Vladimir Putin Blames US for World Instability
what is the russian word for chutzpah?
By streiff Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Sometimes words fail.
Like when the kleptocratic leader of a third rate military power and economic basket case who endorses extortion as an element of domestic policy and sells weapons to pretty much anyone with a Visa or Mastercard accuses others of injuring the international system.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in some of his harshest criticism of the United States since he took office seven years ago, said Saturday that Washington's unilateral, militaristic approach had made the world a more dangerous place than at any time during the Cold War.
"The United States has overstepped its national borders in every way," he said in an address at an annual international security conference here. "Nobody feels secure anymore, because nobody can take safety behind the stone wall of international law."
Just pause a moment to savor this. And this:
Putin criticized the expansion of NATO, saying the alliance's placement of military forces on Russia's borders reduces "the level of mutual trust." He said the U.S. desire to place antimissile systems in Eastern Europe could further upset the international balance of power and embolden the United States in its foreign policy decisions.
Or even this:
The Russian president defended his country's arms sales to Iran as a way of reaching out to that Middle Eastern power, which is under pressure from the United States and Europe to curtail its nuclear program. Russia has supplied some air defense weapons to Iran because, he said, "we don't want Iran to feel cornered."
When I look into the seething, effervescing, putrescent morass that is Putin’s soul, I don’t see what President Bush saw.
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Vladimir Putin Blames US for World Instability 11 Comments (0 topical, 11 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
If this lonely cold war warrior wants to be the dictator of the old/new Soviet Union he needs a new cold war. Since one is not now going on, he needs to generate the fear to give him the opening.
Selling nuclear technology to Iran is just one of the first shots. He hopes the Mullahs can help him out and he can move in as the power.
Won't work. Everybody knows that Russia is broke.
Giving a nuke to terrorists, now that's a different ball game.
NATO's expansion. Of course this expansion is at the request of the states that wish to join. As opposed to say the Warsaw pact ?
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
A snip:
“As an old Cold Warrior, one of yesterday’s speeches almost filled me with nostalgia for a less complex time,” said Mr Gates.
Pretty unimpressive. Gates and everyone else evidently got caught flatfooted, and it's not like we can expect him to respond in a strong and confident manner and chew gum at the same time, huh?
NATO Secretary General Joop de Haeffer did a little better, calling Mr. Putin's speech "disappointing and unhelpful."
Perhaps Secretary Gates might consider explaining more forcefully that America is not the problem here--Mr. Putin has certainly given him enough material with which to work.
"I'm kind of old-fashioned. I like to engage my brain before my mouth." Donald Rumsfeld
was Putin referring to holding Europe hostage by threatening to cut off oil and natural gas supplies? You can take someone out of the KGB, but you can't take the KGB out of Mr. Putin.
He's a rough one - I'm sure he was quite an effective field officer for them.
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"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -- James Madison
...oil and gas supply contracts was "long-term." (He also used "transparent," but I'd say that word coming from a KGB man means exactly what you'd think: the opposite of transparent.)
Russia has been playing nasty games with the Ukraine's gas supplies (and by extension, northern Europe's) for two winters in a row now. I suspect he has in mind to establish something other than the freewheeling, high-flux global energy market we have now. The counterexample is OPEC of course, but Putin may be able to command better discipline from his boys.
The most mysterious thing to me about the Putin speech was the comments regarding Iran. What is the actual game behind the rhetoric? I wouldn't be at all surprised if it had something to do with the establishment of a sub-rosa Russia-Iran axis in the global energy market, especially relating to natural gas.
Add Chevez. Anybody for a new Warsaw Pact of the energy-possessors? Ironic that oil can achieve what the Red Army never could.
But this will be short lived gratification for Russia. Situated between Islam and China, she'll be next. Putin is thinking with that chip on his shoulder.
Russia at this point has nothing but energy resources and nukes. Their population is crashing and so is everything else along with it. As much as Putin says otherwise, he has to know that Russia isn't coming back as a dominant political force, so he'd probably settle for being a major economic force.
In energy markets as in every other market, the customer is always right. I'd expect China to have as much to say (very quietly of course) about this Russian adventure as anyone else (and they are already heavily invested in Iranian gas assets, although we're pressuring them to lighten up). And remember there's a lot of animosity between China and Russia, both traditional and recent.
Another pair of countries that have quite a lot to say about world markets for natural gas: Britain and Norway.
Venezuela: I seriously doubt it. As I've written elsewhere, Hugo is more dependent on his foreign investors than many people would like to believe, and he's probably not stupid.
Plans within plans within plans.. However, the KGB never understood Russian southern ethnics or the culture of the middle east - so he's bound to stumble. His skill lies in not leaving much exposed. He may not win, but he'll play to a draw - not good news if you're a sacrificed pawn.
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"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -- James Madison
Now? Not so much.
And just how Orwellian is the "Peace through Dialogue" sign he's standing in front of. "Dialogue"? Heh - ship some more military hardware to the Islamist nut-jobs in Tehran while you're at it, Vlad. That's all the "dialogue" we need from you.
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So libs, how's that binding Congressional Resolution to end The War™ coming along?
"Nobody feels secure anymore, because nobody can take safety behind the stone wall of international law."
what a pity: dictators and aspiring dictators (ie Putin) can no longer use the UN as a fig leaf to protect themselves from the US.