[DRB]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25827318/

HAVANA - Ailing Fidel Castro said Wednesday that Cuba's president was right to adopt a "dignified silence" over a Moscow newspaper report that Russia may send nuclear bombers to the island, and said Cuba doesn't owe any explanation to Washington about the story.

In a brief, cryptic essay posted on a government Web site Wednesday night, the 81-year-old former president neither confirmed nor denied the Monday report in Izvestia newspaper.

Moscow is angry about U.S. plans for missile-defense sites in eastern Europe and Izvestia cited a "highly placed" military aviation source as saying, "While they are deploying the anti-missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, our long-range strategic aircraft already will be landing in Cuba." Izvestia said this apparently refers to long-range nuclear-capable bombers.

Bombers would be about as effective.....

Despite Cuba's one-time alliance with the former Soviet Union, it seems unlikely that Raul Castro would allow Russian bombers on the island and risk the ire of the U.S. government.

When has that stopped them before?

 

[ire]

maybe we'll send up fighters and shoot them down....that would be dramatic

 

[JohnE]

What will stop them? The dollar...

 

[Lowlight7]

Pure genius.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Man I want to go to Cuba

 

[jimmydean]

Man I want to go to Cuba

For the free health care, or cigars?

 

[$tinkle]

For the free health care, or cigars?

either way, some beret-wearing tramp is getting its musket packed

 

[Samirol]

When has that stopped them before?

Actually, Raul has shown interest in opening up the economy to private enterprise, and becoming a more mixed economy.

 

[Defenestrated]

wtf is wrong with putin

 

[blue]

wtf is wrong with putin

He's waving his cock around because GWB is a foreign policy moron installing pointless missile defense systems in Eastern Europe. He would lose tremendous political capital and popular support if he DIDN'T commit to a quasi-retaliation against the missile defense installations in the former Warsaw Pact.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

I want to go to Cuba just to piss off GWB and the Navy. Every time I go into another entertaining country I am not supposed to be in it just adds something to the file, another good reason I am on three "person of interest" watch lists.

I think these days its worth doing things like this just to get a rise out of the dictator**** we live under.

 

[Lowlight7]

He's waving his cock around because GWB is a foreign policy moron installing pointless missile defense systems in Eastern Europe. He would lose tremendous political capital and popular support if he DIDN'T commit to a quasi-retaliation against the missile defense installations in the former Warsaw Pact.

This type of nut-flexing was going on when Yeltsin was in power. They know damn well the air space around Florida is the most secure in the US, and a couple 30-year old Bears don't stand a chance of making landfall coming from Cuba.

Honestly, I'm suprised we're even considering it a threat.

 

[JohnE]

.

Honestly, I'm suprised we're even considering it a threat.

We're not...at least I am not.

 

[MMike]

wtf is wrong with putin

Isn't Putin on a golf course somewhere, wearign plaid shorts and a white belt?

(I know he's got his hand up Medvedev's ass)

 

[ire]

another good reason I am on three "person of interest" watch lists.

I think you overemphasize your importance

 

[DaveW]

This type of nut-flexing was going on when Yeltsin was in power. They know damn well the air space around Florida is the most secure in the US, and a couple 30-year old Bears don't stand a chance of making landfall coming from Cuba.

Honestly, I'm suprised we're even considering it a threat.

A/ it's just a show to make a (blunt) point.
B/ the aircraft might be old but they can carry fvckoff big missiles that have a very long range.... interceptor missiles in eastern europe might not be able to stop those.
C/ You only have so much people/equipment...... How far do you want have it spread?

 

[rockwool]

This type of nut-flexing was going on when Yeltsin was in power. They know damn well the air space around Florida is the most secure in the US, and a couple 30-year old Bears don't stand a chance of making landfall coming from Cuba.

Honestly, I'm suprised we're even considering it a threat.

It's not only Cuba, but Algeria and Venezuela too, and the Bears got company. This article has some more on this subject:

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080724/114821813.html

Russia could place bombers in Latin America, N.Africa

14:27 | 24/ 07/ 2008


MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russian strategic bombers may soon be deployed at airbases in Cuba, Venezuela and Algeria as a response to the U.S. missile shield in Europe and NATO's expansion, Russian daily Izvestia said on Thursday.

Moscow has strongly opposed the possible deployment by the U.S. of 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and an accompanying tracking radar in the Czech Republic as a threat to its national security. Washington says the defenses are needed to deter a possible strike from Iran, or other "rogue" states.

Moscow has also expressed concern over NATO's expansion to Russia's borders and pledged to take "appropriate measures" to counter the U.S. and NATO moves.

Izvestia cited sources in the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that crews of Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers recently visited Cuba and conducted an inspection of a site and facilities for a possible forward landing airfield that could be used as a refueling stopover for Russian strategic bombers.

Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans last August, following an order signed by former president Vladimir Putin.

At present the Russian military is considering the possibility of establishing so-called "jump-up" bases in various regions of the world to provide refueling and maintenance support for the patrolling bombers.

