Not yet, I think. They are not strong enough to make a military move and Cuba '62 taught them not to overreach and have to back down. They are posturing to influence the US to back out of the eastern Europe missile defense sites.
Premature for the reasons stated above. They can already hit US bases abroad and we know it. They aren't going to do it for the same reason they never have--it can't pay. They want to influence us, not alarm us into doing something rash.
As for the satellite shoot-down . . . it's not a fake, but there is more going on than meets the eye. The satellite is a brand-new spy satellite that failed.. These birds are the biggest and heaviest satellites in the sky and major pieces of them have been know to survive re-entry. Highly classified imaging systems are aboard and we are not letting that fall into enemy hands. Forget the fuels aboard, that's a smokescreen, they wouldn't survive re-entry anyway. But the main hull with its camera and other secret sensors just might. This is why we are shooting it down.
But there is another, more subtle matter happening. We have had the ability to shoot down satellites with big land-based ABM missiles since the 70's. We demonstrated in the 1980's that we could shoot down a low-orbiting satellite with a missile fired from a high-flying F-15. This will demonstrate that we can shoot down satellites with a relatively small naval surface missile.
Think about it. The ocean covers 3/4 of the planet and the US navy controls the ocean. Now enemies must worry that the US can not only shoot down their satellites over its territory and its allies where it has air bases, but can essentially shoot down satellites from anywhere on the globe.
Red, I dont know brother, Russia is using alot of strong rhetoric with this situation. I could be right on the last straw for them.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/22/serbia.kosovo/index.html
Russia has not ruled out using force to resolve the dispute over Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia if NATO forces breach the terms of their U.N. maIf the EU works out a single position or if NATO steps beyond its mandate in Kosovo, these organizations will be in conflict with the U.N., and then I think we will also begin operating under the assumption that in order to be respected, one needs to use force," Dmitry Rogozin said, in comments carried by Russia's Interfax news agency.ndate, Moscow's ambassador to NATO warned on Friday.
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