Russian Provocation: Bluster or Genuine Peril?
CNN
February 17, 2017
(Updated 7:18 PM, ET)
CNN -- There's a Russian spy ship off the coast of Connecticut.
Crammed with eavesdropping equipment, the Viktor Leonov has loitered in these waters before, but it's current visit is the latest in a string of provocations.
The last few years have seen dangerous Russian "fly-bys" of US warships, close encounters in the skies, when Russian military aircraft have flown with transponders switched off, and the occasional Russian submarine hiding in Swedish waters.
Earlier this month, according to the Pentagon, four Russian jets flew in an "unsafe and unprofessional" manner near a US Navy destroyer in the Black Sea.
Perhaps the Leonov's visit was a message "If you turn up on our coast..."
Such provocative acts could easily lead to unintended consequences at a time when, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, channels for avoiding misunderstandings are frozen.
And that risk also applies in Syria, where Russian and US bombers fly above a fluid battlefield in pursuit of very different objectives.
In recent years, Russia's military has become more assertive and more capable, directed by the Kremlin to probe for weaknesses, sow uncertainty and exploit opportunities.
More + video:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/17/politics/russia-military-provocation-bluster-danger/
