Marxist dictator Chavez visits an AK47 factory in Russia on July 26th, 2006.
Bump
Bush has been in office for six and a half years now. How many summits with Putin has he held? I don’t advocate us elevating Russia to super-power level status, but I don’t think you totally ignore it either.
Shouldn’t we be talking to them? Shouldn’t we let them win a few little ones, then stand firm on major issues?
This isn’t an attempt to throw in the towel, but it’s just amazing to me that we haven’t kept Russia closer especially in light of it’s seeming inclination to tap the China tree.
When Putin made his first overatures to China, it could just as easily have been an attempt to wake us up. When we seemed to ignore that attempt, it seemed to drive Putin into China’s camp.
Aren’t we making a classic mistake here? Seems like it to me.
IOW, sell weapons to all the muzzies and let them kill each other.
We make money on the deal, and the military only has to use minimum force in the future, because there will only be 20-30 ragheads left in the world....
(which is 20-30 too many IMHO....)
We shouldn’t be selling arms to anyone but since we are, it justifies Russia and every other podunk who makes weapons to also sell arms.
Soooo, whoever has the money gets the weapons.
And when they start rattling sabres, who comes to rescue them???
Talk about making the World unstable.
Best reason for Russia to sell weapons to Iran and Syria? The crap will fall apart, and is exactly what you want your enemies to be using when you fight them.
Marxist dictator Chavez visits an AK47 factory in Russia on July 26th, 2006.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a telling comment on this subject. He told the Israelis that the Saudis and other moderate Arab countries would be able to get the weapons elsewhere, including from Russia, if America did not supply them.
The logic is understandable: it is better to try and control which weapons are sold and where, or put the sales under international supervision, say, the IAEA, rather than cede the market to other countries.
But Moscow is following the same logic in cooperating with Syria and Iran. Many arguments may be cited to explain the difference between Saudi Arabia and Iran, or Syria and Iraq, but they are largely politically motivated. The entire Middle East, or rather the Muslim world, is in the same boat. Weapons supplied to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan or the Palestinian National Authority may end up in terrorist hands just like weapons sold to Syria and Iran. There is no guarantee that if Russia leaves this niche tomorrow, it won’t be occupied by American or European defense companies. ==
I told these to you many times here. It is the business. Russian weapon factories need orders.