NUKE STRIKE THREAT - State TV says Russia could turn US to 'radioactive ash'

AFP
By Stuart Williams 21 minutes ago

Quote:

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"This evening... Dmitry Kiselyov threatened the United States with a nuclear strike if the conflict over Crimea deepens."

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State TV says Russia could turn US to 'radioactive ash'

Moscow (AFP) - A leading anchor on Russian state television on Sunday described Russia as the only country capable of turning the United States into "radioactive ash", in an incendiary comment at the height of tensions over the Crimea referendum.
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"Russia is the only country in the world realistically capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash," anchor Dmitry Kiselyov said on his weekly news show on state-controlled Rossiya 1 television.

Kiselyov made the comment to support his argument that the United States and President Barack Obama were living in fear of Russia led by President Vladimir Putin amid the Ukraine crisis.

His programme was broadcast as the first exit polls were being published showing an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voting to leave Ukraine and join Russia.

He stood in his studio in front of a gigantic image of a mushroom cloud produced after a nuclear attack, with the words "into radioactive ash".

"Americans themselves consider Putin to be a stronger leader than Obama," he added, pointing to opinion polls which then popped up on the screen.

"Why is Obama phoning Putin all the time and talking to him for hours on end?" he asked.

Kiselyov has earned a reputation as one of Russia's most provocative television news hosts, in particularly with his often blatantly homophobic remarks.

But he is also hugely influential with his weekly news show broadcast at Sunday evening prime time.

Putin last year appointed Kiselyov head of the new Russia Today news agency that is to replace the soon to be liquidated RIA Novosti news agency with the aim of better promoting Russia's official position.

Kiselyov also made great play of Russia's so-called "dead hand" capability to fire nuclear-capable intercontinental missiles automatically in the case of attack.

The system, also known as Perimeter, was in use during the Cold War but its use in post-Soviet Russia is not officially confirmed.

But Kiselyov appeared to claim it remained active, giving Russia the chance to strike back even if its main command positions were taken out in a strike by the West.

"Even if people in all our command posts after an enemy atomic attack cannot be contacted, the system will automatically fire our missiles from mines and submarines in the right direction," he added.

The channel's graphic showed the line of a Russian missile heading towards the Pacific coast and the United States.

Pro-opposition news site slon.ru did not mince its words in describing the implications of Kiselyov's comments.

"This evening... Dmitry Kiselyov threatened the United States with a nuclear strike if the conflict over Crimea deepens," it said.

Russia and the United States are reducing their Cold War missile and nuclear warhead arsenals under the terms of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that entered into force in 2011.

http://news.yahoo.com/state-tv-says-...MxBHNlYwNzcg--

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stuart Williams

[News anchor Dmitry Kiselyov asked,] "Why is Obama phoning Putin all the time and talking to him for hours on end?"

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That is a pertinent question, Mr. Kiselyov, but if or when you do find out why, you may want to consult with the FSB before you announce it on the air. After all, Team Obama has gone to extreme lengths to keep Mr. Putin's Obama connection under cover, out of sight, and out of mind. If you were to disclose the true nature of that connection publicly - especially on TV - the FSB almost certainly would not look kindly upon your disclosure.

Not that I would tell anyone ANYthing about the privileged communication in that arrangement...
not that humble I would even know anything about it, or so much as pretend to know anything about it...
about what, anyway?

RUSSIAN STRIKE ON USA MENTIONED

Free Beacon
BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
March 17, 2014 2:06 pm

Carney Brushes Off Russian Threat of Nuclear Armageddon

'People say crazy things on TV all the time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWOJqTAM7EA

Pressed by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl to comment on a threat made last night on state TV that Russia is still “the only country in the world capable of turning the U.S.A. into radioactive dust,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney dismissively said, “people say crazy things on TV all the time.”
See below for the full exchange:

JON KARL: And let me ask you just something on — that was on Russian television, state-controlled television, the main state-controlled channel. Dmitry Kiselev, prominent Russian television anchor, posed in front of a mushroom cloud and warned that Russia’s the only country in the world capable of turning the U.S. into radioactive dust.

I mention this because it’s state-controlled Russian television which, as we know, doesn’t, you know, generally broadcast stuff that is not, you know, signed off by the government of Russia. What is your sense when you hear something like that?

MR. CARNEY: I mean, that people say crazy things on TV all the time.

KARL: Yeah, but this is Russian state-controlled TV. This — I take your point entirely, but — (laughter) — this is, you know, state-controlled –

MR. CARNEY: We’re focused on the actions of the Russian government. We’re focused on the support we’re providing to the Ukrainian government. We’re focused on marshalling a strategy with our partners around the world, especially in Europe, for how to deal with this challenge posed by Russia.
And we are making sure that Russia is incurring cost for the provocations they — it has engaged in and the — and the actions that it’s taken. You know, that’s what we’re focused on right now. And those costs are real. And they will increase if Russia continues down this path.


http://freebeacon.com/carney-brushes...ar-armageddon/

Are The Russians Coming?

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../picture-5.jpg
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/08/2014 12:50 -0500

Submitted by Erico Tavares of Sinclair & Co.

Are The Russians Coming?

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../30f22fb_0.jpg
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that a serious confrontation with the West is coming.

In a recent speech at the Valdai conference in Sochi, laced with geopolitical and historical references, he stated that “changes in the world order – and what we are seeing today are events on this scale – have usually been accompanied by if not global war and conflict, then by chains of intensive local-level conflicts.”

What type of conflict is he referring to?

In the nuclear age, a head on collision between the major world powers is unthinkable. The devastation that would ensue would likely end civilization, if not all life on this planet. It would take a real act of desperation for anyone to use that card.

Russia remains a nuclear powerhouse for sure. However, when it comes to conventional warfare their capabilities have significantly fallen behind in recent decades. And it turns out that this has real geopolitical consequences.

Russia’s Asymmetrical Disadvantage in Conventional Warfare

The following picture, widely circulated in the Western media some days ago, depicts a Russian strategic bomber being intercepted by a Portuguese fighter jet on a NATO mission [Note: so far this is perhaps the most salient feat in Portuguese military achievements in an otherwise terrible year].
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../0203f0d_0.jpg

More than yet another alleged incursion into NATO airspace, what is striking in this picture is the obvious difference in technologies of the two aircraft: the Russian bomber, the Tupolev Tu-95 or the “Bear” as it is known in Western circles, still runs on propeller engines. First introduced back in 1952, it is an icon of the Cold War - and one of the noisiest military aircraft around. Russia is the only country in the world which still uses propeller-powered bombers.

For sure the “Bear” can still get the job done, but compare that to its US rival, the B-52 Stratofortress, introduced at around the same time. Having been continuously upgraded over the years, it now features subsonic, jet-powered engines and advanced technological capabilities. It is so modern and effective that the US Air Force is considering extending its use beyond 2040. And the B-2 stealth bomber, a (very expensive) marvel of modern US technology, is so far apart that it is not even comparable.

Unlike its Western counterparts, in order to project force the Kremlin can only rely on its dated Cold War arsenal. Looking at military spending in recent decades clearly shows why.
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../24de632_0.jpg

Military Expenditure in Selected Countries (constant 2011 US$ billion): 1988-2013
Source: SIPRI.

After the collapse of Russia's economy in the early 1990s, the country's military spending pretty much went down with it. It has started recuperating only recently. On the other hand, the US has been outspending everyone else by a wide margin since the end of the Cold War, and is clearly on a league of its own. Even “pacifist” Japan and Germany together spend more than Russia today, as part of their international commitments. Saudi Arabia, Russia's oil rival and fierce opponent of its allies in the Middle East, is not too far behind.

Putin is keenly aware of this asymmetry in conventional terms. Going back to the speech referenced earlier, he stated that “in the event of full renunciation of nuclear weapons or radical reduction of nuclear potential, nations that are leaders in creating and producing high-precision systems will have a clear military advantage. Strategic parity will be disrupted, and this is likely to bring destabilization.”

Western military leaders are of course emboldened by this situation and may just keep on pressing their advantage.

But Russia is not out. While it may be out-gunned for now, its military is still world class, featuring impressive capabilities – including various types of advanced nuclear weapons. And it is not alone either. The world’s emerging superpower, China, is increasingly on its side, which had not been the case during the Cold War.

Moreover, it has diplomatic and economic arguments which can augment its military capabilities. Just ask any European using Russian gas to keep warm this coming winter.

Perhaps this is why Forbes magazine just ranked Putin as the world’s most powerful man for the second year running. The question is, how will he use that power?

A New Cold War?

While the world’s superpowers could not risk fighting each other directly during the Cold War (although they came close a few times), they were actively engaged in a warfare of another kind: supporting proxy wars, with one side trying to entangle the other in messy and expensive regional conflicts, while overtly and covertly undermining the support for its ideology.

The Iron Curtain, the Vietnam War, the Soviets in Afghanistan, the regime overthrows across Latin America, the nuclear arms race... We should all be thankful that those days are behind us. Or are they?

