Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Russian Bombers Could Be Deployed To Cuba

Tu-160

From The Washington Post:

MOSCOW, July 21 -- Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons could be deployed to Cuba in response to U.S. plans to install a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, a Russian newspaper reported Monday, citing an unnamed senior Russian air force official.

The report in Izvestia, which could not be confirmed, prompted memories of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war after Nikita Khrushchev put nuclear missiles on the Caribbean island. The weapons were eventually withdrawn in an apparent Soviet climb-down, but President John F. Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry declined to comment on the report Monday, but did not deny it. Izvestia is often a forum for strategic leaks by Kremlin and other officials.

Read more ....

More News On Russian Bombers Being Stationed In Cuba

Russian military scoffs at Cuba refuelling report -- Reuters
Russia To Station Bombers In Cuba -- RTT News
Russian military "considering stationing bombers on Cuba" -- M & C
Putin to Meet Bush in Beijing After Missile Warning (Update1) -- Bloomberg
Russia's bombers fancy Cuba -- KP.RU(Russia)

My Comment: This is an intriguing story, but it is all bluff. The Russian military may be able to fly a plane or two to Cuba ..... but to keep a fleet of bombers there, service them, maintain them, keep soldiers there to protect the base .... they do not have the resources nor manpower to do this.

If Russia was able to do this, the U.S. government, the Pentagon, Congress, pundits .... everything will be crawling out of the woodwork condemning this move by Russia. But all I hear is chirping from the crickets.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It is possible to tell, this exception :)