A Russian Su-24 fighter jet buzzes the USS Donald Cook, a guided-missile destroyer, on April 12 in the Baltic Sea. (Photo: U.S. Navy/Sipa USA/Newscom)
KYIV, Ukraine—As the NATO-Russia Council prepared to meet for the first time in almost two years, U.S. and Russian officials traded barbs over who’s to blame for a recent spike in military tensions.
The ambassadorial level meeting set for Wednesday at alliance headquarters in Brussels was to be the first time the format, which comprises NATO and Russian officials, has been convened since June 2014.
Looming over the talks are provocative Russian warplane intercepts. These include a pair of Russian Su-24 fighter jets that buzzed within 30 feet of the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea on April 11 and 12, and a Su-27 fighter jet that performed a barrel roll within 50 feet of a U.S. RC-135 spy plane April 14.
“These kinds of planned maneuvers are especially dangerous because they bring us very close to an unplanned accident,” a former Soviet fighter pilot told The Daily Signal.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: This is what happens when relations deteriorate, and the old rules on how to handle these incidents are being ignored/forgotten. And while Russian actions can be interpreted as being aggressive, U.S. actions .... such as parking a naval warship near a major Russian naval base .... can also be interpreted by the other side the same way.
9 comments:
Add to this unseasoned diplomats that were "brought up" in a world were the West, ie: Europe and the U.S., have had an easy time getting their way. Since the end of the Cold War things have gone generally unchallenged by the "winners" and today those spoiled diplomats don't know how to respond to "No". Compromise, empathy, and reflection have all become bad words. I'm no Quaker by any means, but simply not having things your way doesn't mean your challenger is automatically an enemy.
How would the U.S. respond to Russian and Chinese exercises in the Gulf of Mexico just outside the mouth of Tampa Bay? International waters or no.
You are exactly right Editor,
Parking an AEGIS equipped warship 70NM off of Kaliningrad and practicing attacks while their Polish vassals practice anti-submarine warfare against Russian boats, is most certainly a provocation. Just as openly supporting fascist regimes on Russia's borders with military equipment and promises of protection while they carry on with aggression towards Russia and Russian people in their borders. The "western" media continues to neglect telling us the whole story in the interest of spinning a tale of a Russian rogue state boogeyman out to take over (who would want them as other than de-populated buffer zones?????) Europe's hysterical eastern basketcases. Meanwhile the goverments of these states are continually permitted to hide their crimes before, during and after WW2 in favour of hollering loudly about Soviet atrocities. Never mind telling about the Soviet liberation of Jews in the east and their membership in the ranks of the partisans ---one of whom I knew personally--- in contradiction to those, like the Poles, who never grew tired of murdering them Jews, and the Ukrainian nationalists, who never got tired (even to this day) of killing anyone.
With people such as these on her borders, it is a wonder that Russia has displayed the restraint she has.
http://johnhelmer.net/?p=15464
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/03/baltic-far-right-eu
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007941
https://justice4poland.com/2015/01/01/massacre-of-poles-celebrated-in-new-ukraine/
And then there is this constant bull$#-+.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/24/russia-europe-news
Even if I think Obama is, in the end, a good willed man, many things in military and foreign policy escape from his hands.
He need to encounter again Putin in order to prevent similar incidents and define some rules in military affairs.
And give these rules to their successor.
The warmongers waiting for someone less good willed than Obama or with less steel nerves as Putin.
The situation of "who attack first is the enemy of the world" remain, but NATO as the only military alliance have many points of advantage.
Only China can tie the differences.
"70NM off of Kaliningrad"
This is the Baltic. It is not that big.
Poland is right next to Kaliningrad.
Any ship in Kaliningrad is less than 70 NM from Poland.
Now if this was 70 NM from Murmansk, I would call that a provocation.
My solution is for the PAO to be taking pictures of the ship they are stationed on with a drone.
Accidents happen.
Anzino,
Since the sucessful Aegis BMD tests of the early 'Aughts, Russia considerers every forward deployed Aegis Ship to be a deployed BMD System in violation of the New START Treaty and the LAST treaties.
According to Polish Media, the Cook wasn't engaged in "innocent passage", but instead, was exercising with the Polish Navy, practicing airial denial against Kalinigrad, while the Polish Navy ran ASW for the Cook.
If Russia deployed a BMD system to Cuba, the whole US would be freaking out.
BTW, video of a TU-16 Badger "buzzing" the USS Essex back in the '60's, then stalling out and crashing:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l3bijF2--os
USS Caron getting rammed by a Soviet ship in the Black Sea back in '88.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N4jQhnXrWbg
USS Yorktown getting rammed in the Black Sea again, (greatest hit's of the '80's)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SME4w037FgA
70NM and AEGIS equipped, performing mock attacks and ASW is obviously too close for comfort as far as the Russians are concerned. Given the context, they are not being unreasonable.
The U.S. and friends freak out when a Bear even approaches their airspace or if a "Russian" submarine is "spotted" a anywhere near their coasts. It's a double standard all the time.
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/canadian-fighter-jets-intercept-russian-bombers-in-arctic-1.2772440
https://www.rt.com/uk/314709-british-sub-trawler-russian/
Post a Comment