Joe Biden, in a his speech in Kiev Wednesday, reiterated the Obama administration's commitment to strengthen ties with Ukraine. Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesFrom The Wall Street Journal:
WASHINGTON -- Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview that Russia's economy is "withering," and suggested the trend will force the country to make accommodations to the West on a wide range of national-security issues, including loosening its grip on former Soviet republics and shrinking its vast nuclear arsenal.
Mr. Biden said he believes Russia's economic problems are part of a series of developments that have contributed to a significant rethinking by Moscow of its international self-interest. The geographical proximity of the emerging nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea is also likely to make Russia more cooperative with the U.S. in blocking their growth, he said.
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My Comment: Vice President Biden's remarks are being perceived as condescending and disrespectful from the Russian media. From the Russian perspective, their economy and financial structures are far more stable than America's. They do not run $2 trillion dollar (plus) deficits, nor do they have Social Security/Medicaid/Pension obligations in the mega trillions.
They also have enormous oil and natural gas reserves, and a population that is starting to develop a functioning entrepreneurial middle class. America has a growing underclass, and limits on natural resources.
One Russian pundit put it perfectly .... at the end of Vice President Biden's 4 year term .... it may be the U.S. who will be forced to make accommodations on a wide range of national-security issues .... not Russia.
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