4th Fleet: Russian bombers not a threat

4th Fleet: Russian bombers not a threat
By Alexandra Olson - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 12, 2008 13:25:28 EDT

ABOARD THE KEARSARGE — The commander of the Navy’s 4th Fleet says his forces will keep an eye on the Russian bombers that landed in Venezuela but he dismisses the deployment as a major challenge to the U.S.

The arrival of Russian Tu-160 bombers was the first such deployment to the Western Hemisphere since the Cold War and seemed certain to further strain Russia’s relations with the U.S.

Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan says the Fourth Fleet has no immediate plans to change its operations because of the bombers or the upcoming joint exercises between Russia and Venezuela in the Caribbean.

He told the Associated Press on Thursday that if the Russians were in the area “because of a threat from us then I think they wasted gas.”


Article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_caribbean_russia_091108/%2e