Russia Is Not a Friend of the United States

Magic City Morning Star ^ | Aug 23, 2006 | Jim Kouri

[ffusco]

Should have disarmed the bear when we won the cold war. Biggest scam in history that that disgusting country is treated like a world power.

[GarySpFc]

Boy, good thing we gave the Soviets all that foreign aid after the wall came down.
/sarcasm

We didn't give the Soviets zilch. We blew it by giving the money to a "few" Russian oligarchs who raped the Russian people by buying up all the natural resources and industries.

[Freelance Warrior]

1.History makes it painfully clear that nations know no "friends". All they ever can acheive is "alliances", which by and large are all too often quite temporary.

This opinion is shared by many Russians in respect for their country.

2. They also think that the nuclear arsenal is vitually necessary to prevent a possible agression from the USA. The threat may be both of military or not military matter (e.g. using economical weight). That's as simple as that.

[Gantz]

"That's as simple as that."

Yes. It has always been this way.

Someday mankind may outgrow such instincts. But I don't expect it to happen in my lifetime.

[venucor]

Which nation today doesn't have a nuclear deterrent today whether directly or by default. The only alternative is to improve on defences, I guess...And to respect others sentiments and feelings too.

[Thunder90]

Russia/Soviet/Coldwar2 PING!!!

To be added or removed from this list, please FReepmail me!!!

[Thunder90]

Did you know that Russia has military and nuclear missile bases in Kazakhstan and most of the rest of the "Former" soviet union?

[Thunder90]

Russia' Topel M missile is specifically designed to attack the US as a preemptive strike weapon.

[Freelance Warrior]

Nations have contradicting interests, and nuclear arsenal is a good trump in the political game. Moreover, Russia has no alternative trumps after the Catastrophe of 1991 when all Russian public institutions (economy, public services, military, educatuion, culture, etc.) practically collapsed and only nukes left to keep independence.

[GarySpFc]

Did you know that Russia has military and nuclear missile bases in Kazakhstan and most of the rest of the "Former" soviet union?

Mr. Sloganeer, please name the former Soviet countries where Russia has "military missile bases?" We have lots of overseas military bases as well. BTW, you might want to read the following, and see how open the Russians were about allowing an American journalist and film crew into their main missile base at Saratov.

The Director's Story: Behind Russia's Nuclear Front Line (Full article)

Excerpts
For a few weeks recently, we were able to film the day-to-day life of the men and women who command Russia's most sophisticated Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, or ICBM -- the TOPOL M, designed to elude America's proposed missile shield.

"When do you want to come, and what do you want to see?" he asked. We gave him a list of sequences closely related to the material we'd filmed with America's missileers. The general made notes and said this should all be possible. We survived the first of many banquets and many toasts, and agreed to be in touch.

But Pozner also told the general at our first meeting that we would insist on full access, and that any attempt to control our filming would mean the end of the project.

A few weeks later, Pozner sent me a list of suggested ingredients for a film he'd just received from General Khomeinko. It included everything I'd asked for, some things I didn't want, and some surprises. I rejected some obvious public relations stuff, but I was intrigued to hear about the roketchiki song and dance troop. I was certain it would be a long way from the cowboy style of Cheyenne Wyoming. I told Pozner we were coming.

The roketchiki had proposed some individual officers to be filmed, but accepted without question when we chose instead to feature the gold-toothed Colonel Petrovsky and the bright young Lieutenant Evgeny Pavlov. To my surprise, we had as much freedom to choose our characters as we'd had on the base in America. In both countries, we had an accompanying escort when we filmed -- in the U.S., a Press Office sergeant, in Russia a silent and rather forbidding security man. Neither of them prevented us asking anything, but I was startled to find the Russian escort less attentive than his American equivalent. He rarely showed up for our interviews, whereas in Wyoming, our press officer sat in on every conversation.

On our final afternoon, we had a breakthrough. On a few minutes notice, we were suddenly taken out to a missile launch control center. The base commander had either won his battle -- or taken a considerable risk. We filmed deep underground in the tunnels built to withstand a direct nuclear strike, and I felt I was back in the depths of a Cold War nightmare. But the undeniable fact that I was there and filming with a Western crew meant that the Cold War was over, and we had all moved on.

[Alex-DV]

You forgot to mention that Putin was a communist.

[G8 Diplomat]

After the Cold War, with the Soviet threat gone and with Democrat President Bill Clinton in the White House

Um, I don't think the Soviet threat would be gone then....

[Marysecretary]

Russia and the Arab states will go after Israel, I believe, before they hit us. They must know we'll strike back. Russia has never been a friend to us or to anyone else for that matter.

[Thunder90]

I think that they will go after the US and the UK first, then there will be a massive Russian/Chinese/Muslim (and even possibly Indian) attack on Israel.

[Thunder90]

The Russian military is Communist in it's makeup. Many units still wear Soviet motif, even the elite ones.