Col. Stanislav Lunev
Friday, Dec. 14, 2001

Russia's President Vladimir Putin – our rather strange "partner" – is still going his own way. Using his largely vocal support for the war against international terrorism, for the past three months Putin has received many of the same political and economic rights granted to America's traditional friends and allies.

Under Putin, however, Russia continues to pursue its own strategic goals, which are contrary to America's interests worldwide.

On Dec. 13, Putin voiced regret over President Bush's decisions to scrap the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty and to build an anti-missile shield, which could protect the U.S. and its friends and allies.

In a nationwide television address, Putin called the U.S. decision to withdraw from the ABM treaty a "mistake" and repeated Russia's often-stated position that this treaty is a "cornerstone of world stability."

Putin's comments come as no surprise. Moscow already has its own missile defense system and does not want to see the same capability in the U.S., whose population is at present completely unprotected from missile strikes with conventional warheads and weapons of mass destruction.

While Moscow should be commended for its symbolic support of the U.S. since 9/11, the Kremlin continues its military preparations by developing and deploying weapons systems that were specifically designed for a war against the U.S. and its friends and allies.

Last week, Putin launched a new super-quiet nuclear submarine believed to be capable of penetrating a prospective U.S. missile defense.

Called Gepard ( Russian for "Cheetah"), the submarine can dive to 600 meters (nearly 2,000 feet) and travel at speeds in excess of 30 knots (60 km) an hour when submerged.

The new nuclear-powered sub is 370 feet long and 45 feet wide. It has a submerged displacement of 13,800 tons and is equipped with 28 nuclear-capable cruise missiles.

The Russian navy gave out precious few details about the Gepard (Akula-2, according to the NATO classification), except to say that the ship is a multi-purpose attack submarine designed primarily to strike enemy fleets with its nuclear cruise missiles.

The official definition implies that the Gepard is deadly to American and other nations' aircraft carriers.

However, according to the Russian press, the Gepard is also capable of launching nuclear strikes against land targets. Its ability to fire nuclear missiles at the military adversary's territory appealed to Moscow as it looked for a response to the U.S. missile defense shield.

Unlike ordinary ballistic missiles, which enter the stratosphere before swooping down on their targets, weapons launched from the Gepard follow a flat trajectory.

The Gepard is the most-sophisticated, fastest and quietest of the 14 Akula-class Russian submarines currently in service. It is also believed to possess enhanced firepower, though few details are available on its exact performance.

An interesting point – the Gepard was due for launch in July but the ceremony was postponed so as not to clash with the raising of the Kursk, which sank last year with the loss of all 118 crew members.

The Kursk was raised from the Barents Sea floor in October. Officials said the disaster was caused by an explosion of a practice torpedo, which triggered the detonation of other combat weapons in the bow.

Most experts point to a flaw in a torpedo as the most plausible reason, but many Russian officials contend the explosion was likely caused by collision with a Western "hostile submarine" so as to justify Russia's military preparations, which are directed against America and her allies.

As Moscow's press has reported, Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov last week chided the navy chiefs for trying to pressure the investigators into accepting the collision theory.

According to Ustinov, "some military leaders are trying to enforce one version on us – that of a collision with another ship."

When President Bush decided to pull out of the 1972 ABM treaty banning missile defenses, he was absolutely correct. America cannot protect its people as well as its friends and allies without NMD, and the sooner we have the anti-missile shield the better it will be.

In such an important issue as NMD, Americans do not need to wait to see what our strange "partners" have to say about it

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
George W. Bush
Missile Defense
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