I am anxious to hear the opinions of others on the January – February strategic military exercises involving Russia’s nuclear defensive and offensive
forces.
“Military Planning Nuclear Exercises
By Vladimir Isachenkov, the Associated Press
Russia's nuclear forces reportedly are preparing their largest maneuvers in two decades, an exercise involving the test-firing of missiles and
flights by dozens of bombers in a massive simulation of an all-out nuclear war. “
www.moscowtimes.ru...
Personally, I have many questions stemming from my initial impression that this is this more than a complex readiness exercise.
Is it merely saber-rattling aimed to remind NATO and the rest of the world that Russia is still “in the game,” so to speak? It has got to hurt the
Russians’ nation pride to hear the media describe the U.S. as the last “Super Power.”
Is it an attempt by President Putin to boost his popularity among the population by appearing to be a strong military leader? Elections are coming
up, and we have certainly seen it happen in the U.S.
Does Russian want to test the ability of the U.S. to react to a potential threat while its forces are spread out in numerous low-intensity conflicts
in other parts of the world? It would never hurt to know how your neighbor is going to be able to react in a crisis.
Regardless of the motivation it should be an intelligence boon for all nations interested. Since the exercises are said to involve air, land, and sea
elements of the Russian nuclear defensive and offensive forces as well as strategic/tactical missile defense and anti-satellite/satellite replacement
rocket launch capability, I am betting that every bit of surveillance and intelligence gathering kit available to U.S. military and government
agencies will be trained on this mobilization of Russian forces.
Thus far, the mass media has been very quiet on the subject and the Internet has been the source of only a few scraps of information. If anyone has
good sources please pass them along. This is one topic that I want to give a lot of attention.