Back in the “day” when the Cold War was cold and the western military had to maintain interceptor capabilities on short alert to escort Soviet bombers through or alongside territorial waters, it was a looked at as a fairly routine evolution.
Today, though, the below article raises some eyebrows. This sort of activity has not been seen in years. Is it an increasingly militarily-moribund Russia trying to raise some hackles? It might be instructive to remind Vladimir of what Pres Bush said a short while ago — The cold war is over! We won!
British Fighter Jets Scrambled as Russian Bombers Approach Airspace
LONDON
Fighter planes from Britain and Norway scrambled on Friday to keep watch on Russian bombers that were approaching the countries’ air space, officials said.
The incidents occurred amid high tensions between Britain and Russia, as each country ordered the expulsion of four diplomats from the other side. There was no indication that the fighter plans were connected to the row.
Norwegian military spokesman Lt. Col. John Inge Oeglaend told The Associated Press said his country’s F-16s were sent into action twice: once when two Russian Tu-95 bombers headed south along the Norwegian coast in international air space. They turned around above Aberdeen on Scotland’s North Sea coast.
In the second, two Tu-160 bombers were spotted flying near Norwegian air space over the Barents Sea, he said.
Oeglaend characterized the incidents as routine and but said it was a “bit unusual that the first two bombers went so far south.” Aberdeen’s latitude is about 50 miles below the southern tip of Norway.
Russian Air Force spokesman Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky said British and Norwegian planes approaching bombers on training flights were a “normal occurrence.“
A spokesman for Britain’s Royal Air Force said he had no immediate information on the reports. British media earlier reported that RAF planes had approached Russian bombers on Tuesday as they headed toward British air space.
Britain on Monday ordered four diplomats to leave as punishment for Russia’s refusal to extradite the man named by Britain as the chief suspect in last year’s killing in London of ex-Russian security officer-turned-Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko.
Russia on Thursday ordered four British diplomats to leave in a reciprocal move.
That response appeared to indicate that neither side wished to escalate the tensions further. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed confidence the nations would overcome their differences.
Didn’t Gorbachev say something about glasnost being cosmetic and letting the US become complacent?
Russian foreign policy is crass. This was purposeful, cheap and dumb, since it didn’t really prove anything.
“It might be instructive to remind Vladimir of what Pres Bush said a short while ago — The cold war is over! We won!“
But Bush also said Mission Accomplished in Iraq…anyone who thinks that Russia has no military capability is dreaming.
Folks can say what they want, but what Jack Van Impe states on Jack Van Impe Presents: World News and Bible Prophecy about Russia looks like it will come to fruition.
Here is a thought, Russia doesn’t agree with us on Iraq. But our forces seem to be fighting a lot of Russia’s biggest nemeses, the Chechens. This being the case, I would ally with and assist the US just to remove this “Terroristic Cancer” from my country by fighting it virtually any where and by making it, “my enemy’s enemy is my friend” type situation.
“If I were Russia i would worry about China Not us“
We do worry about China, we are not so stupid as you might think. That’s why our bombers have training flights in the East too.
As for Brits, I didn’t think they are this dumb. They asked to change our constitution or “read it in a different way”. They just expose their knowledge of law.… none. Do we need to explain that changing the constituion is time consuming process and should be done only in a dire need.
Is it the case now?
Picking brains picking the pockets of the west is maybe what any underdog country would have to do to vamp up. Once there were maybe 6 subs ordered by China. Now , there might be 10. Foreign military assets research nearly every aspect of their study. The WTO is going to give billions in food subsidies to Russia. Armaments sales make money. The hardware is used to quell populations. Armament sales come from many countries. Once , the Krupp corporation sold arms to both the French and the Germans ; who wared against each other. Pure business. Pure profit. No friends…all business. Fortunately , The Masters of The Universe ( world bankers ) have enabled American democracy to flourish. In the future , if China and Russia ever hit the top on the list of a bankers most favored… American government with its superior weapons might be left behind. What if China ever became the mega consumer nation 1st place on earth ? It could buy all the modern war technology ( the best toys ) at an outpaced pressure against all comers and competitors. China recently moved ahead of Germany as an economic power. Religious factions believe they can out multiply the populations of Europe and the rest of the world. Anyone , who doesn’t bow may be exterminated? Russia once produced more steel than any other nation on earth. The Mountains in Russia are rich in minerals. Russia was once the number 1 producer of gold in the world. Russia might claim all of the Arctic , its minerals, gas and oil as part of their sovereign domain. When command systems in Russian and Chinese government decide to spend like a wounded bull on a project ; vast wealth can be funneled into projects in an unrestricted manner. Whoever controls the riches of Russia ( and they are vast ) will be governing Russia. When a nations debt ratio is low and their wealth potential is rich… platinum , chromium, molybdenum , uranium , nickel… natural gas and oil…you have the potential of rising up from the ashes of a restrictive command system of communism. If we can marry western business with Russia and China ; the west might become so interdependent that war might be futile and counter productive for all parties involved. One time the world thought Japan would never try to take on the big dogs. People would say Japan made cheap and shoddy toys…the west underestimated Japan.. they could have never been so wrong as to believe an oriental nation was lilliputian. I don’t think Putin is a lily. I think he is shrewd ‚smart and brilliant. In a dog eat dog world would it be harmful to embrace Russia and draw her into the 21 st century ? Young Bush has extended the olive branch of friendship to Russia. The WTO will give billions in peace dividends of food subsidies to Russia. The corporate world is counting on making money out of India and China. Hopefully , survivorship will be codependent on our friendship and vice versa.