Russians Testing President Obama

Like JFK all those years ago, the Russian leaders have determined that President Obama is out of his league and think that they can bully him into making concession after concession. The latest in a string of tests for the new Administration is that the Russians are looking to stage long range bombers from Cuba and Venezuela.

Some may see this as a direct response to the US plans to station missile defense systems in Eastern Europe, but there's a whole world of difference between stationing a defensive missile system and providing bases for offensive weapons systems like long range bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and heavy payloads for use against the US and our allies in the region.

The fact is that the Russians know that Obama is likely to back down, despite the nature of the weapons systems involved. Socialism is on the march, and Obama isn't likely to stand in the way, despite the destructive effects the socialists have on those under its firm grip. Venezuela and Cuba are both destitute regimes that think that the US can be pushed around these days and I fear that they're right.

Obama has already signaled that he's more than willing to throw our Eastern European allies under the bus, even after the Bush Administration said that missile defense systems would be stationed there so as to provide all of Europe with protection from rogue missile attacks from the likes of Iran (who has been working towards developing a reliable long range missile capable of hitting Europe and all of the Middle East).

The Russian positioning of long range bombers in Latin America is designed to see what the Obama Administration is willing to do to protect US interests in the region, and they want to see what they can get away with. The Russians tried doing the same with the Bush Administration with a temporary stationing of two bombers in Venezuela. That was for show, but that symbolic act was the base on which the current measures are being taken. It's a long way from a symbolic positioning of aircraft to a regular basing of those bombers in close proximity to the US.

It will be interesting to see how the Administration plays this. I'm not holding my breath. I expect him to pretty much ignore this.