So Putin was on vacation......and while all those Russian sailors were
350 feet beneath the water, why the delay in the rescue attempts?
But then remember, we have in Putin all that is KGB for he still is
KGB.....remember the little 14 year old boy who had his legs amputated
because Putins new policy was to really show them publicly what will
happen to anyone who opposes his regime....end result a broken hearted
mother sitting with her child in a wheelchair.....Russians refuse him
medical treatment, until gangrene set in so they then accommodated the
mother and child, by cutting off his legs.
These are friends of USA......our Director of FBI met with Putin and was
oh so impressed - and little Madeline Albright went to Putin and asked
him if we could beef up our defenses, in the USA.......bet she did a
little golly gee, Mr. Putin....
Was there something about that submarine that was oh so secret - why
refusal to ask for USA aid....what happened to that submarine - was it
like another USS Liberty deal, someone trying to start a war and then
blame it on someone else?
Explosion inside? The experts said Titanic looked like had been hit
with explosion, not iceberg.
All those men at the bottom of the sea, dying while Nero fiddled - Putin
on vacation, too busy to care or give order to send out marines.....been
nice of these men had gotten the same attention as the FBI gave in
covering Flight 800 - said to have been blown of sky by missile - they
spent $32 million dollars investigating that one - remember the daily
news conferences the FBI called and how sickening they all were.
Only thing I know, the Russians gave that sub as much attenion as the
USA gave the USS Liberty, where Israelies napalmed that ship and bombed
it and 34 died and 170 injured and they bombed and napalmed it IN
INTERNATIONAL WATERS for 45 minutes trying to sink same,,,,,,like where
there is a testimony there must be by necessity death of testators - for
Egypt would be blamed for that one if they had gotten away with it......
Well I do not think this submarine will be forgotten and if I were Putin
I would feel pretty shaky by now....that guy obvivously is not too
bright and then their Navy SOLD the names of the sailors? A Dead
Pool?
Did you see the picture of some of those just near kids on that sub?
Will Putin cry with Henry Kissinger, old KGB Agent Code Name
Bore........
How I hate these bastards......but then the Russian Mafia killed more
Christians than Hitler killed jews - but then who realizes that 55
million people died in WWII?
So Remember the USS Liberty always - sign of times?
Get that garbage out of our White House.
Russia: No hope left for sub crew� Official says critical time has
passed to rescue 118 men� Two women prepare to receive news of their
relatives on board the crippled nuclear submarine. Russian navy
officials said Saturday there is almost no hope of rescuing any
survivors.
�MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
MOSCOW, Aug. 19 � �The critical time has passed to rescue the
118-man crew of the stricken nuclear submarine Kursk and the men are
likely dead, a Russian official announced Saturday morning. He said the
crew likely died by drowning in the first moments of the accident nearly
a week ago or by unbearable air pressure.
� �
�
�
�
�
.
Chronology of Russian nuclear submarine accidents
March 20, 1993
A Russian Delta-3 class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine
operating in the Barents Sea was struck by the U.S. nuclear-powered
attack submarine USS Grayling. Both vessels returned to base.September
27, 1991
A missile misfired aboard a Soviet Typhoon class nuclear-powered
submarine in the northern White Sea during a training exercise. The
submarine, armed with nuclear missiles and torpedoes, returned to base
safely.
April 7, 1989
A Soviet Mike class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank off northern
Norway with the loss of 42 lives after a fire on board. The Komsomolets
submarine was armed with two nuclear torpedoes.October 6, 1986
A Soviet Yankee class nuclear-powered submarine armed with 16 SS-N-6
missiles, each carrying two warheads, and an estimated two nuclear
torpedoes sank some 600 miles northeast of Bermuda.
August 10, 1985
An explosion devastated the Shkotovo-22 ship repair facility which
services Soviet navy nuclear-powered vessels. Ten people were killed and
many died later from radiation exposure.September 8, 1977
A Soviet Delta-1 class nuclear-powered submarine accidentally jettisoned
a nuclear warhead off Russia's Far-Eastern Kamchatka peninsula. The
warhead was later recovered.
April 12, 1970
A Soviet November class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank in the
Atlantic Ocean off Spain. The K-8 submarine was powered by two nuclear
reactors and carried two nuclear torpedoes.March 8-10, 1968
A Soviet Golf-2 class diesel-powered submarine armed with three nuclear
SS-N-5 missiles sank in the Pacific. In 1974 the CIA used a commissioned
vessel, the 63,000 ton Hughes Glomar Explorer, to recover the forward
section of the submarine including two nuclear-tipped torpedoes and 8
dead crewmen.