"The flight to the U.S. [from southern Russia where the bombers are based] takes about 10 hours and even with two mid-air refuellings the aircraft can spend only 1.5 hours near the U.S. coast," said Gen. of the Army Pyotr Deinekin, former commander of the Russian Air Force.

The use of forward landing airfields in Latin America would practically erase the time constraints for the Russian bombers and make their presence near the U.S. borders almost permanent, the general said.

If a political decision is made, Cuba will most likely host Russian Il-78 aerial tankers, which will provide nuclear-capable strategic bombers with mid-air refueling, sources in the Defense Ministry told Izvestia.

Both Tu-160 and Tu-95MS bombers have been recently modernized and fitted with new X-555 cruise missiles with a range of over 3,500 km (2,200 miles). Therefore, the bombers do not have to be permanently based near the U.S. borders to hit any target on U.S. territory in case of a potential conflict. (Image Gallery)

In the meantime, the bombers may be primarily used to spy on the United States using electronic means, much like the former Russian SIGINT station at Lourdes near Havana, which was closed in 2002.

However, another Russian publication, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, said on Thursday that the ambitious plans of Russian politicians and some military commanders may be nothing more than "saber-rattling in empty air."

The prospect of maintaining refueling posts for Russian bombers all over the world would require an enormous amount of investment in construction of infrastructure, fuel supplies and re-supplies.

The Russian defense budget simply does not have sufficient resources to ensure the implementation of these plans, the newspaper said.

Russian bombers with nuclear missiles on board policing the globe would only harm Russia's image in the international arena, and it is unlikely that their presence near the U.S. borders will scare the Americans.

The U.S. military consider long-range bombers an obsolete and highly vulnerable component of the nuclear triad. The Pentagon stopped strategic bomber patrols almost two decades ago.

I find the end of the article quite telling of the situation, though. It could fire back at them.

I think you overemphasize your importance

Who's overemphasizing whos importance, it's your government spying on its citizens here, right? They seem to find him important, why? Strange that you don't react to that, like it's "business as usual" to you, aren't you supposed to live in a free country?

On top of that, when it comes to Cuba, your government restricts its citizens from travel. You have to ask for their permission to go, and harldy no one is alowed. Fines are in their high tenths or even six figure if you still go without permit!

 

[Lowlight7]

It's not only Cuba, but Algeria and Venezuela too, and the Bears got company. This article has some more on this subject:

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080724/114821813.html



I find the end of the article quite telling of the situation, though. It could fire back at them.

You're correct in that regard.

The Soviets have about as many Blackjacks as we have Ohio-class subs. I'm sure Cuba, Venezuela, and Algeria are well aware of the 50 megatons of nuclear-yield that are or will be trolling around their coastlines. Making the issue even more confounding, the NMD system is only designed to stop a small attack from a rogue nation... 10 missiles was the plan in Poland. Not enough to stop a 10th of the Soviet response, considering NMD might not even work...

The Kent cruise missiles are subsonic and can be splashed with an AIM-120. More of a threat than conventional bombs, but not enough to worry about. When the Bears were just skirting a little too close to Alaska, it was easily written off as posturing. Now that verbal threats from Soviet leadership have been made, well... The bombers don't scare me but what will happen after we splash them certainly DOES. With all of the crap that the US is into right now, this is happening because of 10 missiles?

We can talk about over-deployment of US forces, but the fact will remain that there are no F-15s manning checkpoints in Ramadi.

Every time I read one of these news feeds, I feel like I'm shrooming...

 

[rockwool]

You're correct in that regard.

The Soviets have about as many Blackjacks as we have Ohio-class subs. I'm sure Cuba, Venezuela, and Algeria are well aware of the 50 megatons of nuclear-yield that are or will be trolling around their coastlines. Making the issue even more confounding, the NMD system is only designed to stop a small attack from a rogue nation... 10 missiles was the plan in Poland. Not enough to stop a 10th of the Soviet response, considering NMD might not even work...

The Kent cruise missiles are subsonic and can be splashed with an AIM-120. More of a threat than conventional bombs, but not enough to worry about. When the Bears were just skirting a little too close to Alaska, it was easily written off as posturing. Now that verbal threats from Soviet leadership have been made, well... The bombers don't scare me but what will happen after we splash them certainly DOES. With all of the crap that the US is into right now, this is happening because of 10 missiles?

We can talk about over-deployment of US forces, but the fact will remain that there are no F-15s manning checkpoints in Ramadi.

Every time I read one of these news feeds, I feel like I'm shrooming...

Good points.

Shrooming like in tripping due to the unbelievable things it could lead to?

 

[Lowlight7]

Shrooming like in tripping due to the unbelievable things it could lead to?

Exactly. As in this whole situation must be a hallucination or maybe a bad movie.

 

[rockwool]

Exactly. As in this whole situation must be a hallucination or maybe a bad movie.

I soo want dubyas presidency to be over, that guy is a liability for the whole world beyond immagination. I don't dare think of what he could have caused during those years if he wasn't tied up in Iraq...

 

[Defenestrated]

I smell another Tom Clancy book.