Posted on 12/27/2005 8:24:26 PM PST by Dr. Marten
VLADIMIR Putin has sparked fears of a new arms race between Russia and the United States by deploying a nuclear ballistic strike force system that officials made clear could penetrate US anti- missile defences.
On Christmas Eve, the Russian army activated a new fleet of Topol-M missiles that can fit a nuclear warhead and travel 6,000 miles, changing trajectory to foil any enemy interception device.
The accompanying hawkish rhetoric of the Russian military commanders and the frenetic response of the US navy have stoked concern that the former Cold War adversaries have quietly resumed the arms race.
General Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of the Russian missile forces, has mobilised a new battalion for the Topol-M missiles, which have a capacity for a one megatonne impact - 75 times the power of the 1945 Hiroshima bomb.
Gen Solovtsov, a critic of US anti- missile defence technology, said the Topol-M missile "is capable of piercing any missile defence system" and is immune to electromagnetic blasts used by current US anti-missile systems.
While Russia had disbanded two missile divisions last year, it has now formed more than 20 new units - in the fastest increase of nuclear spending since the run-up to the Cuban missile crisis.
Last month, the US navy carried out its most ambitious and successful test of an anti-missile interceptor, which can be launched from an Aegis class cruiser in the Pacific Ocean. A warhead from an incoming rocket was destroyed 100 miles above sea level - the first time an anti- missile defence has succeeded, in tests, when launched from a ship.
Duncan Lamont, a British defence analyst and editor of Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems, said the new Topol missiles could evade the "ballistic missile defences currently being fielded in Alaska and California".
The roll-out of the Topol-M and the hawkish accompanying language mark the fastest expansion of nuclear missiles since the SS-18 and Pershing II technologies were rolled out a generation ago.
Since the last US-Russia arms control treaty was signed in 1993 in Moscow, Russia has struggled to fund technology to replace its ageing defence system. The budget dried up as the Russian economy suffered.
But now the economy is flush with new oil wealth, the nuclear missile programme has been revived and was last month allocated a £1 billion budget increase from the Kremlin. This has boosted Mr Putin's popularity.
Japan, growing anxious about a nuclear missile strike from North Korea, signed up to the American missile defence programme last week and allocated £14 million for joint research.
The Ukrainian government, elected last year in a part-protest against Moscow's influence, has asked to come back under the former Soviet military umbrella and be protected by the Topol-M stationed in the Volga river.
In September, Russia successfully tested a Bulava missile, a submarine-launched equivalent of the Topol-M. Launched from the White Sea, it hit its target 30 minutes later on Kamchatka, in the opposite, Far Eastern side of Russia.
The escalation in missile defence will pose difficult questions for Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, who must soon decide whether to renew Britain's trident nuclear deterrent. The case for not doing so is largely based on the pacification of post-Soviet Russia.
Relations with Mr Putin have been increasingly strained, as western leaders have criticised his heavy-handed style, his imprisonment of political opponents and slow pace towards democratising the country.
The European Union has condemned Mr Putin's decision to sell anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, whose new president last month spoke of his desire to "wipe Israel off the map". Iran says it wants to buy Russian nuclear energy next.
Russia takes over the year-long G8 presidency from Britain in January. Mr Putin has made his theme security of energy supply - which marries concern over Iraq with the Kremlin's concerns about its control of Caspian oil reserves.
Yess -- cold war is back on!
That should shut the idiot Leftys up!
Keeping us on our toes. Just in case we had any doubts about the importance of building missle defence.
Right. Like they know the defenses in place, in development and all ready figured out how they could beat them. Sorry more Russian propaganda designed to prop up the Russian Weapons manufacturers. "Hey Mohammad, see we build stuff that can beat the Americans so just sign right here for some of great weapons to use in Jihad".
If the Russian missles are so good, why are they upset about Poland being a delpoyment site for US antiballistic missle systems?
Russia's current prevailing political party is better than the old Communist Party so far, but it is nationalistic toward being fond of power for the sake of power. It also tends to work against religions other than Orthodox Christian ("Church of Mother Russia") at times.
So it's about more than money. Yet, some individuals and groups there continue to do what they can to educate and promote better culture. I pray and hope that they are successful.
Russia's leadership has opposed our anti-ballistic missile defense all along, even though the ABM defense effort is in fact for defense (as opposed to offense). It's a sad thing to see.
Actually, we have several levels operational, according to news over the past year or so. The Arrow/Patriot systems tested good, even in Israel, and the SM/Aegis systems tested good. The airborne laser tested successfully on the ground and will be taking flight soon.
And there's much more to come from new technologies.
Democrats like to try to stop such projects during early development. They lobby against the work when things most routinely go wrong and before design adjustments to correct faults. Democrats are much like national socialists and communists in their negativities and opposition against ingenuity (which ingenuity did the most to help us win wars).
It has been my opinion all along that the breakup was mostly a facade that amounted only to the transformation from a failed Communist economy to free enterprise, Soviet Style. Just as in China the oligarchs kept a firm grip on the key industries and are profiting handsomely from them. The charade brought both Russia and China, China more than Russia, though, much needed Western investment capital.
News followers in the USA are now well informed enough about national socialist attitudes in Russian leadership, so we move on to what can be done for now. Some people analyze international relations from the perspective of what we can do to get along with another country. From that perspective, the United Russia Party is doing some of the things that its constituents want done, so the values of the many people of that Party are the mindsets that we'll try to work with the most.
We won't get anywhere by trying to manipulate politics there. So what can we do? For one, we could promote good, general moral practices to the whole population. It will take a long time, but speed is not an option in encouraging sea changes in thinking.
In the meantime, as long as Americans are aware of at least a little of what's going on (despite the flood of long duration diversion about contrived, false similarities in terrorist threats), we'll have a chance to keep much excellent work going for advances in defense technology. It's up to us, as Republicans, to try to make sure that our Party does not try to nominate some tough-talking but effeminate, libertine dingbat (which would assure a Democrat win) for a presidential run.
...and no compromisers on Israel, which must be held safe and strengthened. Many in Russian politics want a warm-water port there.
I suspect some of this is BS else the Russians would not be so loud about it.
I would be worried about Russia, China and Iran joining evil forces against us. That would be truly frightening.
missile defense was not designed to stop a hundred missiles, only a limited strike from a "rogue" nation... at least that is what Bush and Co said.
missile defense was not designed to stop a hundred missiles, only a limited strike from a "rogue" nation... at least that is what Bush and Co said.
That's why I'm worried.
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