July 4, 1961
The captain and seven crew members died when radiation spread through
the Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered submarine. A pipe in the
control system of one of the two reactors had ruptured.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Reuters/Greenpeace
�Printable version
� � � �VICE ADM. Mikhail Motsak, head of the Russian Navy's
Northern Fleet said rescue efforts would not end but there was almost no
chance that anyone could still be alive on the Kursk.
� � � �He called it the greatest catastrophe in the history of
the Russian Navy.
� � � �"Regrettably, in effect we have crossed the critical
boundary of insuring the life of the crew," he said in an interview on
Russia's RTR television.
� � � �Motsak said water was pouring into the damaged submarine
and the soldiers first tapped out a message that they needed air but
then the communication stopped.
� � � �The resuers say that the last they heard a sound SOS
signal from those inside was Monday.
� � � �Motsak said that hammered signals received from the crew
indicated that water was leaking into the rear of the vessel, gradually
depriving them of oxygen and increasing air pressure.
� � � �The news, announced on Russian TV, came as a British
rescue team and Norwegian divers were due to arrive on Saturday for a
last-ditch attempt to rescue the trapped sailors.
� � � �Rather than pull out surviving sailors, Motsak said the
British team's mission was now "to penetrate the submarine."
� � � �However, it was clear even before Motsak's announcment,
that the sailors were likely dead.
� � � �Russian officials said underwater video of the submarine
showed the Kursk sustained more extensive damage than previously
believed in the mysterious accident that sent it to the sea bottom,
making it likely that a significant part of the crew died in a massive
initial explosion.
� � � �Adding to the problems was the fact that the Kursk was
slowly sinking into the mud. The submarine already is leaning at a sharp
angle, impeding rescue work.
� � � �"The situation is beyond critical. I call it that because
there are no tangible results," Russia's navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said
Saturday in a live interview with Russia's independent NTV television
network.
� � � �He said there were two reasons for such an assessment:
The time for a rescue was running out � together with oxygen on board,
and there were fears that the rescue hatch, the only escape route for
the crew, was too badly damaged to be used.
� � � �Several Russian efforts to reach the Kursk had been
unsuccessful. Russian rescue capsules had been shuttling to the Kursk
submarine, but had failed to dock with the vessel. Dygalo said capsules
had managed to hook up with the craft at least four times, but did not
dock. A rescue capsule that did reach the vessel Friday could not latch
onto it because of severe damage.
� � � �The Kursk has been sitting at the bottom of the Barents
Sea for nearly a week, on the spot where it plunged 350 feet underwater
a week ago, trapping the people on board.
� � � �Dygalo said he now expected the British rescue team to
arrive at 9 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) Saturday, three hours later than
earlier predictions. A team of Norwegian divers was expected later.
��Disaster in the deep�Latest news on sub
�Analysis: Tragedy brings deceit and shame
�Russian paper 'buys'
list of crew
�WashPost: Crew faces nightmare fate below
�The radiation risk
�U.S. sailors' similar ordeal
� � � �The British team hopes to maneuver their LR5 mini-sub
onto the Kursk and form an airlock between the two through which the
crew could escape. The craft is described as an "underwater helicopter"
because of its maneuverability.
� � � �Design drawings provided by the Russians indicate the LR5
should be able to connect with the hatches on the Kursk, the British
Ministry of Defense has said.
� � � �Whether they will be able to open the damaged hatch is
another matter. Dygalo said British rescuers might face problems similar
to those the Russians faced, but said the rescue operation would
continue to the end.
� � � �A British defense ministry spokesman said the rescue
submarine was fitted with more advanced equipment than the Russian
vessels.
� � � �"Our equipment is state-of-the-art and we have not given
up hope," he said in London.
� � � �
OPEN TO U.S. HELP
� � � �Dygalo's comments followed U.S. defense secretary William
Cohen's announcement Friday that Moscow had opened the door for U.S.
participation in a NATO rescue mission.
� � � �Cohen, at a Pentagon news conference, said Russian
officials approved U.S. participation in a NATO rescue mission during a
videoconference late Thursday.
