Prowling Bear
Russia continues to probe NATO defenses:
Putin is simply keeping all of his options open. In the event the American political scene swings in a direction favorable to Russian annexation of former Soviet states or satellites -- Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in particular -- he wants to have the most up-to-date information on NATO defenses and response times available to him should he decide to pull the trigger.
It is worth noting that he could see either outcome of the election -- Clinton or Trump -- as favorable to his ambitions. Trump has stated that he believes the U.S. should either withdraw from NATO or severely curtail our support and participation, returning responsibility for European security to Europeans. That might give Putin the confidence to try a limited military incursion. Clinton, on the other hand, would be easier for him to intimidate across a table and get what he wants via diplomatic shenanigans, most likely a "peace in our time" bully maneuver along the lines of the Munich Agreement.
Regardless of what's happening domestically, it's always a good idea to keep one eye on the Russkies. They're liable to do something you really won't like with little or no warning. I stick by my mantra: Never trust the Russians. Admire them, dance with them if you must, but do not take them home with you.
Finland's Ministry of Defense says Russia violated its airspace twice in the last 24 hours in the Gulf of Finland, and Friday morning a NATO envoy accused Russia of violating Estonia's airspace as well.
Friday morning, Estonia's ambassador to NATO, Lauri Lepik, posted on Twitter that another Su-27 had violated that country's airspace.
NATO has complained publicly about Russian military flights in the Baltic, where they are known to fly patrol missions from the Arctic to the North Atlantic on a regular basis to test the response of the 28-nation military alliance.
Putin is simply keeping all of his options open. In the event the American political scene swings in a direction favorable to Russian annexation of former Soviet states or satellites -- Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in particular -- he wants to have the most up-to-date information on NATO defenses and response times available to him should he decide to pull the trigger.
It is worth noting that he could see either outcome of the election -- Clinton or Trump -- as favorable to his ambitions. Trump has stated that he believes the U.S. should either withdraw from NATO or severely curtail our support and participation, returning responsibility for European security to Europeans. That might give Putin the confidence to try a limited military incursion. Clinton, on the other hand, would be easier for him to intimidate across a table and get what he wants via diplomatic shenanigans, most likely a "peace in our time" bully maneuver along the lines of the Munich Agreement.
Regardless of what's happening domestically, it's always a good idea to keep one eye on the Russkies. They're liable to do something you really won't like with little or no warning. I stick by my mantra: Never trust the Russians. Admire them, dance with them if you must, but do not take them home with you.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 11:35
2 Comments:
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I think in this situation, Trump would be better. He is an unknown, and he has shown himself to be "Erratic" and "Unpredictable". In other words, he scares the bejeezus out of the establishment. I think many world leaders don't know what to make of him and Putin is one of them. The last guy to be called this (Also called a Cowboy) was Renaldus Magnus himself (Ronald Reagan) and all he did was break up the USSR and bring down the Berlin wall.
With Clinton, they know exactly what they are getting. "Donate" to her non-profit and she will give you whatever you want. "The Baltics? That will be 100 mil please and the press will call it a diplomatic triumph"
I could be wrong and we could be living in holes in the ground, hiding from the fallout a year from now. We will see. Either way, time to buy more ammo and Scotch (Good Scotch is hard to come by, and with ammo, I can get whatever I need)
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