Reminds me a little of Iraq's air force moving into the no-fly zone all those years ago. However, this is a lot more close to home. What's the deal? The Russians were buzzing the Brits last month.

Don't confuse Iraqi ineptness with shooting at our planes with these Russian missions. Putin is trying to crawl back to the top, that's what this is all about. They want Mother Russia to be mighty again. Now that they have a few bucks and they can see America somewhat busy with other matters - they think they have their chance... and to some degree - they do...

Technically, that is not a bomber, its recon aircraft, no different from an Aries II or a Joint River aircraft.

I say that there is a terroristic threat from the country of Russia. It's time to enact the patriot act and subdue our personal freedoms in order to find the weapons of mass destruction hidden in Russia.

PS - It's just a joke!

Pretty soon, we will get angry when foreign satellites capture images of our country(Google Earth)

Russia wants to look tough.
But what possible motivation would they have for bombing the USA? They would risk annihilation.

There is no motivation for bombing the USA. Don't be ignorant. There would be mutual assured destruction. They just don't want the USA monitoring all of the world. Balance of power. Very simple.

I agree with Record. They are wanting to assert themselves as another super-power, Their alliance with Iran is troubling.

The motive seems to be the popular subject of discussion here. Though I didn't clip it, the same article concluded much the same as the general consensus:

Such moves are intended to demonstrate that the Russians are rebounding from their problems of the 1990s, a decade that saw Russia’s military deteriorate and its international standing plummet