Look! Up In The Sky! Russian Spy Planes!

Forget about Black Helicopters sent from the UN to put stickers on the back of our road signs (or something like that), there are Russian spy planes overhead.  No … really.

At issue is the Open Skies Treaty. First signed in 1992 and finally ratified in 2002, the treaty adopted by 34 nations allows the safe passage of planes equipped with advanced cameras and sensors that give governments the imagery and data they use to assess everything from compliance with arms control treaties to troop movements.

Now Russia has a new ultra-sophisticated spy plane they would like to use.

Russian planes, according to U.S. officials involved in the dispute, contain a new sensor package that would allow Moscow to surveil American nuclear assets with a level of precision and detail that makes U.S. military and intelligence leaders deeply uncomfortable.

In light of the situation in Crimea and Ukraine, there is a heated debate on whether or not to allow Russia this new surveillance tool. Some lawmakers and intelligence officials are adamant that these improved spy planes stay out of American skies. However, the Obama administration remains undecided.

The State Department on the other hand has argued the United States should live up to the treaty’s obligations and approve the new Russian aircraft. The decision to certify the planes and their sensors has been pending since late last year, long before the Ukraine crisis began. One senior U.S. official said, “This isn’t just an issue between the United States and Russia. Our allies and partners depend on this treaty for insight into Russia because they don’t have the same capabilities as the United States.”

By: Mark Quincy Adams

A proud 'pragmatic progressive' Mark Quincy Adams has been a political
talk show host and prolific pontificator since 1992. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @politicalglutton