Russian Warships In Backyard: "It's Fine"

Rice, Military Commanders Shrug-Off Maneuvers By Russian Navy With Venezuela, Cuba

(CBS/AP)  Russian warships have been plying the waters off Venezuela and Panama in recent weeks and are now heading for Cuba, but U.S. officials are not so much wringing their hands as yawning.

Asked about a Russian warship transiting the Panama Canal earlier this month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - who saw the ship while crossing the canal last week - told The Associated Press: "I guess they're on R&R. It's fine."

The Pentagon, while puzzled by the Russians' actions, also is taking a ho-hum attitude. The U.S. military commander for the region, Adm. James Stavridis, head of the U.S. Southern Command, said that from his vantage point, there is no reason to be concerned about the Russian naval activity.

"They pose no military threat to the U.S.," Stavridis said in an e-mail to the AP on Tuesday.

It was the first such passage by a Russian or Soviet warship since World War II.

There is no suggestion of a military confrontation, but the Russian moves are notable in part because they appear to reflect an effort by Moscow to flex some muscle in America's backyard in response to Washington's support for the former Soviet republic of Georgia and elsewhere on the Russian periphery. That includes U.S. missile defense bases to be erected in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The Russians were unhappy with a U.S. decision to send a state-of-the-art warship into the Black Sea as part of an American humanitarian aid mission for Georgia in the aftermath of last August's war with Russia. The Russians also are angry about the Bush administration's push to add Georgia and the former Soviet republic of Ukraine as members of the NATO military alliance.

Under the gaze of the U.S. Southern Command, Russian ships this fall held joint exercises with the navy of Venezuela, whose president, Hugo Chavez, is a fierce U.S. critic.

CBS News reporter David Grout filed a report on the politics behind the Russian naval maneuvers from the Moscow bureau:

Navy Rear Adm. Tom Meek, the deputy director for security and intelligence at Southern Command, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that he sees little chance of Russia teaming up with Venezuela in a militarily meaningful way.

"I don't think that Russia and Venezuela are really serious about putting together a military coalition that would give them any kind of aggregate military capability to oppose anybody," Meek said. "Frankly, the maneuvers they conducted down here were so basic and rudimentary that they did not amount to anything, in my opinion."

And it's not just the Russian navy that is showing up in the West.

In September, two Tu-160 long-range bombers, known in the West as Blackjacks, landed in Venezuela - the first landing in the Western Hemisphere by Russian military aircraft since the Cold War ended.

Rice shrugs it off.

"A few aging Blackjacks flying unarmed along the coast of Venezuela is - I don't know why one would do it, but I'm not particularly going to lose sleep over that," she said in the AP interview Monday.

She said Russia is welcome to have relations with countries in the West.

"I don't think anybody's confused about the preponderance of power in the Western Hemisphere," Rice said.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has made no effort to hide his irritation at what he considers American arrogance.

"God forbid from engaging in any kind of controversy in the American continent," he said, referring to his Blackjack bombers flying to Venezuela for a training exercise. "This is considered the 'holiest of the holy,"' he said during a meeting with Western political scholars at his Black Sea residence in Sochi. "And they drive ships with weapons to a place just 10 kilometers from where we're at? Is this normal? Is this an equitable move?"

On Monday, the Russian navy announced that a destroyer and two support vessels will visit Cuba for the first time since the Soviet era. The ships are from a squadron that has been on a lengthy visit to Latin America; they are scheduled to put in at Havana on Friday for a five-day stay, navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said.

Moscow's support for Cuba fell sharply after the 1991 Soviet collapse, but the Russians have bolstered ties recently.

The joint naval exercises with Venezuela were Russia's way of "demonstrating to the U.S. that it has a foothold in a region traditionally dominated by the U.S.," said analyst Anna Gilmour at Jane's Intelligence Review.

Still, she and many Russian analysts say Moscow's deployments of warships are largely for show.

Russia's navy is a shadow of its Soviet-era force, having suffered from a serious lack of investment since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Many ships and submarines have rusted away at their berths, and deadly accidents occur regularly.

