Russian Air Force Tu-95 Bear (unknown variant) Photo Credit: Unknown |
I don't think I've even covered the half of it, but you hopefully get the idea that I'm thoroughly sick of people distorting facts regarding military deployments for political reasons and relating everything back to The Orange Menace.
DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T BELIEVE PUTIN HELPED TRUMP? KREMLIN TROLL!
I want those people to STFU and impeach Donald Trump and stop filling Twitter with useless bullshit about how he's about to be deposed next week, two days from now, any day now, oh yes, there are papers being filed, next week, they have proof, just a couple more days, there's a dossier, there's a tape, there's evidence, there are people that said he said they said...
SHUT THE FUCK UP AND IMPEACH HIM ALREADY.
</rant>
The impact of this paranoid insistence that everything is related to Russia is poisoning the news media and having a significant influence on peoples' view of the world. Military operations that are routine and unrelated are now malicious and suspicious.
There were Russian Air Force planes in international airspace off Alaska on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday last week, with reports containing varying levels of detail, with varying levels of reliability, published by all the major, and not so major, news outlets.
WHY ARE YOU SO SKEPTICAL?! KREMLIN TROLL! KREMLIN TROLL!
NORAD has not been forthright in publishing information about incursions by Russian Air Force planes into the American Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) ever; in fact, they hardly ever do, but NORAD will tell you a year or two later how many times Russian planes were in the ADIZ previous years. Let me repeat that because it doesn't make sense.
Russians routinely fly in the ADIZ, and NORAD regularly sends interceptors, or not, depending on their assessment of the situation, but NORAD doesn't usually tell the public about it. I presume because it's not going to affect anyone's day and they don't want the media to put their political spin on routine military operations. Well guess what? The media has the story now and it's a gong show of armchair analysis and all the usual varied political actors and pundits have piled on. Oh joy, let the speculation run wild with very few facts.
BUT RUSSIA IS SENDING A MESSAGE TO TRUMP THAT...
No, they're not. The message is the public are totally unaware of what's going on if they can't witness the event. No civilians witnessed the event, and therefore cannot give an independent view of the events. All the information about these Russian flights comes from the American Military, Canadian Military, or NORAD public affairs. They control the message, and their message cannot be fact-checked further than what is admitted to, and what the Russians admit to; when there are disagreements it is seen as unpatriotic to question western sources. Independent confirmation doesn't exist. I'm not saying there weren't planes off the coast of Alaska, I'm pointing out you can't fact-check any of the information provided. My biggest issue is the news media, the journalists, add a layer of distrust to the facts. A reporter stated the planes Tuesday were the Tu-95H variety. While interesting, it's also incorrect; they meant the "Bear H" which is a Tu-95MS. Close, but not quite correct. Details like this make a difference, especially regarding range, capability, age, where they're based, etc. and since NORAD isn't issuing press releases, we have to trust the media transcribed the information correctly, which isn't always the case.
I would really prefer NORAD issued statements after every incursion into the ADIZ full of all the information we would ever want, but I know that would be a lot of work for them, so I'm not expecting anything to change.
TRUMP HASN'T SAID ANYTHING - PROOF HE'S PUTIN'S PUPPET!
The constant demand for Trump to make public statements about anything is horrendously disingenuous and incredibly stupid. Stop asking that he open his yap for anything more than eating and drinking. Every time he makes a statement he risks an international incident or tanking the stock market.
BUT RUSSIAN BOMBERS ARE FLYING OVER ALASKA!
By Federal Aviation Administration Public Domain |
Oh, you want proof of that? Here you go:
"The incident was the first Russian bomber incursion of a U.S. or Canadian air defense zone this year. Officials said it likely signals the start of Russia’s long-range aviation spring training cycle. Further aerial incursions are expected." Bill Gertz, May 1, 2015
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-conducts-nuclear-bomber-flight-near-alaska/
Notice when it was published? MAY 2015.
It's now the end of APRIL 2017.
The timing of last week's incidents supports the idea this is a normal yearly seasonal training cycle, AND NOT RELATED TO DONALD TRUMP.
THE LAST TIME BOMBERS FLEW NEAR THE COAST WAS JULY 4TH 2015!
By Department of Defense - Printed publication IFR Supplement - United States., Public Domain |
"Alaska's ADIZ averages about 10 incursions by Russian aircraft a year. The number is "growing slightly," according to Alaska NORAD officials, who characterized the Russian flights as non-provocative training missions." -Alaska Daily News, March 3rd, 2014
https://www.adn.com/military/article/russian-military-increasing-capabilities-overflights-near-alaska-airspace/2015/03/14/
TBD
I'll add more later, this is just a stub.