OT? A New Cold War

[Raellus]

"History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes." -misattributed to Mark Twain

I find the evolving dynamic between the Russia and the West (NATO et al) fascinating. As a Cold War kid, historian, and T2K enthusiast, I see unsettling parallels between the current strained relationship between Putin's Russia and Europe/the U.S.A. I also see significant differences.

In the past two weeks, Russia sent several flights of combat aircraft into NATO airspace, tested a new ballistic missile, and may have snuck a submarine into and out of Swedish waters. Why? The following article does a good job of explaining why Russia may have initiated these fairly significant provocations.

http://www.bloombergview.com/article...ato?cmpid=yhoo

Where is all of this going? It's fairly clear that Russia is attempting to reestablish a layer of protective buffer states between itself and NATO. Russia likely sees the West as an existential threat, social, economic, and or military. Is fear causing Russia's aggressive disregard for contemporary international norms? Is Russia simply trying to reestablish its lost status as a world superpower?

Either way, the continuing escalation in provocative behaviors between Russia and NATO could very well lead to a shooting war. A pet project of Rainbow Six's and mine is rebooting the T2K concept by bringing it into the near future, incorporating history (since v.10 and v2.2), current events, and projections based on careful analysis of such.

I intend to use this thread as a clearinghouse for articles dedicated to developments in this "New Cold War", for those of you interested in current events, modern military science, and possible ramifications thereof in a near-future T2K scenario. Feel free to post your own links and/or make your own comments.