OLIVER NORTH
Posted on 10/18/2007 9:06:00 PM PDT by jazusamo
Friday, October 19, 2007
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Vladimir Putin is on a roll. Last month, he made it clear that he intends to become prime minister -- and keep the reigns of power in the Kremlin -- when his second presidential term ends in March 2008. Last week, in the midst of a bravura "mini-summit" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin wowed the fawning European media by shrugging off a carefully leaked rumor of an alleged assassination attempt and by speaking fluent German -- a language he mastered as a KGB officer in Dresden during the Cold War. All this apparently took U.S. diplomats and intelligence agencies by surprise. But wait, there's more.
While in Germany, the macho Putin baldly told reporters -- and therefore all those who might contemplate military action against Iran -- "threatening someone, in this case the Iranian leadership and the Iranian people, will lead nowhere. They are not afraid, believe me." And just to make sure everyone got his point, two days later he went to Tehran for a Caspian littoral summit and reiterated to the world that Russia would block any moves to stop Iran's nuclear program. And to ice Putin's cake, reputable polls show that more than 70 percent of Russians approve of his leadership. Officials in Washington, London and Paris don't seem to be worried; but they should be.
Putin's Tehran gambit is much more than a rhetorical affront to the Bush administration's efforts to keep the Iranians from acquiring nuclear weapons. After meetings with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, the Russian president said, "Iran and Russia are now cooperating on a wide range of issues such as aviation industry, and Russia will continue its contribution to Iran's peaceful nuclear program." Most of the U.S. and European media's sound bites focused on the nuclear issue. Some news reports cogently noted that the Russian-built Bushehr light water nuclear reactor is capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium, but they ignored the array of gas centrifuges Iran is using to assure a dual-track approach to building nuclear weapons. Almost no one noticed that the new strategic synergy between Moscow and Tehran goes well beyond Bushehr.
First, with the price of petroleum soon to be at $100 per barrel or higher, both Iran and Russia have a financial interest in controlling how Caspian Sea oil makes its way to market. Putin and Ahmadinejad have now made it clear that they will dictate the terms by which Caspian crude will flow to the highest bidder.
Second, Moscow and Tehran share a strategic interest in bad outcomes for the U.S. in Iraq. An American collapse in Mesopotamia gives Iran the kind of regional hegemony that Persians have sought for centuries. And a precipitous U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would confirm Moscow's assertion that the U.S. is an unreliable partner -- thus undermining NATO's eastward expansion.
Finally -- if the joint statement issued after the so-called Caspian littoral summit is to be believed -- Tehran and Moscow have now coerced their neighbors into what amounts to a collective security agreement. According to Putin, "We are saying that no Caspian nation should offer its territory to third powers for use of force or military aggression against any Caspian state." Just in case anyone missed the point, Ahmadinejad added, "The Caspian Sea is an inland sea, and it only belongs to the Caspian states. Therefore only they are entitled to have their ships and military forces here." So much for any NATO plans to use air bases in Azerbaijan to launch, recover or refuel aircraft striking Iranian nuclear weapons facilities.
None of this was forecast by U.S. or allied intelligence agencies. Nor do we know what Presidents Putin and Ahmadinejad discussed in private. We can only hope that Putin's "aviation industry" reference doesn't mean that Iran is about to acquire hundreds of Bal-E anti-shipping missiles or that Tehran is planning to replace its ancient F-14s with a fleet of new Russian-built Su-27s. All we know for certain is that Iran, awash in petrodollars, easily can afford both and Moscow is in a selling mood.
Importantly, Putin the puppet master timed all of this to coincide with meetings among U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and their Russian counterparts in Moscow. According to our State Department, the ostensible purpose of these meetings was to "review security issues of mutual concern in Europe."
To underscore how much we have "misunderestimated" Putin, President Bush, when asked by reporters what all this might mean to U.S. interests, responded, "I'm looking forward to getting President Putin's readout from the meeting." So much for U.S. intelligence and diplomacy.
Oliver North is the founder and honorary chairman of Freedom Alliance and author of The Assassins .
Anyone know what Ollie is doing in Sioux Falls?
