-Caveat Lector- Russian bombers headed off as they approach Alaska coast Copyright � 1999 Nando Media Copyright � 1999 Associated Press >From Time to Time: Nando's in-depth look at the 20th century By ALLEN BAKER ANCHORAGE, Alaska (September 17, 1999 10:29 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - U.S. fighter jets were sent to confront a pair of Russian bombers caught on radar headed toward the Alaska coast Thursday, Air Force officials said Friday. Both bombers turned before crossing into U.S. airspace and about 90 miles from the approaching fighters, officials at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base said. The Soviet Union regularly tested U.S. air defenses by flying toward Alaska during the Cold War, but this was the first time the Air Force has documented such an incident since March 1993. It came a few days before a Russian delegation is to arrive in Kodiak, Alaska, to tour the Coast Guard base and discuss recent tensions along the U.S.-Russian border. Radar at Elmendorf picked up two unidentified aircraft Thursday afternoon about 200 miles from the coast and heading toward Alaska. Controllers tried to contact the planes, then scrambled a pair of F-15 Eagle fighters to confront them. The F-15s came within 90 miles of both planes before the bombers turned away while still in international airspace. The planes were identified as Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers with the help of Northwest Airlines pilots who saw the bombers, the Air Force said. It was unclear how far the Northwest plane was from the two bombers. Recent tensions along the U.S.-Russian border have been primarily on the sea. That was one of the reasons the Coast Guard invited Lt. Gen. Vladislav Prokhoda - chief of the Northeast Region Directorate of the Russian Federal Border Guard Service - to tour the Coast Guard's Air Station Kodiak and talk with U.S. officials. Last month, a Russian vessel was spotted fishing nearly a half-mile inside the U.S. exclusive fishing zone, the fifth such incident recorded by the Coast Guard this year. The Coast Guard was preparing to tow the Russian boat to a U.S. port when more than a dozen other Russian vessels surrounded both. After interpreters on one of the Russian vessels radioed to the Coast Guard that they were prepared to prevent the towing, the Coast Guard remove its boarding party and transferred control to a Russian patrol vessel. -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
