Russian naval activity in Europe exceeds Cold War levels: U.S. admiral

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters




Sun Apr 9, 2017 | 10:54am EDT

By Andrea Shalal | BERLIN

Recent Russian naval activity in Europe exceeds levels seen during the Cold War, a top U.S. and NATO military officer said, voicing concern that the distributed nature of the deployments could end up "splitting and distracting" the transatlantic alliance.

Navy Admiral Michelle Howard, who heads NATO's Allied Joint Force Command in Naples and commands U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa, said Russia had clearly stepped up its naval actions in recent years although the size of its navy was smaller now than during the Cold War era.

"We're seeing activity that we didn't even see when it was the Soviet Union. It's precedential activity," Howard told Reuters in an interview late on Saturday during a missile defense conference.

Howard cited a wide range of activities, including Russia's deployment of its Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, increased patrols in the north Atlantic and Arctic region, significant out-of-area submarine deployments, and submarine movement in the Black Sea.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-military-idUSKBN17B0O8?il=0

[dalton99a]

1. It's intentional and provocative

[Nitram]

2. It's also excellent training.

[Igel]

5. Which is why it's provocative.

Having large-scale NATO exercises in terrain like that found in Russia would be provocative, because it would be in east Poland. Russia would pitch a fit.

They would find it provocative; they know what they're doing, by and large, and know that if we find it provocative they make their point and if we don't find training for warfare in European waters provocative they get to figure out how to beat NATO forces in NATO waters without hindrance. Win/win.

Behavior you don't like is countered by either taking away the benefit (or punishing it) or finding some mutually exclusive behavior that you can reward and make more attractive. We insist on refusing to punish behavior we don't like; instead, we act as though it's okay.

Now, many will say we do punish behavior--look at the sanctions. But the punishment has to be deemed more important than the benefit gained; in the great semiotic war that says for somethings only the perceiver has any say in interpretation but in other cases its all about actor intent, many people get it completely backwards because it always puts us in the driver's seat, which is exactly where we figure the universe intended such superior beings to be. However, we don't get to decide what Russia considers adequaely punitive actions in response to what they do to eliminate or even discourage the behavior. We get to figure it out.

[turbinetree]

3. And while in this country we have "NO" Zilch, Nada, no one sitting in Sec. of Navy office

or nominated to the position

[Vinnie From Indy]

4. The Russian Navy is a rotten shell.

This is about the money! The military industrial monster wants to be fed!