Blackjack Bomber Visits Should Not be Removed from the Foreign Policy Assessment
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev today signed a pact to cooperate on energy issues, specifically to form a relationship between the RF's Gazprom and Venezuela's Petroleos de Venezuela.
In light of recent arms sales to Venezuela, the energy agreement further heightens the possibility the Russian intentions are to develop a long-term sphere of influence in our hemisphere, possibly to include military bases.
A footnote to the Russian "training mission" involving the Tu-160 Blacjack bombers earlier this month was that they left behind the ground equipment and service personnel to allow the Tu-160s to use the Libertador airfield at any point in the future.
According to official reports, the training mission also Blackjack included the first ever mid-air refueling of a Russian strategic bomber, adding intercontinental operating range to the capabilities US planners must consider when assessing the nature of Russia's current foreign policy.
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