The world is beginning to teeter and the Ruski's may do well to consider that when the bombs start falling they may well be no more.
Just a thought.
Posted on 02/06/2006 8:44:53 AM PST by isaiah55version11_0
MOSCOW
Russia's foreign minister warned against threatening Iran over its nuclear program Monday after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld reportedly agreed with a German interviewer that all options, including military response, remained on the table.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for talks to continue with Tehran, which was reported to the U.N. Security Council on Saturday by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"I think that at the current stage, it is important not to make guesses about what will happen and even more important not to make threats," Lavrov said during a visit to Athens, Greece.
Rumsfeld, in an interview with the German daily newspaper Handelsblatt, was asked if all options, including the military one, were on the table with Iran.
"That's right," Rumsfeld responded, according to Handelsblatt's print edition Monday.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Yeah, well, we threatened you guys too, and look how that turned out.
Just what I would expect from Russia.
Russia has an ongoing war against Chechen Muslims.
Russia made a deal with Nazi Germany....a non aggression pact....well we saw how long that lasted.
I hope Putin is a student of history and not an I man.
Russia is like the Democrats. They are in denial of their loser status.
Russia has much to gain from high oil prices...
And this simply does not make sense. I wonder if Russia realizes that Chechen (sp) ISLAMIC terrorists will soon have what Iran produces. Maybe Moscow needs to see what Iran produces up close.
Russia has much to gain from high oil prices...
LOL. That about sums it up. Kinda like our Liberals up here.
No surprise since Russia is building Iran's nuclear reactors...
You nailed it.
Nobody ever accused Russian leaders of being intelligent : )
Add to the strategic need of Russia for an unencumbered warm water port the attraction of Iran's vast oil and gas reserves and it is easy to see the attraction of this country to their Russian/Soviet neighbors. Russia has been asserting pressure on the former Soviet republics of Central Asia to conform to Russian energy policies. Were Iran to fall under Russian influence, Moscow would wield an enormous impact on world energy markets.
Throughout the 19th Century, Tsarist Russia extended its influence southward through the Trans-Caucasus region, challenging the Ottoman Empire. The British and French sided with the Turks against Russian expansion, as was evidenced in the Crimean War, perhaps most famous for the "Charge of the Light Brigade". Iran was an area of Anglo-Russian conflict through the latter half of the 19th Century. The troubles Russia faced following its defeat by the Japanese in 1905 and the rise of revolutionary movements within the Tsarist Empire and the alliance of Britain and Russia in World War I ended the rivalry.
After the rise of Bolshevism and the subsequent accession of Joseph Stalin to power, the Soviet Union resumed the Tsarist pursuit of southern expansion. Beyond the trade and military tools of Tsarism, the Soviets added the new elements of Communist ideology and subversion in their attempt to expand their influence. British and American foreign policy in most of the 20th Century focused on supporting the Iranian monarchy as a bulwark against Soviet expansion. The CIA supported coup that overthrew the pro-Soviet socialist Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 and reinstalled the Shah was a key factor in preventing Soviet dominance of Iran.
However, both Soviet and American interests in southwestern Asia were thwarted by the rise of radical Islam. The fall of the Shah of Iran and the rise of the ayatollahs in 1979 was a major blow to American interests, although much of the blame for the overthrow must fall on the heads of the extremely incompetent and ineffectual Carter Administration. (Compared to Carter's gross incompetence, Clinton's scandal-ridden administration was a model of success.) In the 1980s, the Soviet Union's much vaunted Red Army was thwarted by the military forces of radical Islam, notably the Taliban. To this day, Russia faces a rebellion in its Caucasus region from Islamic militants, inspired by the success the Afghans experienced.
Despite its internal problems with radical Islam, the Russians recognize the benefits of cooperation with the Islamic extremists who rule Iran. No doubt the Russians see the American and British incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan as attempts to flank Iran, which borders both countries. They likely see attempts earlier in this decade to secularize and democratize Iran as parallel to similar movements in Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. Whether or not it is the case, the FSB (successor to the KGB) doubtlessly see the hand of Anglo-American intelligence agencies in these pro-democracy units. As is well known, Russian President Vladimir Putin is a KGB veteran. Hence, the Russians are helping the Iranians build nuclear facilities and are involved in the Iranian oil business.
The game of the Great Powers is being played in Iran and elsewhere in Southwest Asia and the Middle East in the 21st Century as surely as it was in the two preceding centuries. Ideologies may change, new players may be on the field, but the conflict is the same old one between the national interests of Russia and those of the United States and Britain.
The world is beginning to teeter and the Ruski's may do well to consider that when the bombs start falling they may well be no more.
Just a thought.
Barring successful internal subversion of the radical Islamist regime in Iran, the only effective way to permanently eliminate the tyrant is through occupation. A land invasion of Iran could not be accomplished without a great expansion of American and allied military forces even if the Soviets did not intervene. Such expansion would entail larger expenditures at a time when Federal deficits are in the hundreds of billions in dollars. It might even require the reintroduction of the draft, for the first time in over 30 years.
The Russians have limitations, but so do we.
While your thoughts on the Ruskies may or may not be valid, my point is that with the Pakis, Indians, N.Koreans, Frenchies, Brits and every other fifedom having nukes, it won't take but one miscalculation on anyones part to start something that will end by the United States hitting very percieved enemy we have ... including the Ruskies, should they be complicit.
If it becomes a case of our basic survival, all bets are off. Count on it ... or don't.
hitting very percieved = hitting every perceived
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