The Russian Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers were equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and were followed by U.S. jets as they circumnavigated Guam on Feb. 12 local time—hours before President Barack Obama’s state of the union address.
Air Force Capt. Kim Bender, a spokeswoman for the Pacific Air Force in Hawaii, confirmed the incident to the Washington Free Beacon and said Air Force F-15 jets based on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, “scrambled and responded to the aircraft.”
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." - Henry Ford
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges; When the Republic is at its most corrupt the laws are most numerous. - Publius Cornelius Tacitus
otisptoadwater wrote: The Russian Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers were equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and were followed by U.S. jets as they circumnavigated Guam on Feb. 12 local time—hours before President Barack Obama’s state of the union address.
Air Force Capt. Kim Bender, a spokeswoman for the Pacific Air Force in Hawaii, confirmed the incident to the Washington Free Beacon and said Air Force F-15 jets based on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, “scrambled and responded to the aircraft.”
Really? They "were equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles..." ???
According to one military official, the Russian Bear bombers remained in international airspace, the encounter between the U.S. and Russian aircraft “stayed professional” and there was no incident. The official said it’s impossible to determine whether the Russian bombers carried any nuclear weapons.
U.S. military officials say “it’s highly unusual but not unprecedented” that Russian bombers would fly training missions in the vicinity of Guam. According to one official, “It wasn’t provocative but it certainly got our attention.” U.S. long-range B-52 bombers, also capable of carrying nuclear weapons, are based at Guam.
Of course, if you're a fear-mongering sort, it's much more dramatic to say "they WERE equipped" with something, when there is no proof... And if they "remained in international airspace", like the U.S. military officials said, that would mean that the headline of the article that says they were "OVER Guam" would be a lie. (But what do you expect from the "freebeacon"...)
:Snooze ...Another outrage-of-the-day unsubstantiated by FACTS... OK, back to Bob's Echo-Chamber for you...There you can deal in a fact-free environment all you want...
LJ, Otis is a Veteran and like me, and many others, I would be willing to bet he has seen many of these Russian bears up close in real life. They use to buzz us all the time especially before the cold war ended. During that time, they were always carrying nuc's. It was proven. I understand that these may not be able to be proven to be carrying them, but it would not surprize me at all if they were.
It does not matter if they were packing nucs or not. The salient fact is that this a bread and butter cat and mouse game of the cold war that the Soviets are pulling out of the closet.
Blazer Bob wrote: It does not matter if they were packing nucs or not. The salient fact is that this a bread and butter cat and mouse game of the cold war that the Soviets are pulling out of the closet.
"Soviets"? Which century are you living in?
"Remember to always be yourself. Unless you can be batman. Then always be batman." Unknown
navycpo7 wrote: LJ, Otis is a Veteran and like me, and many others, I would be willing to bet he has seen many of these Russian bears up close in real life. They use to buzz us all the time especially before the cold war ended. During that time, they were always carrying nuc's. It was proven. I understand that these may not be able to be proven to be carrying them, but it would not surprize me at all if they were.
You can't possibly imagine how much I don't give a flip if Otis is a "veteran"... That means nothing to me when someone posts an article that is verifiably untrue. The guy they just killed in California, Christopher Dorner, was a "veteran." Timothy McVeigh was a "veteran." Nidal Hassan was a "veteran." The guy that just killed Chris Kyle, the famous sniper, was a "veteran." I'm fed up with "veteran" being used as some sort of yardstick of "credibility.".....It isn't. It's also not some sort of yardstick of respect... It isn't. Respect is earned...and saying someone is a veteran doesn't automatically buy it.
They weren't "OVER Guam", they stayed in international airspace, and we do the same thing to them. They're called "Training Flights". While they MAY be "capable" of carrying certain weapons, there was absolutely no proof that they WERE. And I'll take the word of current, active "U.S. Military officials" than I will the recollections of "Otis" any time. "It was proven"?...Yeah.. And I've got proof that this was not the case..You'll find it on: [url=http://www.google.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.google.com[/url]
The "Soviet Union" ceased to exist, how many years ago?
The point is that the Russians have returned to long range aviation patrols at levels we have not seen since the 1980's. Why would Russia invest the funds and resources to conduct these long range patrols at heightened levels? They aren't doing it strictly because they can, fuel and maintenance on aircraft and infrastructure are expensive, never mind the international political implications. Aggressively approaching the recognized sovereign border of another nation in a military vehicle, be it an aircraft or a ship can result in an international incident and damage or the loss of personnel and assets. Is it to explore and record how Western forces respond to aggressive approaches to our borders or is there a real threat? How do you determine the difference between a real attack and an exercise?
We do it too, but not nearly to the extent the Russians have recently been testing our response to their incursions. Guam is a long way from Colorado so is the right response to just let the Russians do what ever they want in our sovereign airspace over Guam?
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." - Henry Ford
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges; When the Republic is at its most corrupt the laws are most numerous. - Publius Cornelius Tacitus
