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 Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:12 am
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TLDR summery:
Russia plans to station a number of it's Long ranger bombers in Venezuela. They'll have a whole island, with airfield, soldiers.... etc. All with in relative striking distance to us.
Joy.
MOSCOW - A Russian air force chief said Saturday that the country could base some strategic bombers in Cuba or on an island offered by Venezuela, the Interfax news agency reported, but a Kremlin official quickly said the military had been speaking only hypothetically.
The U.S. and Russia have been trying to reset their relationship, severely strained over U.S. plans to position missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic and by Russia's invasion of U.S. ally Georgia last year.
Russia has nothing to gain strategically from basing long-range craft within relatively short range of U.S. shores, independent military analyst Alexander Golts said, calling the military statement a retaliatory gesture aimed at hitting back after U.S. ships patrolled Black Sea waters near Georgia.
The chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, was quoted by Interfax as saying Saturday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers."
"If there is a corresponding political decision, then the use of the island ... by the Russian Air Force is possible," Zhikharev was quoted as saying.
Interfax reported he said earlier that Cuba has air bases with four or five runways long enough for the huge bombers and could be used to host the long-range planes.
But Alexei Pavlov, a Kremlin official, told The Associated Press that "the military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all. If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," he said.
Mike Hammer, spokesman for President Barack Obama's National Security Council, said, "We do not comment on hypotheticals."
Officials at both Venezuela's presidential administration and Defense Ministry refused immediate comment and Cuban officials could not be reached for comment.
Venezuela and Cuba, traditionally fierce U.S. foes, have close political and energy relations with Russia, which has been working to reassert itself as a military force. Russia resumed long-range bomber patrols in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus.
Venezuela hosted two Russian Tu-160 bombers in September for training flights and later joined Russian warships for exercises in the Caribbean.
Cuba has never permanently hosted Russian or Soviet aircraft, though Soviet short-range bombers often made stopovers there during the Cold War.
In the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet nuclear missiles stationed in Cuba pushed the world to the brink of nuclear conflict after U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced their presence to the world. After a tense week of diplomacy, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev removed the missiles.
The military analyst Golts said basing Russian bombers in Venezuela or Cuba "has no military sense. The bombers don't need any base."
He said the bombers are considered strategic because they are capable of reaching an attacking range of the United States from Russia without the need for stopovers.
"This is just a retaliatory gesture," he said, adding that Russia wanted to hit back after U.S. ships patrolled Black Sea waters.
Moscow and the new Obama administration have appeared to want to mend their relations,
U.S. plans initiated under former President George W. Bush to put elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic had particularly irked Russia, although the United States insists they are intended to counter potential future threats from Iran.
Russia has welcomed Obama's apparently more cautious approach to the divisive issue.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva earlier this month to push a symbolic red "reset" button, another sign of the desire for a clean slate.
Cuban authorities made no comment last summer when a Moscow newspaper reported that Russia could send nuclear bombers to the island. While neither confirming nor denying the report, ailing former President Fidel Castro at the time praised his brother President Raul Castro for maintaining a "dignified silence" on the report and said that Cuba was not obligated to offer the United States an explanation.
And....
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Russian bombers would be welcome in Venezuela, but the socialist leader denied that his country would offer Moscow its territory for a military base.
Chavez - a fierce critic of Washington with close ties to Russia and Cuba - said his government did not raise the possibility, as Russian media had reported.
"It's not like that," the president said, responding to a report by Interfax news agency quoting the chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, as saying some strategic bombers could be based on an island offered by Venezuela.
Zhikharev reportedly said Saturday that Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers."
Speaking during his weekly television and radio program, Chavez said he told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that his nation's bombers would be allowed to land in Venezuela if necessary, but no such plans have been made.
Venezuela hosted two Russian Tu-160 bombers in September for training flights and joined Russian warships two months later for naval exercises in the Caribbean.
"I told President Medvedev that any time Russia's strategic aviation needs to make a stop in Venezuela as part of its strategic plans, Venezuela is available," he said.
Interfax also reported that Zhikharev said Russian bombers could be based in communist-led Cuba, but a Kremlin official said Zhikharev had been speaking hypothetically.
Kremlin official Alexei Pavlov responded to the report on Saturday, saying that "the military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all."
"If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," Pavlov said.
Venezuela and Cuba have close political and energy relations with Russia, which has been working to reassert itself as a military force.
Russia resumed long-range bomber patrols in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus.
During Sunday's program, Chavez said his government may expand a military base on the Caribbean island of La Orchila, approximately 110 miles (180 kilometers) off the South American country's central coast.
"It's a strategic point, but not just for a naval base. It's also an economic zone," he said, noting that installations for fishermen could be constructed.
La Orchila is already home to a small military base, including helicopter landing pads and docks, as well as a presidential residence.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:33 am
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:16 am
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:47 am
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:37 am
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:44 am
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Orkronos Well you need to remember. Not 6 months ago the bush adminstration was going to put missles in Poland. As well as the fact the US of A has millions of trops around the world long before afganiraqistan. Russia is atleast giving a few thousand mile gerth. The russian federation is acting like any nation of comprable power. They have a rather mild friendly government. So, dont ******** with Venizula or Russia and yall should be fine. I dont think red dawn senario will happen unless some major ******** up takes place.
i thought about this and almost snapped back with a witty comment... until i did my math and stopped being a Army brat.
