Russia flexes her muscles ... but wait, its normal

Let the games begin... I so loved the cold war era novels .... Via Drudge: According to The New York Times: WASHINGTON — A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States in recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies about a more assertive stance by the Russian military. AFP/Pool/File – File picture shows a new Russian nuclear submarine, the Yuri Dolgoruky, off northern city of Arkhangelsk The episode has echoes of the cold war era, when the United States and the Soviet Union regularly parked submarines off each other’s coasts to steal military secrets, track the movements of their underwater fleets — and be poised for war. NYTimes aug5 And the Associated Press has this to say: MOSCOW – A top Russian general says two nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines that have been spotted off the U.S. East Coast are part of regular patrols. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff of Russia's armed forces, says the patrols are not newsworthy. Nogovitsyn said Wednesday Russia resumed the submarine patrols after restarting strategic bomber patrol flights in 2007. U.S. defense officials said Tuesday that the Russian submarines had been patrolling in international waters for several days. While the activity was reminiscent of the Cold War, the U.S. officials said the submarines had done nothing to provoke concern. Nogovitsyn said the patrols were "a normal thing" and suggested the U.S. also has submarines patrolling near Russia.