Posted on 10/16/2006 8:02:52 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Russia demanded that the United States lift sanctions against two Russian companies accused of making deals with Iran involving sensitive technology and hinted that a U.S. refusal could affect negotiations on a U.N. sanctions resolution against Tehran.
...Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Monday the sanctions against state arms exporter Rosoboronexport and top aircraft maker Sukhoi for allegedly violating a U.S. law known as the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000, create a "predicament" for Moscow.
If Russia is asked to vote on a Security Council resolution that would impose U.N. sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment at the same time that Russian companies are subject to U.S. sanctions, it would be voting on a measure "which at least by implication supports sanctions which have already been imposed on us," ...
Iran insists its uranium enrichment program is purely peaceful to provide nuclear energy, but Washington and its European allies suspect Tehran's real goal is nuclear weapons.
Under the sanctions imposed in early August, the U.S. government is prohibited from dealing with the two companies. The sanctions also suspend any current export licenses to the companies for certain products considered sensitive under a 1979 law and prohibit issuance of new licenses.
In late August, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Moscow and Washington disagree over the facts in the case and that he agreed to have the matter reconsidered. ...
Would Russia block an Iran sanctions resolution if U.S. sanctions against the two companies aren't lifted?
"I don't want to make any strong statements to that effect," Churkin said. "This is a concern. This has been an ongoing discussion. ... If we work collectively, we need to work collectively. If they want to go it on their own, legislating unilateral sanctions, then they are welcome to tackle the problem alone."
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
<./. rhetorical question>
Yes
Would Russia block an Iran sanctions resolution if U.S. sanctions against the two companies are lifted?
Yes
I forget - why are we part of the UN again?
Another "Friend."
And we all know how Bush and Team respond to this sort of diplomacy-by-threat business, which the Russians also know.
I'll see your demand and raise you two more. Pa leeze
The solution to all of this crap is to ignore Russia, ignore China, even ignore North Korea.
Encourage Japan to build a large nuclear missile strike force, placed on submarines where they cannot be taken out in a first strike.
Completely eucher the ambitions of everyone else in Asia by allowing Japan to emerge as the superpower she ought to be.
And then let the Russians, Chinese and North Koreans play diplomatic footsie with the unyielding Japanese.
Quote "And we all know how Bush and Team respond to this sort of diplomacy-by-threat business, which the Russians also know."
No...not really. How do they respond. So far North Korea has gotten nukes. Iran is well on their way. We allow China and Russia to control the U.N. Exactly what do you think this administration is going to do?
Pooty doesn't like it because he has financial ties with these two companies. Ouch. And then there's that little issue with entrance into the WTO on the table... still. Poor Pooty.
Bush constantly has said that we (the USA) will allow not ourselves to be be blackmailed by people who have nukes, because we are sitting around and not taking the threat seriously (the act of war that happened on 9/11 and the many instances before, which were not treated as acts of war).
We haven't seen the end of W's dealings with either N. Korea or Iran. I'm not entirely sure NKorea exploded a nuclear device. Since no radiation was detected for days after the blast, and then some was, I have wondered if the NKoreans decided after the fact to throw some radiation into the atmosphere to make their test more believable. That may sound weird but I don't think it's impossible. As to Chinese and Russian influences at the UN, so what? We have gone to war when we have needed to. We can't control sovereign nations, we have to work with them as long as we are committed to the UN (which may not be forever).
Bush isn't God. And Bush has done a lot better job as president than anyone else lately.
Yes, yes, and yes!! Particularly NoKo, which is what Bush & Co. has been doing, and should continue to do despite Dear Leader's desperate "look at me!" attention-grabbing tricks every 6 months or so. NoKo is much bigger problem for China than it is for us, she is starting to realize that we are not going to do Clinton-style concessions and Kim is a liability instead of an asset, and she's going to have to tighten the screws on Little Kimmy before she's in serious trouble... Bush is playing it just right with NoKo by handing it off to China, media and Dems in panic-raising mode notwithstanding.
