Putin's New Cold War

New York Sun ^ | February 7, 2008 | DANIEL JOHNSON

[Ivan the Terrible]

So you thought the Cold War was over, did you? Welcome to Vladimir Putin's new Russian Empire.

Using the wealth generated by soaring oil and gas prices, the Kremlin has intimidated its former satellites in Eastern Europe, while treating most of America's North American Treaty Organization allies as if they too could be pushed around.

Russian revanchism for the supposed humiliations of the Yeltsin era in the 1990s drives this agenda. President Putin calls the collapse of the Soviet Union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the twentieth century, and the suggestion is that everything that has happened since 1991, or even 1989, should now be reversed.

The Russian bear is now throwing his weight about in the international arena, inciting riots in neighboring states or cutting off energy supplies where the Kremlin feels its interests and prestige are at stake.

....

For Mr. Putin's Russia, "repression at home is matched by aggression abroad." Whether it is targeting missiles at NATO countries or actually firing them at Georgia, Moscow has no compunction about using brute force to achieve its aims.

The most worrying factor in the situation is not, however, the attitudes of the most part fiercely independent states in the Baltic, Caucasus, or Central Europe. It is the tendency of the wealthy countries at one remove from Russian power, but dependent on Russian energy supplies, that really gives cause for concern.

[ARE SOLE]

This is what happens when the left will not allow us to access our own oil in Alaska and offshore. We end up enriching thugs like Putin.

I heard Mark Styn mention just today the money we send overseas to buy foreign oil, far too often from folks that hate us, is as much we spend to defend ourselves.

Regards

[Rick.Donaldson]

Wow. About time someone in the freakin’ media noticed this. We’ve been watching them for a very LONG time now (years) and have predicted this coming back. Pay Attention America. With the changes in our “Conservative” base here in the US, watch for the Left to PUSH hard for Social reforms bringing us closer and closer to Russia

[wastedyears]

I hope we have plenty of people watching this guy.

[ScaniaBoy]

Here is a follow up to your article:

We have a problem

[mouse_35]

We should offer to supply nuclear reactor technology to the Baltic states and Poland so they can cut their dependency on Russian oil. (Yeah, I know that it has a snowball’s chance in Hades of happening, but it sure would be sweet.)

[LiteKeeper]

INTSUM