Posted on 12/08/2014 6:50:27 AM PST by illiac
In an attempt to promote transparency in military activities between the two countries, Russia will conduct an observation flight over the United States as part of the Treaty on Open Skies between Dec. 8 and Dec. 13, Sergei Ryzhkov, head of Russias National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, said Monday.
The flight will be launched from Travis Air Force Base in California and cover a maximum range of 2,640 miles. A group of U.S. specialists will also board the Russian aircraft to monitor the flight and to ensure that norms of the treaty are not violated. According to the U.S. Department of State, the Treaty on Open Skies allows 34 participating countries to carry out observation flights over each other's territories to gather information through aerial imaging on military forces and activities that are of concern to them.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
I know that. Still a dumb treaty....
I agree... some just seemed to be under the impression it was a new development.
This is actually called for in the treaty.
Under basic rules of reciprocity, I presume that a companion flight by our Air Force over Russia is also scheduled in the near-term?
We should NOT be allowing this. Russia doesn’t allow us to do this over their soil.
Nope. Russia said “Nyet”...
C'mon, guys, let's not over react.
The open skies treaty was a good thing, it allows the U.S. flights over the Soviet Union too.
Remember, we have always had the technological advantage over the soviets, and everyone else. "Open skies" is mostly a political theater.
I don't trust Russia; I don't trust the "UMMA. But we have nothing to lose and perhaps something unexpected to gain with the semi-fiction of "transparency."
I have been searching for years for something similar, or preferably worse, in written Arabic, with no success.
All suggestions are welcome.
<Private Reply me. I have a large barn...
Never mind. I’d be at the extreme end of the range; assuming it’ll be a round-trip flight.
I was certain of that too, and unconcerened, until I read the link at post #15 on this thread.
That changes everything. Under those circumstances, allowing the Soviet flight in the next 6 days would be a form of treason. Clearly.
I can't believe the Air Force or the Joint Chiefs allowing that.
WTF?
And then there’s the free market.
We could pass all the sanctions we want. It won’t hurt them like $60/BBL oil will over the next two years.
Putin will need a war to get the price back up. It’s what they did prior to their collapse.
Pure and simple - Russia is a petro-state. Same as Mexico, Qatar, Iran, or Saudi Arabia. If the US floods the market with cheap crude, it will bring at least 11 US adversaries to their knees.
Ironically, a smart President might use it to their advantage among allies dependent on foreign oil. China, for example.
Is it illegal to shoot lasers at a Russian aircraft?
After all, the Russians blinded a US pilot shooting lasers at him in International airspace and nobody was ever punished.
Just asking.
They did it in US territorial waters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Juan_de_Fuca_laser_incident
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/03/world/russian-lasers-reported-aimed-at-us-planes.html
I know it's the thought that counts, and I am grateful, but...
Sorry Elsie, I left my electron microscope in my other suit.
And from what I can see there, there is no Arabic text at all...
~We should NOT be allowing this. Russia doesnt allow us to do this over their soil.~
Bull.
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