Russia Ready For Cold War

[Carrera]

"The new RS-24 missile can be armed with up to 10 different warheads and is intended to replace Russia's earlier generation intercontinental missiles such as the RS-18 and RS-20."
After even Gorbachev warned against a U.S. build up of missile shields in Europe (in Poland), Putin is threatening a new Cold War and is pulling out of former European treaties on arms control.
The latest missile test fired recently features multiple warheads that Moscow said could pierce any missile defence system, including the planned U.S. shield in Europe.
Vladimir Putin stepped up his attacks on the missile shield, saying its deployment in Europe would turn the continent into "a powder keg".
Russian military experts said the new missile was part of the "highly effective response" to the shield promised by Putin earlier this year.

 

[Carrera]

A ministry spokesman said the RS-24 missile was fired from a mobile launcher at 1020 GMT from the Plesetsk cosmodrome about 800 km (500 miles) north of Moscow.
Less than an hour later, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces command said the missile had hit its targets at the Kura test site on the sparsely inhabited far eastern peninsula of Kamchatka to the north of Japan.
"The RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile will strengthen the military potential of Russia's strategic rocket forces to overcome anti-missile defense systems and thereby strengthen the potential nuclear deterrent of Russia's strategic nuclear forces," the Strategic Missile Forces command said in a statement.
The launch comes amid a row between Moscow and Washington over U.S. plans to build a system in Europe to detect and shoot down hostile missiles.
Russia believes the missile defense shield is a threat to its security while Washington dismisses such fears, saying the shield is intended to counter rogue states.
President Vladimir Putin promised in February this year a "highly effective response" to any U.S. efforts to deploy missile defenses, raising fears of a new arms race between the former Cold War foes.
Further escalating the tension, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday that the deployment of medium and short range missiles by Russia's neighbors to the east and south now posed a "real threat."
"The Soviet-American treaty (on intermediate nuclear forces) is not effective because since (its signature) scores of countries have appeared that have such missiles while Russia and the United States are not allowed to have them," Ivanov told a military-industrial commission in the southern city of Znamensk.
"In these conditions, it is necessary to provide our troops with modern, high-precision weapons."

 

[wolfix]

Russia has problems at home. So they need a enemy to divert the attention away from the failures of their leaders.

 

[Carrera]

Russia is understandably disappointed by what's been going on around their borders. First of all, the behaviour of Estonia: I fully understand Estonians are bitter over the way Estonia was treated by the USSR during the Stalin years but was it wise to take down Russia's war memorial to the dead who died fighting Germany in WW2?
After all, didn't Russia free thousands of Jews and Slavs from the Nazi death camps by invading Berlin (at great cost in blood).
To my mind, the U.S. and Europe have been provoking Russia and possibly playing with fire of late. Firstly they stirred up tropuble between Russia and the Ukraine (almost sparking a civil war on Russia's border between Ukranian political factions). Likewise, the U.S. is stirring up anti Russian sentiment in Georgia but I think the idea of a military base in Poland will push this situation to crisis point.
Putin has now made it clear if the U.S. encroaches into Poland, Russia will refuse to be held accountable for the whatever strategic measures are deemed necessary by his military top brass. That could mean, re-targeting Europe with ballistic missiles, as in the days of the Cold War.
Russia is pretty much convinced the U.S. is targeting Russia itself from Poland and doesn't swallow the idea it has to do with Iran. I think there's real suspicion with even Gorbachev condemning the proposed base.
Bear in mind this could rebound. I hear there are anti-American protests within Prague and Cheques fear that Europe could be once again turned into a "powder keg". Poles, for now, are pretty much quiet but will they remain quiet if Russia does take these defensive measures or will Poles on the street protest against the notion of a new Cold War?
Putin says whatever happens, it's down to the U.S. He says if the U.S. threatens or tries to box in Russia, his own military will boost defence on a huge scale. Common sense dictates Russia will follow that path. I'm sure if such a base was set up in Cuba or Nicaragua, the U.S. would also feel hemmed in.

Russia has problems at home. So they need a enemy to divert the attention away from the failures of their leaders.

 

[Carrera]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6717037.stm
"In an interview with Radio Four's The World This Weekend, Mr Gorbachev said relations between Russia and the West were in a bad state.
"Well, it's worse than I expected," he said through a translator.

"We lost 15 years after the end of the Cold War, but the West I think and particularly the United States, our American friends, were dizzy with their success, with the success of their game that they were playing, a new empire.

"I don't understand why you, the British, did not tell them, 'Don't think about empire, we know about empires, we know that all empires break up in the end, so why start again to create a new mess.'"

He added that the war with Iraq had damaged Britain's relationship with Russia after a promising start.

"Tony Blair and Putin established a very good relationship and that made it possible to advance our relationship," he said.

"But then Iraq happened and Tony found himself in the embrace of that military monster, of that war situation, and he lost a lot of his credibility in the world and in Europe."

 

[Carrera]

"Mr Putin issued his warning in an interview with foreign reporters ahead of the G8 meeting.

"If the American nuclear potential grows in European territory, we will have to have new targets in Europe," Mr Putin said.

He said neither Iran nor North Korea had the weapons that the US was seeking to shoot down.

"We are being told the anti-missile defence system is targeted against something that does not exist. Doesn't it seem funny to you?" he asked.
Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani described the planned deployment as the "joke of the year", adding that Iran's missiles were not capable of reaching Europe.

Mr Putin said Washington had "altered the strategic balance" by unilaterally pulling out of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty in 2002."

 

[limerickman]

I think that this is a complex issue.

As I understand it the Czech Republic and Poland have agreed to locate the US air defence systems in their countries.
The question that needs to be asked is why have they agreed to house these systems?

both Poland and the Czech Republic are in the EU.
I don't recall the EU agreeing to any deployment of US air defence systems.
Are Poland/Czech Republic doing this to try to antagonise Russia for past
troubles ?

I think that this issue is serious.
Russia supplies Europe with natural gas.
Europe has invested billions in Russia since 1990.
Considerable trade exists between Europe and Russia.

 

[sogood]

US's (or should I say Bush admin's) aggressive approach to military expansion is the root cause.

 

[wolfix]

US's (or should I say Bush admin's) aggressive approach to military expansion is the root cause.

Maybe Iran's statements about Israel is the root of the problem.

 

[sogood]

Maybe Iran's statements about Israel is the root of the problem.

That's Israel's problem, not US's. US's ulterior motive is not exactly invisible.

 

[Carrera]

My own gut feeling is Israel will disarm Iran's nuclear plant itself if forced to do so. Therefore, Bush's defensive shield is questionable.
I mean, Iran is already under heavy pressure to comply with the U.N. If Iran doesn't comply it's pretty clear either Israel or even NATO will carry out strikes. Therefore, the missile shield cannot be motivated by Iran. My feeling is Putin read it right and it's an intended threat to Russia. The snag is Putin isn't Yeltsin and can't be pushed around so easily. Moscow has plenty of money to invest in multiple warheads and there has even been talk of moving bombers into Cuba giving the U.S. a dose of its own medicine.

Maybe Iran's statements about Israel is the root of the problem.