckling from Bush and Co. Pardon me for not getting the joke that's being played on 150 million people in a former superpower. Rather than demand democratic principles be pursued, it appears they see the Russians romantically as the only other 'bros' who managed to survive that shenanigan-filled hell week we call 'The Cold War,' and what happens behind the new curtain stays there.
These paranoid Russian econo-garchs are the same savages who, in addition to politically railroading the Russian 'Supreme Court' and dispatching police to beat down capital-wide protests in Moscow, banned gay pride parades. Heck, just beat and arrested gays and accompanying civil rights protesters--after they let the neo-Nazis soften them up first, of course (http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/
article/0,,2089413,00.html).
This is yet another indicator that Bush is out of his depth on the world stage, but it's not unexpected given his obviously disastrous pursuit of war in Iraq.
Every marginal and cauliflower-eared pug wants to roll back the clock to a time when they actually knew who the enemy was and could still manage to land a couple punches. The Middle East is like a mixed-martial-arts mess to Bush, of course he'd welcome a familiar enemy.
If it destabilizes the world or brings back nightmares of Armageddon, well, hey, who're you gonna vote for to defend you? Right, another Republican. So why should he bother?
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