ARTICLE: “Russia Is Striving to Modernize Its Military, the U.S. Notes With Interest, Not Alarm,” by Thom Shanker, New York Times, 20 October 2008.
Russia has a huge military exercise, called Stability 2008. Troops and platforms operating across 11 time zones, the game looking like a broad repulse of NATO-like forces attacking from the south. The game ends on a high note, with three ICBMs fired (one going 7100 miles, supposedly a distance record)—the kind that can carry multiple warheads. Shanker says “It was a clear signal of the drastic endgame the Kremlin might consider should its conventional forces not hold.”
Oh my.
All that means is that it’s now Russia and not NATO that plans the nuclear endgame, so compared to the Cold War, good on us!
The Pentagon’s response is to say that Russia routinely announces grandiose plans to upgrade the force, and routinely fails to do so.
Bummer!
Those bastards are still breaking this former Soviet expert's chops!
| Permalink |
