This report comes from The Debka Review:
Russian live missile fire air exercise near Alaska
DEBKAfile Special Report4 Oct.: Not since 1984, just before the fall of the Soviet Union, has Russia ventured to launch dozens of nuclear bombers for an exercise in which Tu-95 Bear bombers will fire live cruise missiles. Exercise Stability 2008 will take place Oct.-6-12 over sub-Arctic Russia, uncomfortably close to Alaska.
The exercise is part of a month-long war game described by Russian air force spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik as “practicing the strategic deployment of the armed forces including the nuclear triad.”
As part of the exercise, our sources reported exclusively on Oct. 1, that Russian ships armed with nuclear missiles will dock at Syrian ports Oct. 8, on the eve of Yom Kippur, before continuing to the Caribbean for joint maneuvers with Venezuela
If you didn't hear anything about this in the media, it's because the entire nation is distracted by the presidential campaign and the economic crisis. The downplaying of the Russian threat within the dialogue of the election is actually prudent - public statements or shoe-pounding will set a Cold War into high gear and make it harder to pursue other foreign policy strategies. The media's ignoring of these events, including:
- The Russian Navy's maneuvers in the Caribbean, also to include live fire missile drills
- Russian-Venezuelan military cooperation and sales of newest generation military tech to Syria, Iran and Venezuela, to name a few buying nations
- Russia's intentions to build a space complex in Cuba, a potential back door for military missile hardware and technology
- A large funding increase to allow Russia to complete the expansion and upgrades of GLONASS, their global satellite navigation system
- Suspected sales of S-300 anti-aircraft and anti-missile missile systems to Iran, to be used in defense of a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities
There are many reasons to suspect that Russia may have determined that their fastest route to economic strength and international relevance is to become a hegemonic power, in much the same that the United States did in the wake of the Spanish-American War and following World War II.
There will be more posts on this as additional events occur.
Cross-posted at Dancing with Bears.
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