Russia's Unique Military Position - Jan 9

Got a really good one here from stratfor about Russian bomber capabilities. Very interesting stuff. Anyways, in lieu of a real post that requires some actual effort I've done a cut and paste job for you here instead. Click on the big map below to get a larger view.

Johnny Cash

Russia: Maintaining a Unique Military Position
Jan 09, 2007

Summary

In 2006, Russian strategic aviation conducted more than 100 training sorties over the old Cold War battleground of the Northern Atlantic, Northern Pacific and Arctic oceans, Russian air force Commander-in-Chief Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov announced. While the sorties are neither especially impressive nor particularly concerning to Washington, they are a reminder of Russia's unique military position, especially vis-a-vis the United States.

Analysis

Russian air force Commander-in-Chief Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov said Jan. 4 that Russian planes flew more than 100 strategic bomber patrols over Russia's eastern, western and northern periphery in 2006. Mikhailov said the sorties indicate a new level of combat readiness for Russia's long-range strategic air force.

The aviation exercises are in line with a general Russian military resurgence that has been under way for some time. Building a new Russian military from the shambles of the Red Army is a massive and daunting task. But key forces -- strategic nuclear forces, aviation and elite ground units -- are being reconstituted. The current pace is admittedly slow, but it is steady. The selective rehabilitation of Russia's military capabilities is coupled with the Kremlin's increasing control over the strategic energy and mining sectors and the political landscape. With major elections coming in December 2007 and March 2008, the Kremlin wishes to consolidate as much power as possible to ensure the perpetuation of its current policies. Thus, Russian military rhetoric has become more for domestic consumption, intended to show the Russian people what Moscow has done to rebuild its strategic position in the world.

However, the strategic aviation patrols in the old Cold War style are also a reminder that Russia holds a unique position of military power vis-a-vis the United States. Though the Soviet Union is no more, its achievements in military technology -- especially those just coming online when the Berlin Wall came down -- remain in the hands of the Russian armed forces today. There is no clearer example of this than the Tupolev Tu-160 bomber (designated "Blackjack" by NATO).


Besides the United States and Russia, no other nation possesses such a strategic strike platform -- and none appears likely to have one in the near future. Similar in appearance to the U.S. B-1B, the Tu-160 is some 30 feet longer and has a maximum wingspan more than 40 feet greater. It is some 125,000 pounds heavier than the B-1B, and each engine kicks in 55,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner -- 25,000 pounds more than the B-1B. Capable of traveling at Mach 2.05, the Blackjack is nearly twice as fast as the B-1B. This is not to say that the Tu-160 is a superior plane in all respects; its cruise speed is slower, its ordnance load about 10,000 pounds less and its avionics and navigation capabilities are not as evolved, but these are minor distinctions in the context of the world's air forces.

The Tu-160 can, without refueling, deliver ordnance halfway around the world from Russian territory. Moreover, it can launch a dozen KH-55 cruise missiles (designated AS-15 by NATO) with an additional range of roughly 1,800 miles and a circular error probable (a measure of accuracy) of about 80 feet. Tu-160 airframes have been slowly receiving upgraded systems and the capability to carry additional types of ordnance since the summer of 2006.


While Russian pilots still do not receive stellar amounts of flying time -- and flying time is an important measure of an air force's true skill level -- select squadrons like the Tu-160s of the 121st Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment stationed at Engels Air Force Base near Saratov are now getting a disproportionate increase in training in order to correct this deficiency.

As Russia rebuilds its military, it is taking advantage of the significant stepping stone of legacy Soviet platforms like the Tu-160. While this by no means translates into a Russian ability to penetrate U.S. airspace and hit strategic targets, Moscow and Washington alone can quickly strike at targets around the world on short notice.

Moscow still officially considers the United States and NATO its top defense priority. Though nuclear strategists keep a close eye on Russia, the United States and NATO do not see Moscow as a top threat. The withdrawal of U.S. P-3 Orions from Iceland is only a small indication of this. Though the West has not forgotten Russia's military -- especially its strategic nuclear forces -- the time could come when an unexpected Tu-160 strike in defense of Russian interests in some remote locale reminds the world that, while down, the Russian war machine is definitely not out.

Copyright 2007 Strategic Forecasting Inc. All rights reserved.

Canada 4, Russia 2 - Jan 7

I'm a little late in posting this result as the Canadian juniors won their gold medal game last Friday. Bryan Little of the Barrie Colts scored a goal in the big game to help the team. Way to go boys, we're so proud of you!

I've always believed that crime never pays. I also thank God for dumb criminals. If every liar and thief were masters at what they do we'd be in some serious trouble. However if you do choose to become one of the bad guys allow me to give you four examples of what not to do:

Never, ever try to dismantle a RPG (rocket propelled grenade) with a sledgehammer.

