Tag: Naval Activities

Sweden: Catch Us If You Can

You guys know that I prowl the internet for news……mostly dealing with the Middle East but from time to time there is a report that catches my attention…..for I can see more to the story than the report would indicate………….

For a week now I have been watching a saga play out….a saga of cat and mouse……there seems to be a submarine, possibly a mini-sub, that has been playing a game with the navy of Sweden…..Russia sez “not ours”……The Dutch had been blamed by Russia…..and all the while the Swedish government has been steadfast that they want to find and identify this sub operating in their waters…..operating covertly…….

Then this morning news came out……..

Swedish authorities say they have called off their weeklong search for a suspected submarine in the Stockholm archipelago. Military authorities have ordered naval and amphibious forces to end their hunt for the submarine, though some ground forces will remain involved. Last Friday, Sweden’s military launched its biggest anti-submarine operation since the twilight of the Soviet Union after receiving credible reports of foreign underwater activity. Military officials haven’t blamed any country for the suspected intrusion, though most Swedish defense analysts say Russia would be a likely culprit. Earlier this week, the military said it was willing to use armed force to bring the sub to the surface, but admitted finding it would be very difficult.

Okay….wassup?

Just two days ago it was imperative that this sub be located and identified……and now…..Sweden has thrown up the hands and called it “operation finished”……..

Why?

I read it is costing about $1.5 million a day for the operation…..was that too expensive?………or maybe the culprit has been identified and may cause some international embarrassment……..just why did the importance wane in two days?

This is a good mystery……I will be watching.

Any ideas?

The Sleeping Bear Awakes

I have been writing about the re-emergence of Russia unto the world stage and as a awakening super power to be.  More proof:

Russia has decided to establish naval bases in Libya, Syria and Yemen within a few years, Itar-Tass news agency quoted military officials as saying on Friday, in a sign of Moscow’s growing foreign policy ambitions.

The Kremlin is seeking to play a more assertive role in world politics and has been using its military to project its new-found confidence beyond its borders.

Analysts have said that the Syrian port of Tartus could be revived as a Russian naval base. During the Cold War, the Soviet navy had a permanent presence in the Mediterranean, using Tartus as a supply point.

Russian media reported that opening a naval base in the Libyan port of Benghazi was among the main issues discussed during Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s visit to Moscow in October last year.

Nogovitsyn said it was unclear when Russian naval bases abroad could open. “No one can forecast when this problem will be solved,” he told Itar-Tass. “We need permanent bases, and this is very costly. You have to thoroughly calculate it all.”

My predictions were ignored 2 years ago and now I am vindicated….Tee Hee…Thanx comrade.

Russia Fanning The Flames Of a New Cold War

Russia’s military leaders approved a plan by the navy on Sunday to station warships permanently in friendly ports across the globe.

Underfunded since the 1991 break up of the Soviet Union, the Russian navy has been reasserting itself over the last year by chasing Somali pirates around the coast of east Africa and steaming across the Atlantic to visit allies in South America.

“The General Staff has given its position on this issue and it fully supports the position of the (Navy’s) main committee,” deputy chief of staff Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn told RIA Novosti news agency.

A resurgent navy has become central to a strategy for Russia — which enjoyed a decade of economic revival from 1998 — to project itself in foreign affairs.

In August a Russian diplomat said the navy was to make more use of a Syrian Mediterranean Sea port. Last month a Russian warship cruised off Cuba after visiting South America for the first time since 1991.

Nogovitsyn said Russia was directly negotiating with foreign governments to station warships at bases around the world permanently, although he declined to give exact details.

Few people are watching this situation and it is only a matter of time before the Russian bear raises its head again.