Encourage Japan to build a large nuclear missile strike force
Better yet, or in addition to that, start sending more and more sophisticated weapons to Taiwan, with implicit threat of possibility of helping them go nuclear, and let's see China dance then as their hope of eventually bringing in Taiwan is going poof.
I call this "The Khrushchev Option" - similar to Khrushchev getting Kennedy to remove IRBMs from bases in Turkey in exchange for not placing nuclear SAMs in Cuba in 1962 ("Cuban Missile Crisis").
[ http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDcubanmissile.htm ]
Relatively simple, inexpensive and quiet.
Hey Putin, go soak your thug head in a big bucket of borscht.
Russia demanded that the United States lift sanctions against two Russian companies accused of making deals with Iran involving sensitive technology
translated:
We want to make a bunch of money rearming Hezbollah.
You mean something like this? ;-)
US 'worried about Taiwan missiles'
Taipei- The United States has privately expressed concern about Taiwan's deployment of missiles that can hit China from an offshore island, a newspaper reported Monday.
The United Daily News (UDN), quoting an unnamed Taiwan Defence Ministry source, said that US military officials made a secret visit in August to Taiwan after learning that Taipei had deployed the missiles on an offshore island missiles.
"US military officials met with Taiwan's defence and national security officials and visited the military Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology," UDN quoted the source as saying. "They wanted to know the purpose and the functions of the missiles and the guidelines for using them."
UDN said the "special missiles" - with a range of 600 to 1,000 kilometres - can hit Shanghai or Hong Kong, and Taiwan is seeking to extend their range to 2,000 kilometres, which could reach China's capital, Beijing.
More:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=113600
Yes, exactly like this!
It's much less fun when it's happening in your own backyard. :~)
Conventional missiles are not a deterrent to a great power like China. China views Taiwan as its own territory, and the Chinese are willing to suffer serious damage and casualties to prevent Taiwan's permanent, open escape. China is feeling its oats as a great economic and military power.
Taiwan needs its own nuclear missiles.
The USA does not want Taiwan to have nuclear weapons, because the Chinese might not even back down in the face of a nuclear Taiwan, and that might drag the US against its will into the possibility of a nuclear war with China (Scenario: Taiwan starts to declare independentce, China threatens it not to, the US warns Taiwan not to, Taiwan does it anyway, and threatens nuclear war with China if invaded, China launches first strikes and an invasion of Taiwan, And the US???)
Taiwan needs its own nukes.
Nah... China doesn't launch anything because it doesn't get anywhere near that. They do what Kennedy did with Khrushchev, remove NoKo's nuke threat in exchange for removing Taiwan's nuke threat... They don't need/want nuclear NoKo anymore than they need nuclear Taiwan in their vicinity. They'll even thank us if we can help force them to put the screws on Kim.
Plus, their economy will collapse if their accounts receivable don't get timely transfers from our accounts payable. Many of their businesses are already failing at great rate. They may feel their oats, but they're nowhere near to being able to take us on either economically or military for a few decades at least, and they know it. They're not about to start anything stupid right now. We properly ignored Kim outside of six-party talks, we played it cool, we told them from the start that NoKo is their problem, not ours - Kim took his gambit too far, and all of a sudden it's not fun for Chinese anymore as it looks like they can't control their client... We can help them save face by little outward pressure - UN resolution is one step in this game and NoKo has a losing hand one way or another. Ramping up Taiwan's defense capability (with the threat of going nuclear is one of a few next steps that we can take. China is too busy preparing for their Olympics to let Kim rain on her 2008 parade. He turned from dubious asset to pure liability, but Chinese can't just cut him off at the knees immediately and look like they are giving in to pressure if they want to look like great power to their other clients/partners, or they risk looking like Chirac after we took out Saddam (anybody cares about his UN veto anymore?). So it should take some time and they need to make it look like they were forced to do it in the interest of the hemisphere and the world peace, "in their own way", of course. Whatever helps...
Taiwan needs its own nukes.
Obviously, with a little help from her friends. All part of the great geopolitical poker game.
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