While stealing copper wire, make sure that there isn't 13,000 volts running through it.

If you steal a snake from a pet store, don't go back to the same pet store and ask for books on how to care for said stolen snake.

Allahu Akbar Dep't: If Muslim, kindly leave your bombs at home before heading to mosque to pray.

Utter nuttiness I tell ya. In a more serious vein, I do think that deviant criminal behaviour and overall general cruelty is on the upswing. A lot of the delusion going around today seems to have a touch of the black supernatural to it. The persecution of Christians, both in China and in Iran is on the rise. The so-called free press is under a liberal lock-down. It's tough to speak out for God and to stand up for Biblical principles in today's world. I don't believe that this is all unrelated either. I think this shows that the end of the church age is probably much closer than it appears.
Hooray for such Canadian heroes as Colonel Fred Lewis! Col. Lewis is the deputy commander of the task force that's in southern Afghanistan. According to him, the Taliban is using the drug trade to facilitate jihad and are strong-arming local farmers to plant poppies for opium production. I wish every lefty would understand this. We are dealing with thugs, criminals, pimps, extortionists, drug dealers and money launderers of the worst sort here. Someone who is truly fighting for freedom has honor, decency and a respect for life, an ethos that is hard-wired solely to Judeo-Christianity. Hey, even the French are waking up to the threat of global jihad! If we leave now then Afghanistan will revert to it's past days of lawlessness and gangsterism where terrorists can walk about without fear of reprisal. We cannot allow ourselves to say that because al-Qaida is not in my backyard it is therefore not my problem. Such short-sightedness will destroy us all.

Another thing that Canadian society has become rather permissive in it's non-Biblical outlook is how we now approach the sanctity of the family unit. Once we divorce ourselves from the idea that marriage ought to remain the union of one man and one woman then anything goes. Canadians en masse have fallen in love with the idea of gay marriage, a clear abandoning of Christian principles. Of course, once you change the definition of one man, one woman to two men or two women, what's to stop it to three or more? In a landmark case in Ontario, a lesbian's 'life partner' is now legally considered a boy's second mother. That's right, this poor kid now has three legal parents. Hell, why stop there? Make it four, five, six or even seven parents if you truly believe in 'tolerance'. The definition of marriage and family come from God's authority, not from Man's majority! How foolish we are in accepting the radical homosexual agenda without any kind of free and skeptical inquiry. We are paving the way to our own destruction and few seem to notice or care.

It's been a couple of days since I last posted, hasn't it? Please understand that it takes up at least three to four hours of my time to get off a single post. Like most blogs, the X-Def is for all intents and purposes a one-man operation. Hence the reason why I don't post more often then I really want to. So if you are a regular reader of this blog please exercise patience.

Thanks for all your understanding,
Johnny Cash

UN to Jews: Please Lie Down And Die - Jan 2

Here is former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Kotler talking about what the international community can do to stop Iran's Thug-In-Chief. Runs 5:45.



We all know that the so-called international community will do nothing. There seems to be no rational reason why we are not tackling this problem head on. World War II and Hitler? Never happened. All facts, all logic, all of human history are being treated as purely subjective. There is no material reason why institutions such as the UN are not taking action against Iranian aggression and its anti-semitic calls for genocide. The only reason I can possible come up with is a supernatural one, simply because I've eliminated all other possible scenarios. Satan is hard at work deceiving the nations to do his bidding and God is permitting it to show us how incredibly foolish we really are. I really believe that this year we will see something utterly fantastic as God displays his power to an unbelieving world.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss Dep't: UN Grand Poobah Ban Ki-Moon continues the fine tradition of incompetence of his predecessor in suggesting that if the Israeli-Palestinian problem was solved then everything else such as Iraq, Lebanon and Syria would follow. Yup, the Sunni and the Shia in Iraq will drop all their weapons and embrace one another as brothers just as soon as the question of a sovereign 'Palestine' is resolved. Gosh, if only the Jews could just politely lie down and die without complaining then peace on Earth and goodwill towards Men would surely follow throughout the Middle East. Utter madness I tell you.

CSIS has just made a stunner of a statement saying that a so-called dirty bomb being exploded hereabouts would impact negatively on the economy. Wow. That's our fearless spy agency in action folks! South of the border it was discovered that only 6 of 75 major urban areas are truly ready for a major emergency. Gov't bureacrats also discovered that six cities being ready for an emergency represents an improvement over zero cities being ready for an emergency. Do I laugh or do I cry here?

Alas, there is hope my friend! Somali Islamists have been routed from their last redoubt in Kismayo, Somalia. The Kenyans aren't messing around either as they guard their northern flank to prevent the jihadis coming across the border. Plus I got a cool story out of jolly old England as authorities there deal with Umran Javed, a hate antagonist and overall scumbag. May God save the Queen!

