MOSCOW (Reuters) - A speech by Vice President Dick Cheney strongly critical of the Kremlin marks the start of a new Cold War that could drive Moscow away from its new-found Western allies, the Russian press said on Friday.

In shocked reaction to the harshest U.S. criticism of Moscow for years, commentators said Washington had created an anti-Russian cordon of Western-aligned states stretching from the Baltic almost to the Caspian Sea.

The Russian press agreed, comparing Cheney's words to a 1946 speech by British statesman Winston Churchill in Fulton, Missouri, when he said Europe was divided by an "Iron Curtain."

"Enemy at the Gates. Dick Cheney made a Fulton speech in Vilnius," said business daily Kommersant's front page headline.

"Vice President Dick Cheney made a keynote speech on relations between the West and Russia in which he practically established the start of the second Cold War ... The Cold War has restarted, only now the front lines have shifted," it said.

...thanks Cheney.

06 May 2006

By Dan Buckley, Alan Good and Eoin English
THERE’S nothing quite like the roar of waves crashing on the beach to wipe away the cobwebs — unless it happens to be the scream of a US Navy F-14 Tomcat overhead.

Whichever was loudest appears to have masked the moment a piece of combat aviation history fell to earth recently and ended up on a beach in west Cork.

An investigation was underway last night after what is believed to be a large part of the structure of the US Navy fighter jet was found washed up yesterday by a retired Aer Lingus pilot.

The piece, about the size of a family car, is thought to be one of the tail fins from a twin-tail F-14 Tomcat — the jet featured in the movie Top Gun.

Retired Aer Lingus captain Charlie Coughlan made the amazing discovery at Long Strand at Owenahincha, near Rosscarbery.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “The paint is still perfect. It appears to have broken off the aircraft. I could see a spar inside — it’s cracked, not cut.”

The debris, which measures eight feet by four feet, is military grey and features a flying skeleton, the insignia of VF-101 squadron — also known as the Grim Reapers — who up until recently were the US Navy’s F-14 training squad.

“It is quite a substantial piece; you would think it would have sunk but the inside is layered with honeycomb material and that could have made it buoyant,” said Mr Coughlan.

“There are no barnacles on it, so I would say it has only been in the water a few months.”

He notified the Irish Aviation Authority who in turn contacted the gardaí. They sealed off the scene yesterday and handed the investigation over to the Air Navigation Investigation Unit.

A senior garda said there were no reports of any aircraft missing in the area. The US Navy seems equally mystified.

A spokesman at the Pentagon said last night that they were not aware of any missing tail fins.

“We don’t fly F-14s any more,” said Lieutenant Jim Marks. “They were decommissioned earlier this year.”

The F-14 Tomcat, with its distinctive swept wings, twin vertical fins and engines, and state-of-the-art technology, was one of the most formidable fighter jets in US combat aviation history.

Designed primarily as a naval air-to-air fighter, the Tomcat also proved adept in ground attack capabilities, tactical reconnaissance and precision strikes. The first prototype flew in 1970 and its first combat deployment began in 1972.

Both the Tomcat and its fighter squadrons were finally mothballed in January after more than three decades of combat duty.

A sense of that history can be found on the US Navy website. Wannabe Tom Cruises can download a computer video game designed to test the mettle of those intent on a career with the force.

Called the US Navy Training Exercise, the website declares it is being “conducted to help us evaluate future recruitment benchmarks”. Naturally, it has a code name: Strike & Retrieve.

The Navy says: “NTE: Strike & Retrieve presents a mental challenge that requires both sound reasoning and quick- thinking action on your part. At the navy we know the missions of the future will be determined not by who is the strongest but by who is the smartest.”

And, presumably, whoever manages to hang on to their tail-fins.

F-14 Tomcat factfile
Manufacturer: Grumman.
Introduced: Sept 1974.
Retired: 2006 (US Navy).
Status: still in active service in Iran.
Built: 675.
Unit cost: $38 million.
Top speed: 1,544mph
Crew: Two.
Weapons:
M61 Gatling gun.
Air-to-air missiles.
Laser-guided bombs.