Was Paris Hilton Right?: Old Cold Warrior Partners Russian Federation And United States Rattle Sabres Over Poland, Czech Republic, Belarus, And Cuba

"Russia may consider deploying strategic bombers or station tactical missiles in its close ally Belarus as a counter-measure to a planned U.S. missile shield in Europe, Moscow's envoy to Minsk said on Wednesday.

The United States have unnerved Moscow by its plans to install elements of its missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, a measure Washington believes is needed to avert possible missile strikes from Iran.

Moscow says U.S. plans pose a threat to Russia's national security.

"Once Poland has signed an agreement with the American side on deployment of elements of the missile defense there, we will be able to discuss some additional aspects of our military and technical cooperation with Belarus," Russia's ambassador in Belarus, Alexander Surikov, told a news conference. ...

All communist-era nuclear weapons were withdrawn from Belarus [and Ukraine] after the collapse of the Soviet Union....

Military experts in Moscow have also said Russian strategic bombers would not even have to cross the borders of Russia or Belarus to successfully launch cruise missiles and reduce the planned missile defense in Eastern Europe to rubble."

Reuters "Russia mulls arms in Belarus to counter U.S. shield" Washington Post August 6, 2008

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"Russia's seemingly newfound interest in resuming its positions in Cuba has appeared at a time when Moscow is growing increasingly apprehensive about the proposed U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe, analysts say.

"We need to reestablish positions on Cuba and in other countries," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said earlier this week after hearing a report from Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who had just ended a three-day visit to the Caribbean state, along with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs Andrei Klimov seemed more unequivocal about the topic. "Russia should take advantage of all its capabilities to protect its national interests, including the interests in the field of security," he said after the talks in Cuba between Russian and Cuban officials.
Russia should "own its supporting points" in different regions in the world, Klimov said, noting that "Cuba's location has geopolitical importance" and that a presence in both economic and military affairs must be built in America." ...

Xinhua News Agency "News Analysis: Russia seeks military presence in Cuba in response to U.S. missile shield" August 7, 2008













Ceiling detail of the Great Choral Synagogue of Grodno, Belarus.

Long-delayed restoration work began last month on the Great Choral Synagogue of Grodno, Belarus, Future European Union.

Photo credits: Wikipedia Commons [U.S. nuclear test of October 31, 1952] and (c) Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS. 2008. [Grodno Great Choral Synagogue]