It is perhaps a little surprising that the Russian 'buzzing' of Guam, on Wednesday, has not been reported in the main US and UK media outlets.
Whilst the US appears to remain tight-lipped about the incident, the Russians have been a lot less retiscent. Unlike the unnamed US source in the previous blog, about UK forces in Basra, Major General Pavel Androsov has no such fear of having to remain incommunicado. He told a press conference in Moscow that "it was always the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet (US) aircraft carriers and greet (US) pilots visually," and that "yesterday we revived this tradition."
It has also been reported that last month RAF Tornado fighters were twice forced to scramble after Tu-95 bombers flew close to British airspace. These were the same type of large bomber, capable of delivering a nuclear device, that 'buzzed' Guam on Wednesday. So, what is the Russian game?
Flexing it's muscle ... undoubtedly. However, there is a serious message here that shows this more than 'sabre rattling'. At the beginning of August, Georgia was subjected to an air attack by Russia who also claimed the Arctic as its own that same week. How long will the international community stand idly by and allow Putin to 'strut his stuff' on the world stage.
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2 comments:
Mark
America has established a pattern of no meaningful response to overt communist moves since we dropped the bomb on the Japs. The only exception was JFK and the cuban crisis and it worked. He was a real warrior president. Reminds me of George II.
Ben,
The problem was that both were losers when it came to military action, albeit that the 'Bay of Pigs' was slightly less important than the loss of an entire sub-Continent.
And, to be fair, Korea and Vietnam were fairly substantial operations; although with little strategic success.
Oh, and Oliver North did try to oust the 'lefties' in Nicaragua ... not forgetting the CIA support of the Taliban in Afghanistan during the 1980s.
Maybe, these are all good examples for doing nothing meaningful! What do you think?
Best wishes,
Mark
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