Top U.S. spy says Russian policies increasingly threaten Western interests

AP ^ | January 11, 2007

[Tailgunner Joe]

The top U.S. intelligence official warned Thursday that Russia is becoming a regional energy superpower and increasingly is pursuing foreign policy goals that threaten U.S. and Western interests.

In his annual review of global threats, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said high energy prices have allowed Russia to increase its assertiveness in foreign affairs. ...

As Russia approaches a March 2008 presidential election, the government has been undermining its credibility as a partner with the West by stifling political opposition, Negroponte said. ...

Negroponte said Russia is trying to use economic power stemming from its exports of the country’s immense energy resources to influence the internal politics of neighbors, including countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, former Soviet republics that have recently moved toward greater democracy.

“Russia is attempting to exploit the leverage that high energy prices has afforded it, increasingly using strong-arm tactics against neighboring countries,” he said.

He warned more broadly that access to energy is emerging as a source of greater vulnerability for the West as producers increase their economic power and consumers compete more aggressively for resources.

“We have entered a new era in which security has become an increasing priority not only for the U.S. and the West, but also rapidly developing economies like China and India that are becoming major energy consumers,” he said.

In separate prepared testimony, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Michael Maples, said “Russian entities” sell technologies useful for weapons of mass destruction and missile programs abroad.

[GSlob]

Yawn.. what else is new? One is dealing with an alien and fundamentally hostile civilization.

[mylife]

I need an intel officer to tell me this?

Next thing you know they'll be telling me that Venezela,Iran and NK ar aligning against us /sarc

[Cicero]

No ****, Dick Tracy.

It's been obvious for several years that Putin is increasingly hostile to our interests.

But I suppose we should be grateful that our government is actually saying so, even in a buried paragraph of an annual report that will get little notice in the media.

[EagleUSA]

Yawn.. what else is new? One is dealing with an alien and fundamentally hostile civilization.
----
My thought exactly. I think the Russia seems less of a threat because we have so many anti-American communists in America now, it is becoming passe.

[hermgem]

Russia pursues becoming a regional energy superpower and threatens Western interests.
How good that we have Nancy Pelosi who is pursuing our energy independence by growing ethanol on corn fields, windmills but not on the riches seashores, and most important limiting or even outlawing oil drilling.
Nancy Pelosi needs to forward her time plan for energy independence to prevent us from falling prey to Putin's strategy.
Nancy Pelosi the ball is in your court go and forward your time table.

[WoofDog123]

Or maybe because russia, like the USSR and presumably China, can be expected to consider MAD (mutual-assured destruction) as a non-viable military goal in practice if not in theory. For russia they seem to be doing as this article says, whereas China is becoming the world's sweatshop, and is going to have a staggeringly large manufacturing and economic base in coming years, along with a nice chunk of the US debt. Different resources and options lead to different approaches. In this situation, dealing with rational adversaries, the burden lies on the US government to approach and handle it, though of course I don't trust them to do that for a second, particularly with commercial interests apparently calling the shots in our dealings with China in particular.

Terrorists, on the other hand, would be happy to nuke one or more western cities with limited consideration for the consequences to their homelands. (I say limited because there was a tape of bin laden somewhere where he mentioned that nuclear plants were originally considered as targets for the 2001 hijackings but that was dropped due to a fear that the US response would 'get out of control' (paraphrasing from recollection).

[cyberdasher]

"influence the internal politics of neighbors, including countries such as Georgia and Ukraine"

And. . . . maybe we're also fighting Russian influence (via Iran) in the former Russian client states of Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan. We've been fighting this "emerging threat" for over 60 years and nobody at the top seems to want to talk about it.

[WoofDog123]

heck, i figured influencing the internal politics of other countries was realpolitik and considered normal. the US certainly does it, the USSR certainly did, and China and Russia do as well.

[lonestar67]

Its a shame that oil prices are dropping so much.

I hope it doesnt hurt the Russian economy and their pathetic dream of controlling Europe through oil-- NOT

[richardtavor]

good grief--Negroponte is a spy?

[Vote 4 Nixon]

A new power bloc is in its embryonic stage. One day soon It will consist of the energy producing haves vs the energy seeking have nots. 10-20 years from now I believe you will see western Europe go on the war path yet again against Russia.