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ORENBURG (South Urals), September 26 (RIA Novosti) – President Dmitry Medvedev said on Russia must upgrade its nuclear deterrent and fully supply the Armed Forces with modern weaponry by 2020.
He said Russia would make the modernization of its nuclear deterrent and Armed Forces a priority in light of the recent military conflict with Georgia. Moscow launched a five-day military operation “to force Georgia to peace” in response to an attack by Georgian forces on South Ossetia on August 8.
“A guaranteed nuclear deterrent system for various military and political circumstances must be provided by 2020,” Medvedev told a meeting with commanders of military districts during the Center-2008 military exercises at the Donguz testing range in the Orenburg Region.
“We must ensure air superiority, precision strikes at land and sea targets, timely deployment of troops. We are planning to launch large-scale production of warships, primarily, nuclear submarines with cruise missiles and multi-purpose attack submarines,” Medvedev said.
“We will also build an air and space defense network,” he added.
Well it seems that Cheney-Bush administration has been trying its hardest to engage Russia in a new Cold War, and from the looks of it, it may be succeeding.
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Effects everyone on Mainstreet, jobs, sales, revenues, taxes and simple credit. Interest rates will go through the roof, the economy will stall and unemployment jumps higher. Not a fun day at all … greed and opportunists in Congress. No one today takes responsibility, complete lack of leadership. Wait a few years for the rise of another Adolf Hitler. In Austria the extreme right parties got 30% of the national vote yesterday. Happens to be Hitler’s birthplace … coincidence? Within a decade you would think fondly of GWB in comparison.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AFP) — A U.S. destroyer and other foreign navy ships converged on a Ukrainian vessel seized by Somali pirates last week with its cargo of combat tanks and other weapons.
At least one U.S. navy ship kept watch as pirates moored the MV Faina off the Indian Ocean buccaneers’ lair of Harardhere.
“San Diego-based destroyer USS Howard is on station and is in visual range of MV Faina, which is anchored off the Somalia coast near the harbor city of Hobyo, ” the U.S. naval forces central command said.
“My crew is actively monitoring the situation, keeping constant watch on the vessel and the waters in the immediate vicinity,” the ship’s commanding officer, Curtis Goodnight, said in a statement.
The Belize-flagged ship’s crew of 21 consists of Ukrainians, Russians and Latvians. A spokesman for the pirates said one crew member died of natural causes following the vessel’s Sept. 25 capture.
“He was not a victim of gunshots or violence,” Sugule Ali told AFP Sunday via satellite phone, refusing to identify the deceased.
“What we are awaiting eagerly is the $20 million, nothing less, nothing more,” he said, apparently lowering the ransom from a reported $35 million.
The ship was headed to the Kenyan port of Mombasa when it was seized. Nairobi said the shipment was part of a contract with Ukraine. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the MV Faina was carrying 33 Soviet-type T-72 tanks as well as other military supplies.
US: Warships surround ship with Sudan-bound tanks
The Neustrashimy patrol ship of the Russian Baltic Fleet will ensure the security of Russian vessels traversing offshore Somalia, Russian Navy Assistant Commander Capt. 1st Class Igor Dygalo told Itar-Tass.
“The Navy commander has ordered the Baltic Fleet to send the Neutrashimy patrol ship to the Somalia zone. The patrol ship led by Capt. 1st Class Oleg Gurinov left the port of Baltiisk on September 24,” he said.
“Russia will continue to send its ships to risky areas in order to protect Russian citizens and to ensure safe navigation,” Dygalo said.
Twenty-four pirate attacks on vessels of various countries were registered offshore Somalia in the first seven months of this year. The UN World Food Program asked maritime countries to protect ships, which carry humanitarian aid to Somalia. Warships of France, Denmark and the Netherlands were performing the mission in the previous eight months. A Canadian frigate was sent on the same mission on August 6.
The Neutrashimy is a patrol ship of 1154 series. It is a multifunctional vessel capable of anti-sub, anti-ship and anti-aircraft support. The ship carries the Vodopad-NK missile and torpedo system and has the displacement of over 4,000 tonnes.
Warships of 2 big powers pursue Somali pirates
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."One of the things I took from my reading of cold war account is that Soviet Leaders frequently took the rantings of US populist demagogues as indicative of changes in official US foreign policy – as no one in the Soviet Union would be allowed to speak out like that without official authorisation.
Thus they often over-estimated the USA’s determination to go to war and thus ramped up their own arms race needlessly in response. Hopefully Putin and Medvedev are smarter than that and don’t take McCain’s rantings too seriously.
However we are as well to remember that domestic demagogery is not risk free and can have real costs. No doubt the forceful Russian response to the invasion of South Ossetia was also intended to send a message to neo-cons that further provocation on Russia’s borders would not be tolerated.
Unfortunately that in turn led to a further over-reaction and Poland agreed to the installation of a US missile shield “against rogue state attack”. This in turn led to some Russian General losing the head and saying that any such installation would be prevented by military force.
Pretty soon you have talked yourself into an arms race escalation and perhaps even a real war – when all Randy Scheunemann wanted to do is shift the focus of the US Presidential election onto foreign and security policy – McCain’s alleged strong suit.
Hate speak has consequences and can’t always be confined to the domestic market it was intended for.