Russia is voicing concern about a U.S. warship now just off its shores in the Black Sea.
In the spirit of reset, we've filed away Moscow's objection. Right here:
Thank you for your interest in the United States Navy.
UPDATE: The Russians really are being whining crybabies over this:
"The Black Sea is a closed sea, and the intrusion of this US warship breaks existing traditions," says Konstantin Zatulin, a Duma deputy with the ruling United Russia party. "There is a realistic fear that the balance of forces in the region could be altered... .
"Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis? We know how Americans react when someone drops new strategic facts into their backyard, so they should understand that this episode gives us no joy."
You'd think that if "reset" means anything that it would at least mean that the Russians not lie when they are being pains in the ass. The fact is, American warships in the Black Sea is not an unusual event. Indeed, we were rather busy in the immediate aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War of 2008. (Although in looking around I discovered that reports of Dallas in the Black Sea seemed to have raised confusion since people wondered how a nuclear attack sub could enter. It was in fact the Coast Guard's Dallas high endurance cutter and not the submarine. Indeed, I first assumed the SSN back then at some point and wondered what the heck was going on until a few minutes on Google cleared up the name confusion. Although there was some confusion.) Other than that, we arrive every year to show we can do it.
Heck, considering we did it back when the Soviet Union was around, it is safe to say that as far as Russia is concerned this is an old strategic fact. My memory is that we once sent an aircraft carrier into the Black Sea, but I can't find a mention of that. Oh wait, I have a paper history of the Navy! Nope. Several books don't Index that. Well, my memory may or may not be right on this. What is clear is that the Russians are entitled to their opinion. We'll be back next year. I hope we figure a way around treaty restrictions that constrain our deployments.