[noloyalisti]

Meat, you gotta be kidding, what did Bushoccio and his failed party do right? Remember that our founding fathers and Jesus himself were progressive liberals. And people wanted to KILL them for it.

[noloyalisti]

Mr Meat Head is blaming out founding father, the liberal patriots for all our problems with the current fascist regime. OMG and LOL, thanks for shared Meat.

[metsobitso]

You are talking a lot of nonsense, neither the Russians nor anybody else want to invade us. They would have nothing to gain. As you mention, we have a nation of undereducated dependents that need to be taken care of and to be looked after. Countries like China are content to cherry pick US property and commercial investments and to build industries selling us manufactured goods, but they don%u2019t seem to have the slightest inclination of taking over responsibility for feeding us and taking care of us. Your scare tactics are pointless. No, the Russians, Chinese, Koreans or anybody else are not coming to get us. However, the way our economy is going, we might start wishing they would.

[dcbinwa]

Please I beg of you...Russia (or really any country) does not want to invade the US. Our Coast Guard can beat 99% of any standing army in this world. I agree with some of the post''s...Russia is not to be taken lightly, when attacked they are tough to beat. Maybe they are building some new weapons with their new found wealth but maybe we could do the same (like a missle defense sysytem that REALLY works) if only our population worshipped education, instead of SUV''s, house flipping, KFC, celberity''s, wall street speculation, horoscopes, serial murders, guns, KFC, New York and California, violence, Fast food(KFC), and the Baldwins and Kennedy''s. If we could just give this stuff up and concentrate on issues such as education, health care, and science maybe we can build some new weapons with the spurt of new knowledge in the first generation in 40yrs that finally will do better than there parents. It''s worth a shot...figure you guys don''t listen but if I throw in "weapon development" every hillybilly will join in on Americas new dawn.
Haha the Commies won...we import everything, our jobs are gone and our kids grandchildren, children will be still paying off the debt, and god forbid I give the clerk at 7-11 $5.25 on a bill of $4.25 . I can''t even get a wart burned off my foot without taking out a loan. Yep that''s right idiots...The Russians are coming...the Russians are coming!!

[jgunther7]

Russia doesn%u2019t seem to have any desire or need to attack the US or to invade us. They have vast amounts of land, timber, gold, oil, gas and all the natural resources they could possibly want. What would they want the United States and its umpteen trillion dollar deficit for? Over the last eighteen years, while the United States has been focused on beating up on Iraq and Afghanistan, Russia has been using their new found oil wealth to improve their economy and develop a new range of defensive weapons. They are now expanding their peaceful economic influence with strategic alliances and foreign ports around the world. They are building new bases in Iran and Syria, and it looks like Venezuela and Cuba are next. All this talk about we are going to nuke them or kick them out of here is just silly bully talk. We have to remember that when Russia is attacked, they have a history retaliating with disproportionate ferocity. Napoleon, Hitler and Saakashvili found out to their great cost. We should concentrate on getting our own house in order and getting our own economy going.

[mrmeatspin]

Posted by jgunther7 at 05:45 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse


*******

read the book ..THE ART OF WAR..

russia cannot sustain war without starving itself to submission.

[mrmeatspin]

here is the bottomline..

if obama decides to grow a pair and deal with the russians..

I AM BACKING OBAMA and not follow the lbierals AND BACK THE ENEMY

[mrmeatspin]

MrMeatSpin: Be afraid, be very afraid. It''''s the liberals and progressive who are the patriots of American. Those that show dissent toward a failed government with failed economic and foreign policies. The right wingers are terrorist sympathizers.


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Posted by noloyalisti at 04:34 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse


*******

the United States of America is a failed govt EVER SINCE THESE LIBERAL PATRIOTS GOT THIER FIRST LESSON from the liberla media and thier liberal teacher..THESE PATRIOTS never ever..never once considered this country as number one..this is the mindset of a liberal..A MINDSET THAT PRETTY MUCH PREDATES BUSH..and his so called ''failed administration..

SO SPARE ME..

[mrmeatspin]

Posted by jgunther7 at 05:45 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse


******

to translate what he just said..

