Posted on 04/03/2003 5:10:09 PM PST by MississippiMan
French and German navies may join the Russian fleet in the Arabian Sea!
The vice admiral of the Black Sea Fleet Evgeniy Orlov was summoned to Moscow for instructions on the upcoming wargames close to the Persian Gulf combat zone. The sources indicate that the vice-admiral will be meeting not only with the defense minister, but with President Putin himself.
The analysts suppose that a Russian naval presence in the combat zone will allow Russia to follow the situation, and if the need arises, to land assault forces in Iraq and take part in the post-war reconstruction of the country. The Russian General Staff was correct in its assessment--the war in Iraq will be a long one. This is why the naval mission is being prepared without hurry. According to sources in the Russian Navy, the warships will be ready to go 5-6 days after a decision is taken and agreement with the nations who control the Bosphorous and Suez canal.
The preparations for the war-games in the Indian Ocean have been completed by the Pacific Fleet. It is notable that the Baltic Fleet is also preparing to take part in the deployment to the Arabian Sea. Moreover it is possible that the Baltic Fleet will act jointly with French and German Fleets.
Preparation for deployment into the conflict zone is being combined with active military maneuvers. Different branches of the Russian Armed Forces are being brought into different degrees of combat readiness. However, in the Ministry of Defense, they are saying that these events have no connection to the war in Iraq, and were planned in advance. It is true that in general military maneuvers in Russia take place at the end of March and beginning of April (the biggest of which took place after the beginning of NATO aggression against Yugoslavia). However the new military maneuvers are notably larger.
In RSVN (Strategic Missile Forces) from 17 to 28 March, combat training took place in Vladimir strategic missile units. In the space center "Plesetsk", a mobile nuclear ballistic missile launcher "Topol" fired an inter-continental ballistic missile against an imaginary foe in Kamchatka. Similar combat drills are taking place in the 37'th air army (strategic air force). On March 28, in the Southern Federal District, under the command of Russia's Chief of Staff Anatoly Kvashnin, the biggest military maneuvers in 10 years have begun.
On the Caspian Sea, combat training is conducted with the Caspian fleet/coast guard. The training is taking place close to Dagestani ports, as well as next to the border with Iran. According to the official versian, the fleet there is conducting joint training with the Ministry for Emergency Situations forces, and the Federal Border Guards. The training stresses the delivery of humanitarian aid into combat zones. It is not ruled out, that such a combat zone for the participants of the training could well be Iraq. Russia could deliver humanitarian aid to Iraq via Iran. The Caspian direction is looking most favorable in case decision is made about the participation of Russian peacekeepers in a UN operation in Iraq.
The unprecedent activity of the Russian military confirm the noticeable nervousness of Moscow regarding the situation in Iraq. For example, Minister of Defense, Sergey Ivanov, fully backed the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to halt work on the ratification of the arms control agreement with the US. He also angrily condemned flights of American spy planes close to Russian borders. On March 24, he visited in Sarov, the Federal Nuclear Center, where he got acquanted with the latest developments in the area of nuclear weapons. He later commented on the goals of his visit to Sarov, stating that the new global security architecture is "breaking apart". He said, "This again forces us to pay constant attention to the condition of our Armed Forces, so that under any contingencies, we can guarantee a reliable and total defense of Russia."
Warning: Your blood pressure will be dramatically increased by the trash you'll see on that forum.
Are we getting ready to slip into WWIII with these morons around the world, folks? I realize much of the world has been insane for quite some time, but the maniacal behavior certainly seems to be trending dramatically upward of late.
MM
-PJ
They're hallucinating...and I wonder if they know we're already at Saddam International Airport in Baghdad.
MM
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