Monday, August 30, 2010

Iggy and the Russian Bear

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff thinks Canada shouldn't be worried about the "Russian bear" --specifically regarding Canadian fighter jets that recently staved-off the Russian TU-95 "bear" bombers from entrenching on our sovereignty hundreds of kilometres of the coast of Newfoundland.


The Liberal leader told reporters he laughed when the prime minister talked about Russian aircraft being chased away by Canadian military planes on Tuesday.

Ignatieff says people have tried to make him afraid of the Russian bear ever since his childhood, because he's partly Russian.

But he adds it was ridiculous for the prime minister to try to make people believe that without the intervention, the Russian bear would have come into Canadian homes.
Well Mr. Ignatieff, you see, the way it works is, if we didn't intervene, then the Russians would know that we are not prepared to defend our sovereignty and that NORAD fails.

And also seemingly interesting as if Iggy is trying to make people believe that since the Cold War ended that we shouldn't worry about Russia at all.

So again, to clarify, Mr. Ignatieff, we shouldn't be afraid of this string of recent events where Russians have tested us numerous times without notification, or are we being ridiculous and laugh it off like you have?
Previous Russian incursions into Canadian airspace

February 2009: Hours before U.S. President Barack Obama's big visit to Canada, two Russian bombers were intercepted just outside the Canadian Arctic.

Two Canadian CF-18s were dispatched to signal the Russian aircraft to turn back to its own airspace.

The Russians called Canada's reaction "a farce."

General Walter Natynczyk, the chief of the defence staff, said, at the time, sporadic incidences of Russian incursions had started in 2007 after many years of no activity.

August 2008: Canadian jets scrambled during a visit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Inuvik in the Arctic to intercept an aircraft nearing Canada's airspace.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Russians were unwilling to notify Canada of planned military flights nearing our airspace.

September 2007: Russians boasted that two of their Tu-95 bombers flew along the coasts of Alaska and Canada and returned via the North Pole during a 17-hour flight. They said their flight was accompanied by NATO planes.
I now know which leader is protecting Canada from Russia.  You know, the one without a Russian heritage.

5 comments:

ridenrain said...

I wonder how the Liberals will talk when China starts pushing it's bogus Arctic claims.

Anonymous said...

Not to mention, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, etc.

Anonymous said...

Probably, like Obama, Igg's okay with Iran having the nuclear bomb. Peace in the Middle East and all that.

reducast said...

Liberals love China. Maurice Strong lives there, Chretien regularly travels and consults for them, I hear Emerson was recently consulting for them, Paul Martin always said he loved them, and lately Iggy has been extolling the virtues of engagement and learning about Human Rights. They have a lot in common in philosophy after all. Both like strong centralized governments that play large roles in social and economic planning. Sometimes I wonder if the Liberals aren't just proxies for the Chinese.

maryT said...

Fox had a program on last week re global warming scam and kyoto. Did they ever give Strong a workover, not kind to him at all. Even mentioned the oil for food scam he and others were involved in. He can't come back here because he will be arrested.