"bend over and grease your arse...the russians are coming"

[jgunther7]

Statements being made here are misleading. Russia has four new nuclear powered aircraft carriers and numerous warships and submarines under construction. The new generation Bolivia ICBM that has been under development for almost ten years has now gone into full production and they will be popping them out like General Motors used to make Chevy%u2019s. They carry 16 warheads that split off and track individual targets and change course and trajectory as they zig zag to their targets. They also carry new electronic jamming systems on each missile. All of which makes a lot of our defence systems obsolete. The SS22 missile mentioned in the article and carried on %u201CPeter the Great%u201D travel at mack 3, 4 times the speed of our cruise missiles. However they only travel a few hundred miles and the Russians are now developing longer range versions. Their S-400 defence system knocks down incoming missiles and stealth aircraft from 400 kilometres. While they still maintain their underground fixed location missile silos from the cold war, most of their systems are completely mobile and are constantly moving around across the steeps, forest and tundra of Russia%u2019s eleven time zones. While the US and NATO might contemplate a pre-emptive strike against Russia%u2019s metropolitan cities and fixed military bases, Russia would always retain enough retaliation to annihilate their advisories several times over. The false bravado being expressed by some of the readers seems dangerously naive.

[torva-2009]

Indifference is the worst sort of insult.

I think Rice and the Pentagon are correct we don''t have anything to worry about because the bulk of Russia''s functioning navy is in the neighborhood.

It is the perfect example of why Russia shouldn''t get pissy if we have our war ships in the Black Sea.

Besides in this economy and the devaluation of the Ruble, it has got to be costing the Russians a fortune for their little naval show and tell!

[presjfk]

""""Posted by bobbyduck1 at 04:01 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse

The US and UK and all the other countries with us. And if someone was to plan and execute terrorist attacks in my country while I was president, I would overthrow regimes too!

Posted by mr_dwdm"""""""""""

I would hope that you would at least overthrow the guilty countries...

[presjfk]

Listening to the Venezuelan guards signing the Russian anthem was hilarious.

[jgunther7]

The Monroe doctrine is a US policy statement, and while it may be interesting reading in the US, it has little significance to foreign readers.

[vendari01]

So what is the big deal? We played this little ''*** for tat'' game with the USSR for ages, with no harm done. I''ve seen lots of pictures of Russian bombers and ships, taken by American aircraft escorting them. Any bets on how many L.A.-class subs are shadowing the ships? It''s a good game; keeps everyone on their toes.

[mrmeatspin]

Posted by lovegetpeace at 03:49 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse


********

in the near future the russians will be storming our beaches..what are you going to do?? just humor me on this one..

will you side iwth them or with us?

[mrmeatspin]

Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuardo are now our Enemies. The oppositions get fired up by just saying ''''Bush''''. America gets no respect around the world.


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Posted by lovegetpeace at 03:49 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse


******
I am as concerned as you are WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT US..

you need to be hogtied and dropped in valenzuela..

[mr_dwdm]

And please don''''''''t mention Russia''''''''s tanks invading Geogia.


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Posted by mr_dwdm at 03:52 PM : Dec 17, 2008

And the U.S. invading Iraq is ok? Georgia IS on Russia''''s border, how close is Iraq to the U.S.? Not to defend Russia, mind you, but this is definitely a case of "Do what I say" and "Ignore what I did"!


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Posted by bobbyduck1 at 04:01 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse

The US and UK and all the other countries with us. And if someone was to plan and execute terrorist attacks in my country while I was president, I would overthrow regimes too!

[mr_dwdm]

With the global economic storm surging, it looks like Russia is strengthening their socialist ties, telling every one of them that the capitalists'' world dominance is coming to an end. Could be a smart move for Russia, if they''re right. If not, then, it really is no threat. Though, someone might ask, what is a democracy like Russia doing strengthening socialist ties?

[bobbyduck1]

And please don''''t mention Russia''''s tanks invading Geogia.


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Posted by mr_dwdm at 03:52 PM : Dec 17, 2008

And the U.S. invading Iraq is ok? Georgia IS on Russia''s border, how close is Iraq to the U.S.? Not to defend Russia, mind you, but this is definitely a case of "Do what I say" and "Ignore what I did"!