Article

2008-08-16 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Fred 2008-08-16 01:01|| || Front Page|| [11128 views ] Top

#1 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that a preliminary deal allowing the US to site missiles in Poland is aimed against Russia.

Now why would we do that? Just cause you threatened nuclear launch?

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-16 11:06|| 2008-08-16 11:06|| Front Page Top

#2 Missiles from Russia towards the USA would go over the Pole, not over Poland. The Russians know this.

Posted by rjschwarz 2008-08-16 22:21|| 2008-08-16 22:21|| Front Page Top

#3 And two armored brigades and one in the Baltics to protect the AA batteries.

Posted by ed 2008-08-16 22:29|| 2008-08-16 22:29|| Front Page Top

#4 must be missiles aimed at Germany and France then. as if natural gas threats werent enough to keep them in line.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-08-16 22:39|| 2008-08-16 22:39|| Front Page Top

#5 My understanding is that the Russian believe that NATO just moved the "missile front" closer to Russia and into territories NATO promised not to venture.

And that "missile defense" serves as a Trojan Horse.
Russians tend to be paranoid about this.

Posted by Sherese Jones6358 2008-08-16 22:41|| 2008-08-16 22:41|| Front Page Top

#6 NATO promised not to send forces into the visograd states when they made the deal for them to join, way back in the mid 90s. At that time Russia was governed by Yeltsin, who was halfway conciliatory to the West. Also at that time Iran seemed less of a threat. And this technology did not seem promising.

All three of those things has changed. Iran is heading towards nukes and has long range missiles - and Russia has been at most grudging in trying to stop that. There are techs that CAN stop it.

And russia has been engaged in behavior since 2001 that brings the original deal into question.

Even so weve tried to get Russia involved in this tech, and make it as unthreatening as possible.

Yet Russia, days after invading a sovereign state, and WHILE its forces rampage through said state, is threatening nuclear retaliation for this. If they WANTED NATO to extend further defenses into Poland they couldnt do a better job.

We have not threatened Russia so crudely in the entire era since 1991. It is time for Russia to cool down, while it still has some sympathy.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-08-16 22:54|| 2008-08-16 22:54|| Front Page Top

#7 And for all these years, I thought Hollywood was America's Trojan horse. Paranoid delusions are no excuse to bow to Moscow's demands.

Posted by ed 2008-08-16 22:55|| 2008-08-16 22:55|| Front Page Top

#8 liberalhawk

You might want to cool down as well a little.
How many conflicts can the U.S. handle?

War on Terror
A new Cold War
Pakistan/India conflict looming
Taiwan issue

A new cold war is the most unnecessary conflict

Posted by Sherese Jones6358 2008-08-16 23:01|| 2008-08-16 23:01|| Front Page Top

#9 Pakistan/India isn't really a US conflict. Pakistan/Afghanistan is (well, it's really a NATO conflict, but there seems to be a dearth of... enthusiasm... from quite a few members).

Taiwan isn't.

Posted by Pappy 2008-08-16 23:05|| 2008-08-16 23:05|| Front Page Top

#10 Im pretty cool.

Taiwan issue is actually not heating up now, and India-Pak isnt our issue. WOT we're handling, along with many other countries.

As for a renewed cold war, I dont want anyone, and AFAICT no one in the US does. We DO have to make it clear to the new members of NATO that we will keep our treaty obligations to them. Since Im sure Russia has no designs to attack ANY of them, I cant see how thats a problem for Russia.

And of course if Russia continues to act with beligerence and arrogance, it wont be a question of what the US alone does, as the Europeans will join us.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-08-16 23:07|| 2008-08-16 23:07|| Front Page Top

#11 A new cold war is the most unnecessary conflict

The time for Russia to have shown that was fifteen years ago by not proliferating nuclear technologies to Iran. I'm afraid by now it's too late for the New COld War to be unnecessary. It was, but Russia went ahead with it anyway.

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-08-16 23:35|| 2008-08-16 23:35|| Front Page Top

23:40 Abdominal Snowman
23:35 Abdominal Snowman
23:29 KBK
23:22 lnker
23:15 Red Dawg
23:15 liberalhawk
23:10 liberalhawk
23:09 liberalhawk
23:07 liberalhawk
23:07 Sherese Jones6358
23:06 linker
23:05 Pappy
23:04 liberalhawk
23:01 Sherese Jones6358
22:59 DarthVader
22:58 liberalhawk
22:55 ed
22:54 liberalhawk
22:52 linker
22:52 Pappy
22:50 Elinker
22:48 liberalhawk
22:45 Sherese Jones6358
22:41 ed