Is Putin Now Reaching For Alaska?: Are there confrontations ahead in the battle over Arctic oil?
Putin arms Arctic drillers on a meeting between Putin and his top national security aides. It says Putin highlighted the need for an enhanced security presence in Russian Arctic territories to protect oil production facilities, loading terminals and pipelines against terrorists and other potential threats."
The same day Putin signed amendments in a federal law on the protection of oil and gas objects and infrastructure. It gives Russian oil companies the right to establish their own protection units. The Barents Observer quotes the newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta as suggesting the companies might eventually hire thousands of well-armed people, equipped with automatic weapons, vehicles, vessels and aircraft,mostly former military personnel, police officers and special forces agents. Even if that proves to be slightly exaggerated,the thought of corporate armed units having the law in their own hands to squash anything that looks like opposition to Arctic development is a nightmare.
Full Article: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140428/are-there-confrontations-ahead-battle-over-arctic-oil
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Would not surprise me in the least.
Don't think for a minute that he hasn't thought about it. After all Alaska is even more distant from immediate help than Crimea was.