Russia's military offers Cuba air defense aid

mr.bean · Post by **mr.bean** » 29 Oct 2008, 00:32

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20081027/tp ... 4c7e7.html

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 12 Nov 2008, 21:19

Just another bit of one-upsmanship I think. But it could be a pre-cursor to an idea of putting missiles in there again. The world grows more dangerous again. We no longer have bombers on alert, the missile force is reduced and we no longer fly airborne command posts on a regular basis. Another noteable item is the announcement that the Russians will activate a missile launch area again. They are also building some new ICBMs. The U.S. is barely keeping current forces alive. Dangerous times!

Jumpshot724 · Post by **Jumpshot724** » 12 Nov 2008, 22:08

Cold War round two??

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 12 Nov 2008, 22:27

No just the start of the second half. The halftime show was nice though.

Jumpshot724 · Post by **Jumpshot724** » 13 Nov 2008, 01:20

No just the start of the second half. The halftime show was nice though.

LOL, that's what I WANTED to say but I somehow couldn't put it into words as elegant as the way you did. Kudos to you, I'm glad we're on the same page

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 13 Nov 2008, 02:21

Someone needs to remind Putin and his loyalists that THIS time, there is no Warsaw Pact, there is no wall separating Berlin. Last time I checked a good number of the former Warsaw Pact countries were either already in NATO or want to be a part of NATO.

djnocturnal · Post by **djnocturnal** » 13 Nov 2008, 02:32

I wonder if Keflavik will become active once again?

jetmax · Post by **jetmax** » 13 Nov 2008, 02:41

MIKE JG wrote:Someone needs to remind Putin and his loyalists that THIS time, there is no Warsaw Pact, there is no wall separating Berlin. Last time I checked a good number of the former Warsaw Pact countries were either already in NATO or want to be a part of NATO.

Doesn't matter. Russia is a proud country and will do anything to regain it's status and the number 1 nation in the world.

History always repeats itself...

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 13 Nov 2008, 02:57

jetmax wrote:Doesn't matter. Russia is a proud country and will do anything to regain it's status and the number 1 nation in the world.

Uh hmm. :cough:
Repackage the above as... Russia is a proud country and fears not regaining a position even as high as #3 in the world - after China and the US.... and I'll agree with the sentiment.

WRT "Cold War Part Deux and halftime" - Back in the 80's, some people reacted to Japanese purchases of Manhattan businesses as "a continuationof WW2 only on economic terms". Others extended that further backwards by reminding their audience that WW2 was an extension/continuation of WWI because of the penalties and restrictions placed on Germany by the "Allies" (led by France and Britain).

Those are just a couple of off the cuff reactions. I have more, but even I'm not interested inreading them.

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 13 Nov 2008, 04:54

djnocturnal wrote:I wonder if Keflavik will become active once again?

Iceland: Strategic Air Base for Sale?
November 12, 2008 | 1747 GMT

KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson

Summary

Iceland’s president offered the strategic Keflavik air base to Russia at a diplomatic luncheon in Reykjavik on Nov. 7, shocking Iceland’s neighbors and apparently surprising even the Russians. With Iceland’s economy in a desperate position, the offer most likely represents an attempt to pressure Western creditors, rather than a move to give the Russians military control of the North Atlantic in exchange for rubles.

Analysis

Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson shocked foreign diplomats at a lunch in Reykjavik on Nov. 7 when he said Iceland should offer Russia the use of the former U.S. air base at Keflavik, the Dagbladet newspaper reported. Grimsson added that Iceland needs to make “new friends” on the international scene.

Keflavik is not just any air base. It was absolutely central to U.S. strategy in the North Atlantic throughout the Cold War (and in World War II before that). Washington used Keflavik to keep Russian submarines from entering the North Atlantic, and in World War II it served a critical transshipment point between the United States and Europe; without it, Moscow would have had full and direct access to the open seas via the Greenland-Iceland-U.K. (GIUK) Gap. The United States closed the Keflavik base in 2006.

Iceland’s search for “new friends,” then, represents a sharp departure from the past, to say the least. But then Reykjavik is in dire straits. After being fabulously wealthy for the past decade, Iceland has become the poster child for the international credit crunch — it has seen its entire economy collapse in a matter of weeks, in what amounts to the largest default ever in per-capita terms. With stalled financial transfers — it would be inaccurate to call it all “debt” — standing at 20 times its gross domestic product, Reykjavik is facing the uncomfortable reality that building an international banking empire in an economy of 300,000 people whose only industry is fishing might have been doomed to hit the rocks at some point. Having maximized its exposure to the international financial system, Iceland is now feeling the maximum pain as that system convulses.

In these circumstances, Reykjavik has thrown itself on the mercy of its Scandinavian neighbors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to put things right with $6 billion in emergency loans. But given Iceland’s poor — or more accurately, tiny — economic fundamentals, they are (understandably) offering somewhat unfavorable terms. Specifically, the Scandinavians are making their $4 billion in loans contingent on Iceland first getting approval for $2 billion from the IMF.

With its standard of living on the line, however, Iceland (also understandably) is hoping to get a better deal. So while it is certainly true that Iceland needs friends — and possibly even “new” friends as Grimsson said — it may also be that offering a strategic air base to the Russians is simply an attempt to increase Reykjavik’s leverage in its loan negotiations, and not necessarily a push to redefine the entire geopolitical order of the North Atlantic in exchange for rubles.

It is interesting that the announcement was made by Grimsson: The Icelandic president is a ceremonial position and has no control over Iceland’s foreign policy, so he is in no position to follow through on his suggestion. Also noteworthy is the fact that even the Russians appeared to be surprised by the offer — Russian Ambassador to Iceland Viktor Tartarintsev, who was present at the lunch, was quoted as saying that “Russia does not really need the airport.”

As a legitimate offer to Russia, then, Grimsson’s remarks are suspect at best; they are almost certainly a negotiating tactic to galvanize Iceland’s would-be creditors. The Scandinavians, at least, have expressed shock and outrage — which appears to be exactly what Reykjavik (or at least Grimsson) was hoping for

djnocturnal · Post by **djnocturnal** » 13 Nov 2008, 05:27

WOW!

that is insane i'm going to keep my opinion to myself on this one but i cannot believe that.

starlifterfan · Post by **starlifterfan** » 13 Nov 2008, 14:40

Bring back SAC!!!!!!