The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!

Monday, December 1, 2008 by Dick.

“Everybody to get from street!”

I was late to bed and early to rise but it could have been worse. Somebody triggered a backup alarm somewhere within earshot about 0:dark:30; it woke me. I folded the pillow over my head but I didn’t really sleep that well from then until the alarm.

Speaking of alarms…

I know where the Russians are. I want to know where American reporters are.

The Russian navy announced Carribean maneuvers with the Venezuelans about 2-1/2 months ago or during the height of the presidential campaign season. Nobody noticed, caught up as we were in the color barrier and the cost of Sarah Palin’s wardrobe. Speaking of color, a Cuban poll released this morning noted that no black man would ever ascend to a leadership position in Cuba.

Cuba? CUBA? The biggest foreign policy problem for the new administration is not Iran, Afghanistan, or Iraq. The biggest foreign policy problem is having missile-toting, nuclear-powered warships some 150 miles from my personal front door. (Remember the now-fabled “90 miles from the Bay of Pigs”? Regular readers may recall that my house in the Keys is about that distance away from Cuba).

Four Russian North Fleet and 12 Venezuelan ships lead by nuclear cruiser Peter the Great sailed today from Venezuela’s La Guaira port. The joint naval exercises began this morning and will last two days. You can read the entire story from Novosti, the English-language Russian News and Information Agency.

The Russian and Venezuelan ships-of-war will “practice sea rescue operations and maneuvering, and conduct live-firing artillery drills.” The public reason for the exercises is to plan terrorism and drug trafficking countermeasures but the exercises include aircraft, missiles, and 1,600 Russian marines. Russian strategic bombers overflew South America last month.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the military cooperation “very useful.”

Indeed.

Russia’s entire economy is based on petrodollars. Oil has tanked and they are getting very nervous. When Russia or China (or both together) get nervous, we need to be very worried.

If that’s not enough to get your attention, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez believes he is the second coming of Castro. Except he may be nastier.

I remember the original Missile Crisis in the Carribean. “Duck and cover” is not a particularly useful exercise against nuclear attack but it is a great exercise to scare fifth-graders.

Here’s the bigger question: I googled and found that the closest American media to notice this is Voice of America. I wonder why no major American reporter seems to remember the last crisis and why no major American news organization is covering this one.

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