(IBD) Russian Attack Subs Off Our Coast As Obama's Sequestration Cuts Loom

[Daniel John Sobieski]

Defense: The fruit of unilateral disarmament, appeasement and promised  "flexibility" patrols our East Coast near one of our largest ballistic missile  submarine bases. Defense cuts and Russian subs — a double

whammy.

'On June 1 or a bit later, we will resume constant patrolling of the world's  oceans by strategic nuclear submarines," Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir  Vysotsky said in February. Keeping that promise, a Russian Sierra-2 class  nuclear attack submarine cruised within 200 miles of our East Coast on the eve  of a U.S. presidential election in which defense spending and priorities were a  key issue.

This is the first time a Russian Sierra-2 class sub, believed to be based  with Russia's Northern Fleet and armed with SSN anti-submarine warfare missiles  and torpedoes, has been detected near the U.S. coast, reports Bill Gertz of the  Washington Free Beacon.

"As was their primary mission during the Cold War, Russian SSNs nuclear  attack submarines would likely be trying to track U.S. nuclear missile  submarines deploying from Kings Bay, Ga., and to monitor U.S. naval deployments  from Norfolk, Va.," according to Richard Fisher, a military analyst with the  International Assessment and Strategy Center. Two guided missile submarines and  six nuclear missile submarines are docked at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.

The Sierra-2 is comparable to the U.S. Los Angeles-class attack submarine.  Russia is building a new class of attack submarines said to be comparable to the  latest U.S. Virginia-class subs, Fisher says. The attack sub was accompanied by  a nearby Russian electronic intelligence-gathering vessel that was granted safe  harbor during Hurricane Sandy in the commercial port of Jacksonville, Fla.,  within listening range of Kings Bay.

Russian nuclear sub patrols, which fell sharply after the defeat of the  Soviet Union, have returned with a vengeance after the famous pressing of the  "reset" button by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. As we've noted, a more  advanced and harder-to-detect Russian Akula-class attack submarine sailed  undetected in the Gulf of Mexico in August along vital U.S. shipping lanes.

So as we gut our military budget and scrap major weapons systems, Russia  continues to rearm. It recently announced the deployment of a new  submarine-launched ballistic missile — a three-stage weapon with a 5,000-mile  range that can carry up to 10 warheads.

Read More At IBD:  http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/110612-632389-russian-atta...

[M16ark58]

Remember the comments that Insane/Hussian made to Medvedev, "when I'm reelected"?  He knew that the election would be a sham and a shill.