Russia Needs Bombers In Cuba Due To NATO Expansion - Ex-Commander

Source: RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - The possible deployment of Russian strategic bombers in Cuba may be an effective response to the placement of NATO bases near Russia's borders, a former Air Force commander said on Monday.

Russian daily Izvestia earlier on Monday cited a senior Russian military source as saying that Russian strategic bombers could be stationed again in Cuba, only 90 miles from the U.S. coast, in response to the U.S. missile shield in Europe.

"If these plans are being considered, it would be a good response to the attempts to place NATO bases near the Russian borders," Gen. of the Army Pyotr Deinekin told RIA Novosti.

"I do not see anything wrong with it because nobody listens to our objections when they place airbases and electronic monitoring and surveillance stations near our borders," the general said.

However, Deinekin said the possibility of Russian bombers being stationed in Cuba is largely hypothetical, because Russia's Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers are both capable of reaching the U.S. coast, patrolling the area for about 1.5 hours, and returning to airbases in Russia with mid-air refueling.

Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans last August, following an order signed by former president Vladimir Putin. Russian bombers have since carried out over 80 strategic patrol flights and have often been escorted by NATO planes.

Deinekin suggested that Cuba could be used as a refueling stopover for Russian aircraft rather than as a permanent base, because the Russian political and military leadership would be unlikely to take such a drastic step under current global political conditions.

Read more: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080721/114527149.html

Cuba?

Just let them Ruskies try and bomb Miami and get away with it...


oh...........nevermind

Criminal stupidity on the part of Bush.

Did you know that the Rus were initially nordic peoples who settled around Muscow and formed a pact with the locals that they would use their military expertise to protect them so long as they accepted a sort of vassalage. I see that the same sort of arrangement continues to today eh? And here in our country as well "Serve as our slaves and we will protect you from the baddies.... by sending your children off to die, but still you will be protected."

Terra terra terra.

Moscow was first mentioned centuries after the Varangians, and was a dinky trading town, and was insignificant.

Kiev, you mean. Which is to say, current Ukraine.

At the time of the Varangians, the area around Moscow would have been occupied by the Golendi, i.e., Balts.

I wonder what * would say if Russia proposed putting a missile defense system in Cuba or Venezuela.

1. Cuba and Venezuela are less important to Russia than Europe is to us.
2. Only the US has the blank checkbook and tradition of corporate welfare for defense industries to waste money on faith-based missile defense systems.
3. They're not stupid.

Realize that the BFEE and friends WANT Russia to do things like base bombers in Cuba. It's awfully hard to justify big-ticket items in the Pentagon budget since the end of the Cold War; the "war on terra" doesn't drive multibillion dollar R&D projects the way the Red Menace once did.

For them, the years of MAD were the "good old days"

And I wouldn't be surprised if China joins in also. This along with bostering a new latin block more friendly to them than the US (who it sees as a enemy now). Thanks a lot Bush for restarting a new cold war.