MOSCOW "“ A Russian Air Force chief said Saturday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered an island as a temporary base for strategic Russian bombers, the Interfax news agency reported.
The chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, also said Cuba could be used to base the aircraft, Interfax reported.
The Kremlin, however, said the situation was hypothetical.
"The military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all," Alexei Pavlov, a Kremlin official, told the Associated Press. "If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," he said.
Zhikharev said Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers," the agency reported. "If there is a corresponding political decision, then the use of the island ... by the Russian Air Force is possible."
Interfax reported he said earlier that Cuba has air bases with four or five runways long enough for the huge bombers and could be used to host the long-range planes.
[/align]
I highly doubt this will cause the same tension as the Cuban Missle Crisis did, as Russia is not so much ofa threat as it was before. I'm sure the U.S. and them would make some sort of compromise, like us building our missle shield in Poland.
__________________
Get addicted to Wisconsin wolves, smoke a pack a day
I would find such deployments to be highly disturbing. I think Russia is more of a threat today than it was in 1962. Tensions are lower, yes, but Russian pride has been deeply wounded since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and they've been almost desparate to reverse their declining fortunes. They want to be top dog in a multipolar world of up-and-coming superpowers, and that's going to cause us a lot of trouble.
Coming To An Airport Near You
