As President Barack Obama bumbles through his campaign against ISIS in the Middle East, sending more non-combatant troops into intense war zones while claiming they are only there for assistance in training, the rest of the world is laughing at him. The Russians no longer see the United States as a threat because rather than speaking softly and carrying a big stick, we now have a President that speaks obnoxiously, and carries a wet noodle.
While moving tanks and troops into Ukraine with no fear of a response from the West, now Russia is also flexing its military muscle by sending long-range strategic bombers on regular patrol missions across the globe, from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
Russian officials have informed the West that Russian long-range bombers will conduct flights along Russian borders and over the Arctic Ocean in order to maintain military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The frequency of the patrol missions has not been revealed, but the increase of pace and duration of flights would require stronger maintenance efforts and that relevant directives have been issued to industries.
A senior U.S. military official said Russia has not previously flown actual bomber patrols over the Gulf of Mexico, including during the Cold War.
The Pentagon refused to call this a Russian provocation, saying the Russians have a right, like any other nation, to operate in international airspace and in international waters.
Earlier this year Russian officials said that Russia plans to expand its worldwide military presence.
Ian Kearns, director of the European Leadership Network, a London-based think-tank , said the bomber patrols are part of Kremlin's efforts to make the Russian military "more visible and more assertive in its actions."
The new bomber flights "aren't necessarily presaging a threat," Kearns said. "They are just part of a general ramping-up of activities."
But, he added, "The more instances you have of NATO and Russian forces coming close together, the more chance there is of having something bad happening, even if it's not intentional."
The European Leadership Network has issued a report recognizing a sharp rise in Russian-NATO military encounters since the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea, including violations of national airspace, narrowly avoided midair collisions, close encounters at sea, harassment of reconnaissance planes, close overflights over warships, and Russian mock bombing raid missions.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
While moving tanks and troops into Ukraine with no fear of a response from the West, now Russia is also flexing its military muscle by sending long-range strategic bombers on regular patrol missions across the globe, from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
Russian officials have informed the West that Russian long-range bombers will conduct flights along Russian borders and over the Arctic Ocean in order to maintain military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The frequency of the patrol missions has not been revealed, but the increase of pace and duration of flights would require stronger maintenance efforts and that relevant directives have been issued to industries.
A senior U.S. military official said Russia has not previously flown actual bomber patrols over the Gulf of Mexico, including during the Cold War.
The Pentagon refused to call this a Russian provocation, saying the Russians have a right, like any other nation, to operate in international airspace and in international waters.
Earlier this year Russian officials said that Russia plans to expand its worldwide military presence.
Ian Kearns, director of the European Leadership Network, a London-based think-tank , said the bomber patrols are part of Kremlin's efforts to make the Russian military "more visible and more assertive in its actions."
The new bomber flights "aren't necessarily presaging a threat," Kearns said. "They are just part of a general ramping-up of activities."
But, he added, "The more instances you have of NATO and Russian forces coming close together, the more chance there is of having something bad happening, even if it's not intentional."
The European Leadership Network has issued a report recognizing a sharp rise in Russian-NATO military encounters since the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea, including violations of national airspace, narrowly avoided midair collisions, close encounters at sea, harassment of reconnaissance planes, close overflights over warships, and Russian mock bombing raid missions.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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