Source: Jane's Information Group
� � � �Details of that participation remain to be worked out,
Cohen said, noting that another teleconference was scheduled for
Saturday morning.
� � � �"The Defense Department remains ready, willing and able
to provide any assistance to the Russians that they would find helpful,"
Cohen said.
� � � �He said Pentagon planners were laying out three options
for the Russians and NATO to consider: dispatching a team of experts
including engineers, deep sea divers and doctors to help in the rescue
effort; establishing a "coordination cell" to facilitate international
rescue efforts; or sending atmospheric suits to support Russian rescue
efforts.
��Standing Nuclear Watch�A look at life on a U.S. nuclear sub
� � � �Cohen refused to be drawn into the debate about whether
the Russian government's initial rejection of foreign assistance had
made it far less likely that anyone would be found alive on the Kursk,
which sank Saturday during a military exercise, saying the time for such
examination would come later.
� � � �"To the extent they are willing to have NATO assistance
� that is an indication they still believe that sailors are alive," he
said.
� � � �
RUSSIANS RESPOND TO CRITICISM
� � � �Meanwhile, Adm. Vyachevslav Popov, the commander of the
Northern Fleet and the officer directly in charge of the rescue attempt,
bristled at mounting criticism of the navy and the Russian government
for initially refusing offers of help.
� � � �"We did not lose a single minute, a single hour," he said
late Friday on Russian television, noting that Russian ships were able
to locate the sub and initiate rescue efforts within four hours of the
accident.
��The nuclear-armed planet MSNBC Interactive�Click here to see
nuclear stockpiles around the world (requires Flash plugin)
� � � �Russian President Vladimir Putin also reacted to the
mounting criticism, abruptly returning to Moscow after criticism of his
decision to stay on vacation when news of the disaster broke.
� � � �He said he did not fly to the rescue site because "the
arrival of non-specialists and high-ranking officials to the scene of
disaster does not help, but usually interferes," according to the
Interfax news agency.
� � � �Putin also joined a growing chorus of naval officials
saying that the chances of rescuing sailors alive from the Kursk were
slim from the start.
� � � �Putin said he had asked Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev
about the chances of saving the vessel and crew the moment he was
informed about the disaster. "The answer was, 'There is an extremely
small chance for rescue, but it exists,'" he said.
� � � �
CAUSE REMAINS A MYSTERY
� � � �Russian officials have not determined how the Kursk got
into trouble on Aug. 12.
� � � �Many experts say the most likely scenario is that a
torpedo in the Kursk's forward torpedo compartment exploded, setting off
a much bigger explosion in the compartment, which is packed with
weapons.
� � � �The Kursk can carry up to 28 torpedoes and anti-submarine
missiles, each with warheads weighing up to 1,000 pounds. A blast
involving even a few torpedoes would have caused catastrophic damage.
Advertisement
The Terrible Hours: Sub rescueBlind Man's Bluff: Sub espionage
� � � �Meanwhile, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper published a
special issue Friday with a list of the men aboard the Kursk, claiming
it had paid navy officials $650 for the names. The navy has not
officially said who is aboard, angering family members and fueling
criticism about the military's slow, confused and often contradictory
response to the disaster.
� � � �"There's a lot of hearsay about what's going on," Irina
Lyachin, wife of the Kursk's commander, said in Murmansk. "I hope they
will tell me the truth when the time comes."
� � � �A sailor who missed the Kursk's mission because he was on
holiday told the Kommersant newspaper the crew had been well trained in
escaping damaged sections of the sub and evacuating.
� � � �He said they may not have fled the stricken vessel
because their commanders had died in the first minutes of the accident.
� � � �"When the alarm rings the crew has seconds to take their
positions and seal off sections of the submarine," Alexei Bessel said.
"In fact the Kursk crew usually showed better timings" than the crew of
a similar vessel, the Voronezh.
� � � �
� � � �The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this
report.
� � � � �
� � � � � �
�A tragedy brings shame and deceit�Paper publishes list of Kursk
crew�Russian navy at sea on details of sub's sinking�The Chechnya
trap slams shut�MSNBC in Russian
�Complete coverage
See coverage in London on MSN UK
Encarta Online: More about submarines
Details on Oscar-class subs from Russia's Center for Arms Control,
Energy and Environmental Studies
�
� � �
�
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A. Saba
Dare To Call It Conspiracy
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Dare To Call It Conspiracy
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