In my head i was thinking that we only had a standing army of approx 500K. Well, then i pulled my head out of my army loyalist a** and counted everyone else.
Army 507,158
Navy 347,693
Air Force 347,352
Marines 179,762
Total DOD 1,381,965
Coast Guard 41,002
Reserves 1,000,000
Paramilitary 53,000
Total Armed Forces 1,422,967
Total for US Military 2,475,967
Keep in mind these are rough numbers... biggrin pulled from the internet. so, not sure how genuine they are.
I do know that the US Army has about 500K for a fact. |
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:40 pm
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Orkronos Fresnel Orkronos Well you need to remember. Not 6 months ago the bush adminstration was going to put missles in Poland. As well as the fact the US of A has millions of trops around the world long before afganiraqistan. Russia is atleast giving a few thousand mile gerth. The russian federation is acting like any nation of comprable power. They have a rather mild friendly government. So, dont ******** with Venizula or Russia and yall should be fine. I dont think red dawn senario will happen unless some major ******** up takes place. Noteworthy fact: Venezuela has the second largest oil deposit in the world. Yes and they have been raped by the united states for it for years. |
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:38 pm
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Fresnel Orkronos Fresnel Orkronos Well you need to remember. Not 6 months ago the bush adminstration was going to put missles in Poland. As well as the fact the US of A has millions of trops around the world long before afganiraqistan. Russia is atleast giving a few thousand mile gerth. The russian federation is acting like any nation of comprable power. They have a rather mild friendly government. So, dont ******** with Venizula or Russia and yall should be fine. I dont think red dawn senario will happen unless some major ******** up takes place. Noteworthy fact: Venezuela has the second largest oil deposit in the world. Yes and they have been raped by the united states for it for years. Guess where the #1 deposit is? What's that say for America's Hat? xd
Drill that son`a b***h. ******** those baby seals, their shark food anyway. |
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:41 pm
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Crash Maniac Fresnel Orkronos Fresnel Orkronos Well you need to remember. Not 6 months ago the bush adminstration was going to put missles in Poland. As well as the fact the US of A has millions of trops around the world long before afganiraqistan. Russia is atleast giving a few thousand mile gerth. The russian federation is acting like any nation of comprable power. They have a rather mild friendly government. So, dont ******** with Venizula or Russia and yall should be fine. I dont think red dawn senario will happen unless some major ******** up takes place. Noteworthy fact: Venezuela has the second largest oil deposit in the world. Yes and they have been raped by the united states for it for years. Guess where the #1 deposit is? What's that say for America's Hat? xd Drill that son`a b***h. ******** those baby seals, their shark food anyway.
The moar you know. mrgreen |
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:22 pm
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Fresnel Crash Maniac Fresnel Orkronos Fresnel Orkronos Well you need to remember. Not 6 months ago the bush adminstration was going to put missles in Poland. As well as the fact the US of A has millions of trops around the world long before afganiraqistan. Russia is atleast giving a few thousand mile gerth. The russian federation is acting like any nation of comprable power. They have a rather mild friendly government. So, dont ******** with Venizula or Russia and yall should be fine. I dont think red dawn senario will happen unless some major ******** up takes place. Noteworthy fact: Venezuela has the second largest oil deposit in the world. Yes and they have been raped by the united states for it for years. Guess where the #1 deposit is? What's that say for America's Hat? xd Drill that son`a b***h. ******** those baby seals, their shark food anyway. Drill? Oh no, it's not that kind of oil. It's seeping up on the ground in Alberta, mixed with sand (making it a hazard to the environment, so it's actually 'green' to gather it up). The Canadian government's been scooping it up for years, filtering the sand and s**t out of it, and shipping it to the US. It's the reason Canada is the US's #1 supplier of crude oil, coming in at 20% of our total oil (including domestic). The moar you know. mrgreen
Yes and they say in the next 20 years or so it will be the last oil on earth. |
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:21 pm
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Orkronos Fresnel Crash Maniac Fresnel Orkronos Yes and they have been raped by the united states for it for years. Guess where the #1 deposit is? What's that say for America's Hat? xd Drill that son`a b***h. ******** those baby seals, their shark food anyway. Drill? Oh no, it's not that kind of oil. It's seeping up on the ground in Alberta, mixed with sand (making it a hazard to the environment, so it's actually 'green' to gather it up). The Canadian government's been scooping it up for years, filtering the sand and s**t out of it, and shipping it to the US. It's the reason Canada is the US's #1 supplier of crude oil, coming in at 20% of our total oil (including domestic). The moar you know. mrgreen Yes and they say in the next 20 years or so it will be the last oil on earth. |
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:21 pm
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Fresnel Orkronos Fresnel Crash Maniac Fresnel Orkronos Yes and they have been raped by the united states for it for years. Guess where the #1 deposit is? What's that say for America's Hat? xd Drill that son`a b***h. ******** those baby seals, their shark food anyway. Drill? Oh no, it's not that kind of oil. It's seeping up on the ground in Alberta, mixed with sand (making it a hazard to the environment, so it's actually 'green' to gather it up). The Canadian government's been scooping it up for years, filtering the sand and s**t out of it, and shipping it to the US. It's the reason Canada is the US's #1 supplier of crude oil, coming in at 20% of our total oil (including domestic). The moar you know. mrgreen Yes and they say in the next 20 years or so it will be the last oil on earth. Top analysts have been screaming 'peak oil' since the 1800s. I'm not worried about any of the s**t they say. |
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