I have no idea what Ollie is doing in Sioux Falls...BUT Pooty-poot shows all the signs of excessive hubris. Which, of course, means he’s spoiling for a rude and unexpected fall on the nose!!
Trying to re-establish their Cold War claws into the Middle East. Semms to be doing OK so far.
Yes, he does seem to be doing OK of late and it’s something that is going to have to be firmly addressed.
That’s only because we (the USA) are doing our inept best, as usual.
Have you ever noticed how God protects drunks, small lost pets, little children, and the U.S. of A.?
hunkering down.
Since I am included in two of those catagories, I sure have noticed.
I think Iran was paying for all that new anti aircraft kit that didn’t work in Syria last month. This was Putin trying to stroke the Iranians and get them to pay up.
L.O.L.
Especially the so-called "Russian Expert" Condi Rice. What a dolt.
Condi ‘08!!!!!!!!!!!
;)
Yes they should be.
"Currently, Russia is the world's largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest oil exporter..."
"Russia holds the world's second largest gold reserves (after South Africa), and many believe has vast undiscovered gold deposits...
A.) Begin drilling in Anwr, etc.
B.) Begin realizing that Putin has no soul to look into, George!
C.) Understand that Putin is not our friend
D.) Understand that, for that matter, China is not our friend
I just finished reading Bill Gertz’ ENEMIES and I am not in a good mood.
The CIA, FBI and other intelligence services need to get it together and realize that the US is in grave danger by systematic, deliberate, targeted and well thought out and executed attacks against us. (Notwithstanding the incredible bravery and honor of many serving in US Intel services...)
We need to wake up and realize that there are bad guys out there with nefarious motives.
And we the people need to realize the damage that these liberal judges cause, much of which goes far beyond the Hannity/Rush/ORielly headlines. Gertz’ account of why traitorous bad guys are getting off with slaps on the wrist as a result of these whacked out 60s relics.
The Chinese military knows our weaknesses, they know our systems inside and out, they are confident that they can neutralize our far superior Navy, and thanks to the Intel they’voe been able to acquire, they may very well be correct. (Again, NOT the fault of the brave men and women of our armed services. It is they, more than any who have been betrayed by what’s happened over the past 30 years thanks to Chinese espionage.)
Okay, okay... I’m done...
~switching rant: off
Perhaps the worlds largest ever contiguous empire, the Mongolian Empire, is being reborn once again in the East. All the old players are lining up. Russia, Persia, Parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, China, North Korea, Burma, etc. etc.. The only thing that stopped them last time were the jungles of southeast Asia and the dedication of the Japanese Samurai. This newer Cooperative Eastern Empire is bristling with nuclear weapons and awash in oil resources. Not gonna be pretty.
Thanks for posting.
Russia/Iran Alliance.
US not concerned.
Helloooooooo ???
Ronald Reagan must be turning over in his grave.
Good rant, EM. You’re right, you’ve said it like it is.
Nope your dead on, no need to apologize it wasn’t a rant. I keep repeating in my mind and on forums such as FR that our intelligence agencies keep telling We the People a nuclear 911 is a when now and no longer and if. That such an outrageous statement can be made with such little notice shows me the traitors at the top have made us vulnerable from many fronts. The solution is not just Anwr drilling.
We need to have our own energy supply in the next couple of years or we will be very, very sorry. The USA cannot fight foreign wars without cash. Our current enemies are showing advanced, caluclated strategy by studying history, we have ignored it. They know they would likely never be able to directly invade the USA but our own corrupt leaders have simply let a massive economic drain on our nation simply walk in, along with lots of nasty bad guys to boot from the ME. Then, the Chinese sell the marxist rope to hang ourselves with and our leadership and big business sell out America.
Point is this. How can we effectively insure our national survival, fix trillions of dollars of national debt and dictate foreign policy? Build our own energy supply. The day after 911 I turned to my business partner and told him we must start this now, or our nation will wind up with total calamity. This needs to be on the magnitude of the Manhatten or Apollo project. But will our leaders protect our national security interests? I see the plan to ensure we have energy for the next 20 years. It is paved with blood and capitulation to the Arabs and eventually, Russia. No oil, no economy no strong America, just a 3rd world country at some point trying to survive. Idiots in Washington, you have earned our contempt you sellouts and traitors.
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