Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Security Council. One European expert estimates that at least a third of Russia's diplomats work for Putin's intelligence agencies. Alexei Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters
Claudia Rosett, The Hill: From the Baltics to the Middle East: Russia’s rising threat
It’s less than six years since President Obama mocked presidential contender Mitt Romney for warning about the resurgent threat from Russia. In one of the most memorable lines of the 2012 election, Obama scoffed that “the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”
Today, there’s plenty of evidence that the Cold War was already on its way back, with a vengeance. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin seized every opening presented by Obama’s policies of “reset,” “flexibility,” appeasement and retreat. During Obama’s second term, Russia made its military reentry via Syria into the conflicts of the Middle East, shored up its ties to Iran, and began reconfiguring the borders of Eastern Europe and the rules of the post-Soviet world order by snatching Crimea from Ukraine. In Washington, American politics has been embroiled since the 2016 election in investigations and bitter quarrels involving allegations of Russian dirty tricks.
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WNU Editor: Russian rhetoric aside .... the U.S. defense budget is exploding, and the Russian defense budget is either frozen or decreasing .... Russia to cut defense spending, capital construction outlays, vows presidential aide (TASS). So where is the threat? I guess the threat is geopolitical where concerns about Russia are primarily focused in eastern Europe, and among those who are not happy on the role that Russia is playing in the Middle East.
7 comments:
We now wait for Postman to tell us that we need to embrace Russia as our best friend
President Trump has signed an order expelling 60 Russian intelligence officers from the U.S. and closing a Russian consulate in Seattle in response to Russia's involvement in the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK, senior administration officials told reporters on a Monday morning call.
Why it matters: This comes a week after President Trump did not condemn Russia's actions toward the spy, but instead congratulated Putin on his reelection on a phone call. The administration officials said that "the door to discourse is open" to Russia, but only once they have acknowledged their responsibility in the attack. “When you attack our friends, you will face serious consequences," one officials said.
Fred,
I never said "embrace Russia as our best friend." Either you don't read or you invent things. What I have said is treat Russia as the equal and in some ways stronger power that they are and respect them. There will be areas where there will be conflict.
The editor has already linked to an article regarding the expulsion of diplomats. At that time I commented on this. I have neither the time nor the patience to re plow that ground right now. As I said at the time, I don't agree with the decision. It appears rash and ill thought out.
So there going to expect the Kremlin to acknowledge their responsibility in an attack that they didn't carry out. As myself, the editor, and others have pointed out, this doesn't make sense. There's to much to lose and nothing to gain in such an attack. American and leaders have lost basic common sense. I think I have pointed out that DJT has largely lost his way on this.
At least by congratulating Putin that may be a small step to keeping the door open for diplomacy should US and western leaders come to their senses here. Whether it be a social setting, a business, or pretty much anything else if we wish to advance and prosper we seek to have constructive relations with powerful people within these groups. This does NOT mean we will agree on everything nor does it mean we become subservient to them or sacrifice our interests to placate them or to otherwise keep them happy. What it does mean is we do NOT go around making wild and reckless claims seeking confrontation when and where it is not needed and even going so far as to sacrifice our interests in order to have this conflict that it seems some in the "west" and America simply MUST have to the point that they go WAY out of their way to provoke it. I think I address elsewhere what may be part of the cause of such insanity.
"...the US defense budget is exploding and the Russian one is either frozen or decreasing..." There are two things that need to be understood here.
1.)While not unimportant, how much money a nation actually spends on its military is the least important metric when trying to measure how powerful countries are relative to each other. I would liken it to "time of possession" in American football. While this is not unimportant, experts have correctly referred to this as "the least important statistic." In summary, how much a country spends on its military is a valuable measure but it is not the end all be all and should NOT be given the emphasis that the talking head pundits and writers assign to it.
2.) In a series of fruitless and unending operations around the world that not only do not advance any American interests but actually undermine them, the US military has essentially been ground to powder in some areas, equipment is substandard, leadership is sub par, training of personnel is substandard, and morale is low. In a number of ways, the US military will literally need to be rebuilt from the ground up. This costs money. Of course it would make sense to STOP DOING THE INSANE THINGS WE ARE CURRNETLY DOING!!
An attack they did not carry out? Russia claimed this...France.Germany, the U.S. and Gt Britain stated they did it...and go along with Russia...omg
The nonsense over a "congratulations" misses the point by a country mile. Putin commands enough power to turn the USA into a radioactive death trap for decades to come. Telling him congratulations is a minor honor to that man.
It was Obama himself caught on camera and on mic begging PM Medvedev to get Putin to go easy on him leading up to the Nov 2012 election in exchange for Obama going easy on Putin's goals after the election. That was the very definition of collusion, mafia style.
It is apparent the neocons in Washington have for long been trying to provoke conflict with Moscow as a way to undermine it's resurgence.The ultimate goal is to rally the west against Russia and bring it's economy down. And instrument is cold war2,though I think there will not be a second cold war but a third world war that the west will not be able to control. INn the event of a war, the west will not stand united, the only real ally the US has is London. The rest will depend on the circumstances of the day.
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