Carbon Dioxide Will Warm You Up
The Russians have a problem.
For a review of recent accidents and incidents regarding submarines, click here. The situation with the Russians is somewhat unfortunate, even if it's to our advantage. I'm not specifically talking about this particular incident; it's just plain bad, and I hope that they recover the sailors and the submarine in one piece.
During the Cold War, the Russians essentially had two great accomplishments: their space program, and their submarines. Sure, they had some decent surface vessels, some impressive aircraft (many of them directly ripped off from us), and some decent tanks, but their submarines were really top notch. The Typhoon class boomer subs, and the Alfa and Akula class attack submarines, were outstanding technology. Don't get me wrong; from what I hear, the Soviet Union did a lousy job of shielding their reactors, and there were certain drawbacks to their designs, but some of the capabilities of these subs were absolutely amazing. The Typhoon class was double-hulled, and had armor strong enough that I've heard that it would have taken multiple direct torpedo hits to take one out; they were so big that they reportedly had swimming pools onboard. The Alfa class employed a titanium hull that at one time made the Alfa the deepest-diving submarine in history.
Now look at them. The submarine fleet that afforded a proud people such prestige for a long time is falling apart. They scarcely have the money to operate their vessels, and when they do, they have incidents like this one, or the Kursk sinking of 2000. Then there are incidents such as this one from February of 2004, when Russia was unable to successfully launch a single ballistic missile during war games. Here's another article about the conspicuous decline of the Russian fleet.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a strong Russian military capacity; far from it. However, think of just a couple of the implications.
The Soviets/Russians had hundreds of nuclear-powered submarines and miscellaneous warships, most of which are now rusting in ports around the Russian coast. Is that really what we want?
As the Russian military's most impressive implements are shown time and time again to be decrepit pieces of rubbish, Russian morale, particularly the morale of the military, will decline, while the morale of Russia's enemies will increase. If Russia's ballistic missile submarines can't even launch a dummy missile, why should Islamofascist terrorists in Chechnya be worried about carrying out attacks?
With Russian morale low, particularly that of the military, it's not difficult to envision a charismatic general or colonel consolidating what little power he can get a hold of in an attempt to restore the might and prestige of Russia. I know it sounds corny, like something out of a Tom Clancy novel, but let's face it: frustrated men with even a minor amount of political and/or military power aren't the kind of folks you want on your hands.
Bottom line, the world was somewhat stable (at least on the surface) during the Cold War because the United States and the Soviet Union had a realistic military capacity. The flipside of the so-called "peace dividend" is a proud nation hanging its head in humiliation, like an aging warrior with a rusting sword. In the age of globalization, interconnected markets, and truly international political issues, their instability hurts them, and what hurts the Russians will most likely be an issue we'll have to address at some point.
Be aware, readers. Be aware.
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia — The United States and Britain raced help to Russia in an effort to rescue seven Russian sailors stuck in a crippled submarine deep in the Pacific Ocean.
Early Saturday, a Russian ship managed to get a grip on the sub, which is caught on an underwater antenna, according to a Russian commander. The ship was trying to tug the vessel to a lesser depth where divers could free the sailors, whose oxygen supply was dwindling in the craft over 600 feet beneath the ocean's surface.
Meanwhile, a British military plane and a U.S. Air Force jet carrying sophisticated unmanned underwater rescue vehicles took off for the disaster scene off the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia's Far East.
For a review of recent accidents and incidents regarding submarines, click here. The situation with the Russians is somewhat unfortunate, even if it's to our advantage. I'm not specifically talking about this particular incident; it's just plain bad, and I hope that they recover the sailors and the submarine in one piece.
During the Cold War, the Russians essentially had two great accomplishments: their space program, and their submarines. Sure, they had some decent surface vessels, some impressive aircraft (many of them directly ripped off from us), and some decent tanks, but their submarines were really top notch. The Typhoon class boomer subs, and the Alfa and Akula class attack submarines, were outstanding technology. Don't get me wrong; from what I hear, the Soviet Union did a lousy job of shielding their reactors, and there were certain drawbacks to their designs, but some of the capabilities of these subs were absolutely amazing. The Typhoon class was double-hulled, and had armor strong enough that I've heard that it would have taken multiple direct torpedo hits to take one out; they were so big that they reportedly had swimming pools onboard. The Alfa class employed a titanium hull that at one time made the Alfa the deepest-diving submarine in history.
Now look at them. The submarine fleet that afforded a proud people such prestige for a long time is falling apart. They scarcely have the money to operate their vessels, and when they do, they have incidents like this one, or the Kursk sinking of 2000. Then there are incidents such as this one from February of 2004, when Russia was unable to successfully launch a single ballistic missile during war games. Here's another article about the conspicuous decline of the Russian fleet.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a strong Russian military capacity; far from it. However, think of just a couple of the implications.
Bottom line, the world was somewhat stable (at least on the surface) during the Cold War because the United States and the Soviet Union had a realistic military capacity. The flipside of the so-called "peace dividend" is a proud nation hanging its head in humiliation, like an aging warrior with a rusting sword. In the age of globalization, interconnected markets, and truly international political issues, their instability hurts them, and what hurts the Russians will most likely be an issue we'll have to address at some point.
Be aware, readers. Be aware.
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