If Russia gets a base in Cuba, the people will have no food.

Open up trade with Cuba as start selling them cars, buying cigars, selling them brighly colored tropical shirts from Walmart, and buying Bacardi from the place of its birth.

We should also invite the Russians to participate in UNITAS like they are participating in RIMPAC.

So, the Russian Navy will now stand guard in the Gulf of Mexico and the Carribean Sea ? Good. Time for our liberal leaders to further cut the US Navy presence down there. No problem for Nancy P. and Harry R. Let’s have another round of base closings for our ever-shrinking Navy. BRAC could be used once again by the liberal Congressional types to further decimate the US Navy by closing a couple more NAVAL STATIONS here in CONUS, especially some that are near Cuba. MIght as well, since our few remaining American shipbuilders are being starved into a yearly downsizing spiral, with fewer and fewer #’s of ships to try to maintain this industry as viable. If anyone owns stock in shipbuilders like INGALLS or BATH or NEWPORT NEWS, time to sell your all your investment shares. Shipbuilding in USA is only going to get worse, expecially if the two smaller yards building LCS, etc. are cut way back as well.

You have any idea how much the Russians hate the Islamics? Sure, let them have it

@Byron

The Russians do hate the Islamists, at one time they hated the Chinese. I would submit that international relationships do not revolve around love/hate, but whatever a nation perceives to be in their own best interest at the moment; ergo – the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

If the Russians are allowed to station ballistic missile submarines at their new Cuban naval base – the next Cuban missile crisis looms on the horizon (as soon as we get an executive willing to defend the interests of our nation).

BTW – I lived thru the first Cuban missile crisis; as I remember it there were some very scared adults speaking with deliberate and well thought out words; but for a teenager ignorance was bliss.

An appropriate response to a Russian base in Cuba would be to pull out of any ongoing arms limitation treaties and embark upon a nuclear weapons modernization program. I would also step up the SSBN replacement program and perhaps develop a replacement for our aging Minuteman III’s.

- Kyon

Rather than build a proper dedicated Naval Facility in Cuba we might suggest an open door visiting rights agreement for the Port of Miami. Much more attractive for their logistic needs with easy repolenishment of marine stores and great beach vacations for the sailors . It would be really be a big shot in the arm for the South Florida tourist industry.

I dunno– seems like a lot of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. If the russkies want a base in Cuba, so what? The first ship that pulls in there will probably lose 60% of her complement once they compare the Kola Peninsula to Havana and head for the hills. Besides, having ships with the flower of 1970′s technology heading cross the pond will give our sub guys a chance to get some practice in as well.

I don’t think they’d send an SSBN that far. Too far out of their sphere of control, and besides, would they really hand the USN on a platter the chance to map out the acoustical signature of their new boats? Seems like a gift that keeps on giving.

As far as a presence– well, remember, there are still what, four carriers and air wings on the east coast with a lot of strike pilots looking to be able to harpoon a russkie ship if they get frisky.

Besides, offering them a base in Miami would be a real coup– on the level of Ike’s “Open Skies” in the 50′s. Makes us look warm and friendly and open and puts Putin in a bind– either accept with the consequences or deny and look like someone who has a lot to hide.

Byron Please let me tell you that that the ultimate motivation of most of the transplanted Yankees of South Florida is GREED. We can jus smell all that new Russian oil money comin’ down the road from “up there”.

We Floridians exist on tourism and can only prosper by warmer relations with our frozen pals from beyond North Cape. Besides we are getting a bit tired of all those suddenly wealthy Canadians telling us how we missed the boat on any Canadian Oil Deal. Selling to the Chinese! Damn.
Cheers!

Least we forget we have a treaty with Russia (old Soviet Union) that they would pull their missiles out and we would not attack Cuba. IF they want to play we can over throw Cuba and replace the government rather quickly before the Russians can set up shop.

Let’s cast some thought to the reasonable and non-threatening desire of the Russian Navy to again become an important factor in Russian foreign policy. Showing the Flag by out-of-area port visits to warm waters is an inexpensive tool. It is a especially good morale tool.

When one considers the age and stage of the existing Russian Fleet it seems clear that widespread “heavy” maintenance facilities might be needed to ensure the ships return home as olanned. Currently we are learning details of the US re-orienting the Fleet to the Pacific. Some traditional East Coast Navy ports will lose ships and work. Perhaps our helping the Russians could be a help to the US economy.

An aggressive sales effort by SECNAV might fit into his activist nature as well as help the economy of the East COast. What’s to Lose ? Maybe we could sell the Russians some high-cost fuel for their ships? Or even snag a few contracts to upgrade the engineering spaces. All good possibilities.

So I again raise the suggestion of rendering all reasonable help to the “new” non-threatening sailormen from Russia. They would love the Florida Beaches.

The thing I would worry about is China riding on Russia’s back. Just as we did with Great Britain in Diego Garcia. China could use it just as the Russians did in the Cuban Missile Crisis to try and force us to retreat from some of our WESTPAC allies.

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”

A strong US would seize the moment. In another 50 yrs. will we still be exposed to Cuba allying with an adversary? In retrospect really how bad was The Bay of Pigs? Wouldn’t it have been much wiser for JFK to have kept his spine and backed them up? Think of the oppurtunities lost. Cuba could’ve had an economy on par with Florida. All sorts of better things could’ve happened but no we retreated and Cuba was frozen in time. Everyone lost.

Meh. Treat this like the threat it is. Or, more accurately, isn’t…

I would much prefer we normalize relations with Cuba, the sooner the better. Well past time to end this ridiculous situation/Cold War leftover. Messy situation (lucrative?) for the property lawyers, but it will sort out over time.

We run the risk of enlarging the discussion to far-off limits but the Miami Deal that I proposed does have the advantage of showing how US economic interests suffer as US national policy works to maintain attitudes of an increasingly small number of American Voters who may suffer from ossified political beliefs.