Russian Nuke Subs Patrolling East Coast
The web is buzzing about two nuclear-powered Russian submarines spotted off the East Coast, a scene right out of the Cold War. U.S. Northern Command spokesman Michael Kucharek said the U.S. is monitoring the submarines. Russia did not alert the U.S. in advance of these patrols. (Source)
As President Barack Obama tries to “reset” relations between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, Russia seems to be operating under a different agenda. Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met last month to begin talks to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed in 1991. A new agreement calls for nuclear warhead reductions to between 1,500 and 1,675. As Russia’s arsenal is aging, that country will get the better deal from any reduction agreement. Additionally, Medvedev does not want missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic, and Obama likely will renege on those agreements.
While the U.S. is ready, willing, and able to make compromises that jeopardize our national security, especially missile defense, Russia clearly is testing the waters, so to speak, with its nuclear-powered subs. This incident isn’t the first act of seeming aggression, as the AP notes. In 2008, Russian bombers flew 2,000 feet above an American aircraft carrier.
(Photo source: AFP)
Tags: Barack Obama, Czech Republic, Dmitry Medvedev, Poland, Russia, Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty