Page 81 - The Lord's Vengeance Of His Temple2018-05

THE RUSSIAN FRONT

Russia's Red Alert

Howls of a wounded bearJorge Benitez | November 26, 2011

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced today
that he would "immediately put the missile attack early warning radar station in Kaliningrad on com-
bat alert" and take other aggressive steps to counter NATO's missile defense system.

I share my colleague's sense that Medvedev is playing to a domestic audience and that the United
States and its NATO allies should not make policy decisions based on temper tantrums from
Moscow. But that doesn't mean that the Russians aren't genuinely concerned about the changing
balance of power represented by this missile plan. Indeed, our constant dismissal of their con-

cerns only rubs their noses in the fact that we now view them more as a nuisance than
a serious power. . . .

After all, missiles are about all Moscow has to cling to as evidence that they're still a great power.
For that matter, as FT notes, the fourth phase of NATO's Phased Adaptive Approach goes beyond
the short- and medium-range missiles that would ostensibly be acquired by Iran to "deploy an in-
terceptor capable of shooting down ICBMs, which form the bulk of Russia’s nuclear
deterrent."

So, I think we should take Medvedev seriously when he declares, "We will not agree to take part in a
program that in a short while, in some 6 to 8 years’ time could weaken our nuclear deterrent capa-

bility….We find ourselves facing a fait accompli." Those sound very much like the
howls of a w o u n d e d b e a r.

Russia says action on Syria, Iran may go nuclear

By Gleb Bryanski, MOSCOW | Thu May 17, 2012 3:35pm EDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Dmit-
ry Medvedev warned on Thursday that military ac-
tion against sovereign states could lead to a region-
al nuclear war, starkly voicing Moscow's opposition
to Western intervention ahead of a G8 summit at
which Syria and Iran will be discussed.

"Hasty military operations in foreign states usually
Prime Minister Medvedev in St, Petersurg bring radicals to power," Medvedev, president for four
years until Vladimir Putin's inauguration on May 7, told a conference in St. Petersburg in re-
marks posted on the government's website.

"At some point such actions which undermine state sovereignty may lead to a full-scale re-
gional war, even, although I do not want to frighten anyone, with the use of nuclear weap-
ons," Medvedev said. "Everyone should bear this in mind."

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