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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Cuba, Venezuela may host Russian bombers |
| 2009-03-14 |
| testing our young O-president to see just how empty that suit is A Russian Air Force chief said Saturday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered an island as a temporary base for strategic Russian bombers, the Interfax news agency reported. The chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, also said Cuba could be used to base the aircraft, Interfax reported. The Kremlin, however, said the situation was hypothetical. of course it is - a trial balloon "The military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all," Alexei Pavlov, a Kremlin official, told the Associated Press. "If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," he said. Zhikharev said Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers," the agency reported. "If there is a corresponding political decision, then the use of the island ... by the Russian Air Force is possible." bring your own fuel Interfax reported he said earlier that Cuba has air bases with four or five runways long enough for the huge bombers and could be used to host the long-range planes. Two Russian bombers landed in Venezuela last year in what experts said was the first Western Hemisphere touchdown of Russian military craft since the end of the Cold War. what would we do with "experts"? Cuba has never permanently hosted Russian or Soviet strategic aircraft. But Soviet short-range bombers often made stopovers there during the Cold War. Russia resumed long-range bomber patrols in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus. Independent military analyst Alexander Golts said from a strategic point of view there was nothing for Russia to gain from basing long-range craft within relatively short range of U.S. shores. "It has no military sense. The bombers don't need any base. This is just a retaliatory gesture," Golts said, saying Russia wanted to hit back after U.S. ships patrolled Black Sea waters. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #16 Hola! Pls no rob me! |
| Posted by: Flagg 2009-03-14 21:35 |
| #15 Don't understimate the Russians. Hitler did. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-03-14 19:04 |
| #14 We need a blue ribbon commission and a menu to study it. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-03-14 18:14 |
| #13 Uncle Phester, that's what the Military thought about Japan in the 1930's. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-03-14 17:00 |
| #12 "If they did, I think we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America," said General Norton Schwartz said on July 23. Gee...another red line that will generate hand-wringing, maybe a U.N. intervention and, ultimately, Team PrezBO spinning a new whopper reaffirming his May 19 2008 statement reprising how Iran, Venezuela and Cuba are not real threats because they are "tiny countries." http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=12224#comment-415457 |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2009-03-14 16:36 |
| #11 exactly so |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-14 16:09 |
| #10 "Preview Is My Friend," OH. ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-03-14 16:08 |
| #9 "PIMF", Frank? I have a pretty good idea what the "MF" stands for but "PI"? |
| Posted by: Omesing Hitler6107 2009-03-14 15:58 |
| #8 "Don't do this and we won't offer your pilots and ground crews free vodka in exchange for your vital maintenance components." |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2009-03-14 14:22 |
| #7 They'd better bring a lot of spare parts ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-03-14 14:12 |
| #6 Answer "You don't do this and we don't shoot them down." |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-03-14 12:11 |
| #5 A classic Russian chess move. "Now what will you offer us in exchange for our not doing this?? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-03-14 11:45 |
| #4 I think those secret assasination teams headed up by Cheney ,issed one of their targets |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-03-14 11:15 |
| #3 Bush isn't working anymore. Maybe we can find him an F-102 and he can fly patrols in the Gulf again. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-03-14 08:22 |
| #2 "With" reads OK too. |
| Posted by: WTF 2009-03-14 08:08 |
| #1 er..."without". PIMF |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-14 07:10 |