Russia general says missile plan not shelved

Russia’s top general said on Monday that plans to deploy missiles in an enclave next to Poland had not been shelved, despite a decision by the United States to rethink plans for missile defense in Europe.

Even Appeasers All Appeased Out

I can never figure out why so many people are opposed to missile defense.

Caving in more or less completely on the European shield is not a surprise, though.

Russian navy searches Atlantic for missing ship

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered that “all necessary measures” be taken to find the missing ship, and the Russian navy turned all of its vessels in the Atlantic — including three landing ships, a frigate and two nuclear-powered submarines — to search.

Finnish police said they also were assisting in the investigation.

What are the Finns doing? Scouring the streets of Helsinki for a 300-foot cargo carrier?

Anyway, at least those subs off the United States’ east coast have something to do.

Russian attack subs patrol off U.S. coast

Two nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines have been patrolling in international waters off the East Coast for several days, in activity reminiscent of the Cold War, defense officials said Tuesday.

U.S. Northern Command would not comment on the Russian submarines’ movement. But in a prepared statement, Northern Command spokesman Michael Kucharek acknowledged the patrols and said the U.S. has been monitoring the two submarines.

I wonder if they’re really “attack submarines” or actually missile boats.

“We are planning to resolve all the issues in 2010-2011, and after that we will make a final decision. At this point it is necessary to determine all technical specifications of the ship and the means of achieving them. Simultaneously, we have to decide on the strategic uses of aircraft carriers in the future,” Vladimir Popovkin said.

So far the Russian Navy only has one aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, built in 1985, with a displacement of 55,000 metric tons, a crew of 1,500, and capability to carry more than 50 aircraft.

Earlier reports that the Russians were not planning to arm the ship with cruise missiles seem to be confirmed.

US scientist pleads guilty to China tech sales

A scientist pleaded guilty Monday to selling U.S. rocket technology to China and bribing Chinese officials to secure a lucrative contract for his high-tech company.

Bad. How could an American do such a thing? Must be the evils of capitalism and greed. Or maybe it’s a bit more than that:

Quan-Sheng Shu, 68, pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the federal Arms Control Act and one count of bribery at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.

Shu is president of AMAC International Inc. of Newport News. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Shanghai.

Meanwhile:

Russian spy in Nato could have passed on missile defence and cyber-war secrets:

Herman Simm, 61, an Estonian defence ministry official who was arrested in September, was responsible for handling all of his country’s classified information at Nato, giving him access to every top-secret graded document from other alliance countries.

He was recruited by the Russians in the late 1980s and has been charged in Estonia with supplying information to a foreign power.

Red Storm Rising

In Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising, a key plotline was the taking of Iceland by the Soviets and the effort to re-open the GIUK Gap by NATO forces, including some US personnel that escaped the Soviet attack. Thanks to a “force reduction” in 2006, US forces pulled out and now the Russians might be moving in. Unfortunately, Murdoc’s Icelandic is a bit rusty, so we’ll have to rely on Alert 5:

Iceland offers strategic airbase to Russia

Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson shocked foreign diplomats at a lunch in Reykjavik on Nov. 7 when he offered the former Naval Air Station Keflavik to Russia.

Grimsson said that his country needs “new friends” and that Russia should be invited to use the former NATO airbase.

If this goes through, it will be disastrous for us. I expect that we’ll be making a counter-offer shortly. Which might be the whole point of offering it to the Russians.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski says Obama assured him the plans for US ballistic missile defense in Poland were on track. Obama refuses to say he’s committed to it. Is that a problem?

Environmental Republican:

So here we are with Obama telling a world leader one thing and the public another, very much like his statements on NAFTA during the election where he slammed the treaty on the campaign trail while simultaneously winking at the Canucks and saying it was just for the consumption of the gullible American electorate.

But this is not Canada, this is Russia, the former Soviet Union, the Bear who was our enemy for decades and who will be again soon.

As Environmental Republican says, this was a tough deal for Kaczynski to get through. Poland sure has stepped up to the plate for us over and over again. We haven’t always done everything we could or should in return.

Kirov-class cruiser Pyotr Velikiy in Toulon, France

The Velikiy and several other Russian ships will next head to the Caribbean for joint exercises with Venezuela.

This pic was taken by a MilitaryPhotos.net member. He’s got some more.

Russian Iskander (NATO SS-26 Stone) on mobile launcher

A number of folks have emailed, commented, or mentioned to me personally this: Russia to deploy missiles near NATO border

President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that Russia will deploy missiles in territory near NATO member Poland in response to U.S. missile defense plans.

He did not say whether the short-range Iskander missiles would be fitted with nuclear warheads.

In his first state of the nation speech, Medvedev also blamed the U.S. for the war in Georgia and the global financial crisis. He said he hoped Barack Obama would act to improve relations with Russia but he did not offer congratulations to the president-elect.

In all honesty, I doubt this is a direct response to Obama’s win last night. They may have been waiting to see who won before deciding on whether or not to announce it in the speech, but the speech was going to happen regardless and the missiles were going to happen regardless.

It’s more than a bit ironic that the Russians have been calling an anti-missile defensive system a “threat” and are now responding to it by deploying offensive weapons to prove that the US is aggressive. This is akin to whining that people shouldn’t wear body armor because it’s a threat to you, and in response to the threat you’re going to start carrying a gun.

The Russians have been trying to shake the rust off of their sabers, and this is just another move in that direction.

Incidentally, this underscores what I wrote earlier about my fear of demands for a sudden “peace dividend.” With Iraq winding down and an incoming president that seems unlikely to open new active fronts in the war, there is bound to be a lot of calls for sweeping military cuts. Things like missile defense are sure to be near the top of the list.