Return of the Russian Bear or is it?

According to Reuters news agency, and reported today on CNN.com, the Russian Air Force has now resumed flights of their strategic bomber fleet. The article shrieked that on Wednesday a TU-95 "Bear" bomber overflew the USAF base on Guam which scrambled fighters to intercept the overflight.

The story was written with a thick tone of foreboding that oozed dread and fear mongering. BEWARE! the Russian giant has awakened and we are all headed for a new and more dangerous Cold War with Russia. However, as I am SUCH a "fan" (not!) of the accuracy and objectivity of Reuters I did some fact checking.

Reuters: "Russia's strategic bombers have resumed the Soviet Union's Cold War practice of flying long-haul missions to areas patrolled by NATO and the United States"

FACT: Yes they did - in SEPTEMBER 2006!!!!! ELEVEN MONTHS AGO!!
According to a September 30, 2006 report from INTERFAX, the Russian News Agency........ "Russian strategic bombers conduct test flights". The article included quotes by Russian Air Force spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky and outlined that, "During the flights, part of a test of long-range aircraft, the bombers' crews saw NATO fighters, which were flying parallel to them in their airspace, but there were also segments of flights, including close to Alaska, where our planes were flying unaccompanied."

In fact, Mr. Drobyshevsky reported that Russian and foreign journalists had been invited to monitor the test flights to show off the new Russian Air Force and its abilities, yet NO FOREIGN PRESS applied for accreditation to cover this event. Additionally, I found the test flights were also announced on the Defense Ministry's official website.

Finally, way back on January 4, 2007 Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Gen. Vladimir Mikhail told Interfax reporters, "In 2006 strategic aviation flew over 100 missions, namely strategic bombers resumed active flights to areas above the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans," which means it's been formally announced and reported on at least twice in the past ELEVEN MONTHS, so why all the hype from Reuters now?


Reuters: "President Vladimir Putin has sought to make Russia more assertive in the world."
"The bombers give Russia the capability of launching a devastating nuclear strike even if the nuclear arsenals on its own territory are wiped out."

FACT: DUH! President Vlad has made no secret of his desire for a strong and respected Russia. I could fill page after page with examples, including from Reuters. These statements were added simply to keep up the dread factor high throughout the story. They're just selling FEAR!

Perhaps, Reuters can't find a conflict so they figure they should try to create one. Or maybe, they just need a good story to go with some newly "photo shopped" pictures!?!?

The worst part is that this story by Reuters is the #10 most popular story on CNN.com. This is another great example of "repeat the story" mainstream reporting instead of true journalism and honest, unbiased, factual news. Reuters writes it so CNN reports it - no questions asked. It's not CNN's fault if Reuters gets it wrong - Or is it????