Saturday, November 1, 2008

Cold War at US Doorstep?

Well, global warming be damned; it may not be another Cold War yet but it’s starting to get very chilly in Latin America thanks to a Russian breeze that’s blowing in from across the Atlantic. On Monday, Reuters reported, “The Russian and Cuban military will exchange experience in organizing tactical air defense and in training officers.”

This is the latest in a series of eyebrow-raising actions by Russia in Latin America. In September, two Russian strategic bombers landed in Venezuela to conduct “training missions.” Also in September, Russia announced that it would dispatch warships to Venezuela to conduct joint exercises in November.

One thing is certain; Russia is trying hard to get attention from the U.S. Or perhaps it’s simply trying to unload weapons in exchange for Venezuelan petrodollars. Or probably both.

Russia under Putin and now Dmitry Medvedev, Putin’s puppet president, has acted in ways that are reminiscent of the bad old days of the “evil empire.” Many observers believe Russia is acting out in response to NATO’s expansion, which has left Russia surrounded by former Soviet states that are now allied with the U.S. Some also see these actions as a response to proposed missile defense systems in Europe.

Read about it here, here and here.

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