Johnny Cash

2007: A Year For Trouble - Jan 1

Below is the mess left over from last night's celebrations at Times Square in NYC. Talk about littering!


Happy New Year everyone! Hope you survived the holiday season. I don't know why they call it a 'holiday season' as it feels more like a battle of attrition than a holiday. These past ten days off was something I was looking forward too for sure. As Man's light becomes dimmer, the Light of the World will be that much brighter. We here in the West seem to be in a daze, a permanent state of denial over Islam's growing power. Please note that Islam does not promise forgiveness or even a direct pathway to God. It promises unlimited earthly power, a deal with the devil if you will in exchange for an eternal soul. I think it will also be a tough year for the truth-tellers and whistleblowers amongst us who dare to challenge the secular-progressive view of reality. So right, so pure, so just and so convinced of their own infallibility that the s-p's run roughshod over Judeo-Christian traditions, neatly paving the way for Islamic global despotism. Here's a paragraph from Hugh Fitzgerald of JihadWatch that encapsulates my feeling perfectly:

The re-primitivization of the world proceeds, proceeds because the advanced peoples do not appreciate their own achieved advancement. The uncivilized are inheriting that civilization, because the civilized themselves are insufficiently grateful their own legacy, and indifferent or ignorant of the conditions that were necessary for its achievement over time. And the uncivilized, seizing control of that very civilization they had so little a hand in creating, will determinedly undo it. They already are.

Read it all here.

Hey, did you know that Canadians could be living on the moon by 2024? I say why bother? Living in Quebec, a mere six-hour drive away, has the same effect! Actually, this may not be a bad idea. I nominate Gilles Duceppe and Stephane Dion (you can take Jack Layton too) to be our first moon residents. That would truly be a proud moment for the Quebecois 'nation', non?

From the PMO comes a New Year message from PM Stephen Harper. Look at the family portrait. Man, talk about Beauty and the Beast! How Mr. Helmet Hair and Laureen ever had sex with one another on at least two separate occasions is a mystery to me. In a more mature vein, I think it is certain that Canadians will take the long and winding road to the polls (heads bowed, shoulders hunched along with that 'thousand-mile stare' that you so often hear about) in 2007. Ezra Levant kindly gives us the run-down and his not-so-flattering opinion of the new Liberal leader.

This just in! Saddam Hussein had a messed-up childhood! Wow, I did not see that one coming at all! May you never rest in peace Saddam for all the carnage and bloodshed that you caused.

Here's a wish for the nation of Israel: That its gov't strike fear into the hearts of the enemy rather than its own people. There are worse things to wish for in 2007 I suppose.

Congrats to Romania and Bulgaria for what it's worth for their ascension to the EU. Let us pray for the sake of Europe that the same honor is never extended to a so-called 'secularist' Turkey.

Let's continue to keep the welfare of American troops in our thoughts and prayers as well, regardless of your political beliefs. The 3,000 fatality mark was passed just recently, victim of an IED.

Springtime for Hitler Dep't: The Mahdi is coming! The Mahdi is coming! Just remember, you heard it here first!

Dammit, Janet, it's the religion, stupid! Here is the fearless Janet Albrechtsen from The Australian on 'Girl Power' in Islam. While I admire what Janet is doing and saying, there will be no such renaissance within the Arab world so long as Islam remains the dominant socio-political-religious worldview. Ever. There is no reforming Islam without destroying it, its very brittleness and rigidity is what dooms it. It was that way with Marxism-Leninism as it was with German National Socialism in Hitler's day. Once the 'true believers' see it for the sham that it truly is, the cascade to leave it will be permanent and irreversible. I see signs of this happening already. Let us pray that Islam's end will come soon with as little bloodshed as possible.

The Post That Will Not End Dep't: Sorry 'bout this. I've included three new links in the sidebar. Under 'I Love Israel' is a link if you want to learn Hebrew. In 'Know Thine Enemy', you can click on the 'Prophet of Doom' by Craig Winn. Hard-hitting stuff but well-researched. A must for those who want to uncover the truth about the RoP. I'd also like you to say hello to Gareth at 'BNP and Me' (BNP = British National Party). As Gareth was so kind to link to my blog, I've reciprocated and done likewise. About right here I would like to add a disclaimer here: The X-Def will not be held responsible if any article on any website that is listed here annoys, vexes, disturbs or is generally off-topic. If you genuinely believe that any link that I give is wholly inappropiate to this blog, please do not hesitate to leave a comment. As I have enabled comment moderation you can be sure that I will personally see any comment you leave behind. So there.

Johnny Cash