RE: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,147217,00.html

The more things change... the more things stay the same! Watch to see the direction of Russian politics over the next election - or "selection" - cycle, and see if Putin honors the constitutional "term limits" concerning his future as Russian president.

RE: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,147217,00.html

It is not so much that the Russian Bear is choosing a Cold War over the confusion; rather the Bear is choosing pride over shame.

I liken the Boris Yeltsin era to the Jimmy Carter era; and liken Putin to Ronald Reagan. If you recall, Carter was about "Peace at any Price". Reagan was about rebuilding our military and "Trust but Verify". In this sense, Putin is an echo of Reagan.

These Russian long Range bombers/reconnaisance aircraft are so old and slow, that they are not effective as a threat. But they are useful in terms of identifying the location and sequence of U.S./NATO monitoring devices and the points at which the fighters will be launched to intercept them. It is essentially a show of force; and a declaration that the Russians will fly anywhere within international airspace.

We are evolving into the multipolar world that Kissinger described about 35 years ago. You can't have a stable world if you have just one center of power; and many poles are more stable than just two. China and India are emerging as world powers, as Russia is re-emerging. If only the European Union would get some muscle of its own, we would have enough centers of power to counter the aggressions of any one of them.

Putin is from the old school and is hard core. In his younger years he was ruthless/communist.
He needs to be watched and not trusted. He is flexing his muscles for reasons. Watch---but---not kiss his azzzzzz....

Time to dust off the SR-71 and start doing flights in Russian airspace at the Blackbird's classified max speed. Then laugh as the Russians' SAMs can't catch it.

Not to say we EVER did something like this during the Cold War with the Soviets.

The Bear has never liked being last since Peter the Great! And now they have money- even tho the troops have'nt been paid regularly. If Putin flexs their muscles, they he retains the hard-liners and the middle of the road- Much better than a bullet in the brain, or suspected heart attack.

Could it possibly be that the Kremlin is taking advantage of the fact that the only world super-power has stretched its armed forces almost to the limit?

Take note that not only is Russia rearming and strengthing itself, the Peoples Republic of China has been doing the same using the U.S. Dollars that it has emassed through the massive trade deficit between them and the U.S.

The sky is falling? Perhaps not but a geopolitical situation that bares close watching.

Let me see:
1. Russia is rearming and flexing its muscle
2. There is a Russian, Chinese, and 4 other Asian state alignment that controls a huge portion of the world's oil both tapped and untapped
3. China is arming itself increasingly and developing a blue water navy that can challenge ours
4. Iran is building or has built nukes and has its eyes on Iraq (after we leave)
5. Turkey (the only secular Muslim nation) just elected a conservative Muslim president
6. The US military is stretched thin in a 2 front war

It looks to me like the US is about to have its hands full. No the sky isn't falling but I'd watch for flying rocks. Just wait.