U.S., Canada scramble jets to intercept Russian fighter aircraft flying near sovereign air space (Video)

Note to Barack Obama: The Joke Store called and is asking you to return your “joke” about the Cold War being over for two decades.

Who can forget the president’s zany zinger from the 2012 presidential debates when Mitt Romney intimated that Russia was our greatest political threat. Obama rejoined him with a riff on a line from Seinfeld, stating: “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”

For those who have forgotten, the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler (of “Fact Checker” fame) prepared this video:

The his column, written in March around the time of Russia’s standoff in the Crimea, Kessler opined that the staff writer who crafted Obama’s dig would not likely be coming forward to take bows for the  line.

In the meantime, the Russian threat has become more palpable and immediate. How much so? As J.E. reported early this morning, two Russian Mig-31 fighter jets, two Russian IL-78 refueling tankers, and two Russian Bear long-range bombers came precipitously close to American and Canadian air space this week. Trackers with NORAD, a U.S. and Canadian aerospace command, and U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) report that “two Alaskan-based F-22 fighter jets” were scrambled to intercept the Russian aircraft in the ADIZ, west of Alaska.

John Cornelio, a spokesman for NORAD and NORTHCOM, rushed to offer assurances there was nothing to worry about. According to Mail Online, he noted “that such intercepts had happened over 50 times in the last five years as Russian aircraft conducted exercises.”

And that’s supposed to having a calming influence how?

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Howard Portnoy

Howard Portnoy

Howard Portnoy has written for The Blaze, HotAir, NewsBusters, Weasel Zippers, Conservative Firing Line, RedCounty, and New York’s Daily News. He has one published novel, Hot Rain, (G. P. Putnam’s Sons), and has been a guest on Radio Vice Online with Jim Vicevich, The Alana Burke Show, Smart Life with Dr. Gina, and The George Espenlaub Show.

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