Russia threatens to seize swathe of Arctic

#1
OrangeEmpire

OrangeEmpire

The White Debonair
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#1
Russia threatens to seize swathe of Arctic - Telegraph

"We must finalise and adopt a federal law on the southern border of Russia's Arctic zone," Mr Medvedev told a meeting of the Security Council, in remarks carried by Interfax news agency.
"This is our responsibility, and simply our direct duty, to our descendents," he said. "We must surely, and for the long-term future, secure Russia's interests in the Arctic."
Global warming has stepped up the fight for the disputed Arctic, believed to be laden with vast reserves of oil and gas. Russia has pitted itself against Canada, Denmark, Norway and the United States to fight for a greater part of the region, arguing that most of it is Russian territory since an underwater ridge links Siberia to the North Pole's seabed.
Last August, a Russian mini-submarine carrying politicians and scientists plunged to the depths of the Arctic and claimed to plant a Russian flag to mark Moscow's stake in the territory.
Footage of the alleged planting was widely broadcast on Russian television – but later turned out to be images taken from the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic.
Under international law, each of the five countries that lay claim to the Arctic own a 320-kilometre zone that extends north from their shores. That arrangement is up for UN review in May next year.
Vladimir Putin, now Russia's prime minister, has said global warming is good for Russia – melting its vast icy territories to reveal previously inaccessible oil and gas reserves.
With oil production declining – and Russia's oil-fuelled power rising – it is keen to grab ever more.
"This region has strategic significant for us. Its development is directly tied to solving the long-term tasks of the state and its competitiveness on global markets," Medvedev said.
Russia's leaders have not held back on stoking issues sure to rile the West in recent days, despite a drastic drop in its markets, fuelled by the global credit crisis and compounded by loss of investor confidence in Russia after its war with Georgia.
Medvedev's statements on the heated Arctic issue came one day after Putin said that Russia's defence spending would rise 27 per cent next year to nearly $100 billion (£30 million).
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Thoughts?
 
#2
#2
Best part of the article:

Footage of the alleged planting was widely broadcast on Russian television – but later turned out to be images taken from the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic.
Click to expand...
 
#3
#3
The old Bear is warming up. They have resumed flying at our carrier groups over the last year, have sworn to make us pay for the breakup surrounding the old Czech republic, they invaded Georgia, and are openly hostile to our involvement with their old satellite countries (Poland- missle defense positions, we moved some of our brigades out of Germany to former Soviet block countries, etc.). They also just sent bombers to Columbia on an "exercise."
We need to watch them carefully.
 
#5
#5
It was obvious what they were up to last year when they were doing that undersea mapping in the Arctic. They need the profits from the energy reserves supposedly underneath the Arctic to finance their military resurgence.
 
#7
#7
Based on tales of their vehicles breaking down on the way to Georgia, they weren't far from that anyway.
 
#8
#8
Spetsnaz.jpg
 
#9
#9
BigPapaVol said:
the recent oil price swoon just set them back toward the 1850s again.
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:good!:

But....I would also like to add that we can only expect the price of oil to go up unless we find massive reserves that are accessible under current technology or develop technology to expand the reserves..........or, of course, find a way to make 'alternative' energy conventional. I am in the camp who believes that oil is not an abiogenic (sp?) resource....so I have to imagine the buck stops somewhere.
 
#10
#10
The fiasco in Iraq has made this country look vulnerable.
They know we dont have the military strength to engage another country.
So countries like Iraq, Russia, etc seize that as an opportunity to rub our nose in it.

More fruit from the Bush presidency.
 
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#11
#11
One other point, Russia I think is the no.1 oil exporter now, passing Saudi Arabia. They have the money to spend as much as we do or more on defense. They could be quite powerful. Thats why they want the artic, more oil, more money, more power. A real threat obviously.
 
#12
#12
oklavol said:
The fiasco in Iraq has made this country look vulnerable.
They know we dont have the military strength to engage another country.
So countries like Iraq, Russia, etc seize that as an opportunity to rub our nose in it.

More fruit from the Bush presidency.
Click to expand...

posts like this make me wonder if you realize how large the US military is and how long our reach is.
 
#14
#14
MG1968 said:
posts like this make me wonder if you realize how large the US military is and how long our reach is.
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So you think we are in position to go to war with Russia when we have struggled for years in Iraq? When troops have been asked to serve 2 and 3 or more tours in Iraq already? Where do the troops come from for this? The draft? The army is stretched thin already.
 
#15
#15
oklavol said:
So you think we are in position to go to war with Russia when we have struggled for years in Iraq? When troops have been asked to serve 2 and 3 or more tours in Iraq already? Where do the troops come from for this? The draft? The army is stretched thin already.
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Are we stretched thin in Iraq because we are engaged in unconventional warfare or because Iraq is a great military power?

What form of warfare is both the US and Russia more suited to fight?

Did Russia win in their run in with unconventional warfare in Afghanistan?
 
#16
#16
UTLCA said:
Best part of the article: "Footage of the alleged planting was widely broadcast on Russian television – but later turned out to be images taken from the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic."
Click to expand...

Did I miss the part in Titanic where a Russian flag was planted at the bottom at the Arctic ocean?
 
#18
#18
oklavol said:
The fiasco in Iraq has made this country look vulnerable.
They know we dont have the military strength to engage another country.
So countries like Iraq, Russia, etc seize that as an opportunity to rub our nose in it.

More fruit from the Bush presidency.
Click to expand...

we have the mililary to beat anybody, but when you have fight a pc war it's tough. when you have democrats calling our troops terrorists and comparing them to nazis it's tough. it's to do your job when you have unfair scrutiny by the mainstream media that loathes the military.

thank you liberal dem politicians.
 
#19
#19
oklavol said:
The fiasco in Iraq has made this country look vulnerable.
They know we dont have the military strength to engage another country.
So countries like Iraq, Russia, etc seize that as an opportunity to rub our nose in it.

More fruit from the Bush presidency.
Click to expand...

Ahh our Military is way more advanced then anything in the world, we have come out of Iraq bruised, but the experience and new technology have brought our army well into the 21st century

BTW did you see what Russan invaded Georgia with?? POS T72 tanks, the same that Iraq had. We would have smoked them
 
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#20
#20
The last five years in Iraq and the last 7 in Afghanistan have revolutionized our infantry soldiers and tactics, across the board. While, we may have trouble initially manning enough ground troops to fight a conventional war with Russia, those ground troops will be better then any Russia has ever seen.
 
#22
#22
BigPapaVol said:
the Longbow is also one bad animal. The 64s I knew were bad dudes, but the new one is flat out deadly.
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man I miss seeing those fly thru the canyons out in Arizona. Now all I get to see are the F-22's fly over my house :p. I feel pretty safe where I live now though
 
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