Russia went on war alert over missile test

Here is a clear example of Russia showing commendable restraint. A few days ago, US-Israeli forces launched a cruise missile from one of their warships in the Mediterranean.

Fortunately the launch was just a test. Unfortunately, US-Israeli forces did not think to WARN anyone ahead of time. So when the launch was picked up on Russian radar, it was perceived as a preemptive strike against Syria and President Putin was immediately notified. Thankfully for everyone in the world, cooler heads prevailed and no retaliatory action was taken.

WASHINGTON – Just as the Syrian crisis was getting under way, a joint U.S.-Israeli test of an anti-missile system prompted the Russian General Staff to go on “high alert” and notify President Vladimir Putin that missiles may be incoming on Syria.

The reason: Neither the United States nor Israel bothered to notify Russia that the Sept. 2 test was going on in the Mediterranean near Syria.

Moscow’s response was immediate.

The Russian General Staff thought Israel had launched a preemptive attack on Syria in the eastern Mediterranean which some Russian officials said could have led to World War III.

When the truth came out about the unannounced anti-missile test, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov criticized Israel for undertaking such a launch during a crisis occurring in the neighboring country of Syria.

Referring to the Mediterranean region as a “powder keg,” Antonov warned that anything such as an unannounced missile test could explode into war.

“A match is enough for fire to break out and possibly spread not only to neighboring states but to other world regions as well,” Anotov said. “I remind you that the Mediterranean is close to the borders of the Russian Federation.”

If the situation had been reversed, and a Russian ship had launched a missile without telling anyone it was a "test" - how do you think the US would have responded? America has a reputation for being trigger happy, so my answer is that we very well might have reacted without waiting to find out what had really happened. I would hope that the US would show the same level of restraint, but who knows?

Interestingly, this story has not been given any play in US media, although I saw several Russian news stories about the test launch being picked up on Russian radar, very shortly after it happened.