Today the US can entangle itself with no help from others, given all that has been going on in the Middle East.

The bills keep piling up, and there could be a scenario where the US might run out of dollars before the world runs out of terrorists. Still, renewed intervention is a real prospect should things start spinning out of control in the region – nobody else has the capability to step in and preserve energy flows to the West. Senator John McCain, which clearly favors a more muscular approach, will have a very busy time as the new head of the Senate Armed Services.

Russia is also gradually being dragged into regional conflicts of its own. With the situation raging in Ukraine, one wonders how much longer it can stay on the sidelines, particularly if pro-Russia forces start losing considerable ground there. And things are not looking too great for the besieged Assad regime in Syria, which hosts the Russian fleet at the Mediterranean port of Tartus. The bills are starting to add up for the Russians too.

But confrontation can extend beyond military means alone. Globalization and greater economic integration in the post-Cold War world facilitated the creation of another “weapon” that can be used as a retaliatory measure: economic sanctions.

For all of Russia’s bravado in the face of Western imposed sanctions pursuant to its role in Ukraine, there is no doubt that they have a real bite to them. The collapse of the rubble has accelerated in recent weeks and ordinary Russians are now paying dearly for essential foreign goods, even those that originate in the countries that stepped in to replace European food and other imports. Furthermore, the coincidental (or not) sharp decline in oil prices undermines Russia’s staying power in this situation, as well as its ability to use its own energy supplies as a retaliatory measure given the dwindling of foreign reserves.

So far the West seems to be prevailing here, but there could be serious blowback consequences on Russia’s main trading partners.
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...11/0ad89e1.jpg

Composition of Russia’s Imports by Country: 2012 est.
Source: CIA World Factbook.

The graph above shows that many Western companies – and crucially banks, many of which are heavily exposed to emerging markets – might share the pain as well. Let’s not forget that the disruption of international trade pursuant to the introduction of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930 in the US and the subsequent retaliatory measures largely contributed to the length and depth of the severe global depression that followed.

Not even China, which so far has emerged as a beneficiary of these East-West spats by securing long-term imports of cheap Russian gas and increasing its global influence while everyone else gets bogged down in regional conflicts, might escape unscathed.

Therefore, as each side escalates its retaliation and seeks to inflict greater damage on the other, both in terms of economic loss and human suffering, we might be getting close to a point of no return. A dynamic can be set in motion where nobody will want to “lose face” and yield to the demands of the other side. And the world might once again be inexorably slipping into another Cold War, just as Putin warned. We will all be worse off as a result.

It seems that international diplomacy is becoming as dated as those Russian bombers. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-1...ussians-coming

Nov 8, 8:33 AM EST

Gorbachev warns world 'on brink of new Cold War'

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) -- Tensions between the major powers have pushed the world closer to a new Cold War, former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev said Saturday.

The 83-year-old accused the West, particularly the United States, of giving in to "triumphalism" after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the communist bloc a quarter century ago. The result, he said, could partly be seen in the inability of global powers to prevent or resolve conflicts in Yugoslavia, the Middle East and most recently Ukraine.

"The world is on the brink of a new Cold War. Some are even saying that it's already begun," Gorbachev said at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, close to the city's iconic Brandenburg Gate.

Gorbachev called for trust to be restored through dialogue with Moscow, and suggested the West should lift sanctions imposed against senior Russian officials over the country's support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. Failure to achieve security in Europe would make the continent irrelevant in world affairs, he said.

Gorbachev's comments echoed those of Roland Dumas, France's foreign minister at the time the Berlin Wall fell.

"Without freedom between nations, without respect of one nation to another, and without strong and brave disarmament policy, everything could start over again tomorrow," Dumas said. "Even everything we used to know, and what we called the Cold War."

President Barack Obama appeared to share some of Gorbachev's concerns for Europe, though he blamed Moscow for the current tensions.

Paying tribute to the East Berliners who pushed past border guards to flood through the Wall on Nov. 9, 1989, Obama said in a statement Friday that "as Russia's actions against Ukraine remind us, we have more work to do to fully realize our shared vision of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...11-08-08-33-10

Re the outmoded airplanes, Russia has - or at least had - a different approach to nuclear warfare. In effect they acknowledged that their technology was inferior. So rather than worry about inaccurate targeting, they just loaded up their rockets with multiple atomic warheads. Crude, but ultimately, devastating.

Fortunately their public pronouncements are for public consumption. Neither of us wants an actual nuclear conflict.
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