[David Hunter]

The existence of their program to make smallpox into a biological weapon proves that Ronald Reagan was right.

Yes he was. They actually approached the WHO and suggested the campaign to eliminate Smallpox. It seems they had quite a despicable ulterior motive, since if Smallpox were exterminated it would make the ultimate Biological weapon. Well there's Soviet/Russian morality for you!

I think President Ronald Reagan said it best when he called the Soviet Union the "Evil Empire."

Personally, I think we should have attacked the USSR between 1946 and 1949, when we had the atomic bomb and they didn't. We could have forced them to surrender just like the Japanese had to surrender, even though an invasion of Japan would have cost tens of thousands of allied lives.

The Russians would have been much better off under the control of the US and its allies than under Stalin. Hell, their economy would be in first class shape and there wouldn't have been a need for the Gulags and the political purges. We missed a golden opportunity after the second world war. General Patten was right, the Soviets were just as bad as the NAZIS and should have been destroyed.

Stavka, Russia would be a much happier and better country today if the US and its western allies had taken over in the late 40s. Sorry to be so frank.

[bonesmccoy]

Regarding your view of Russo-European and Russo-American affairs, the Russo-Japanese relationship is the lynch pin. Since the Russians and Chinese are attempting to cozy up, the Japanese and Koreans become the weights that tip the scale. If Nor Kor does something silly and upsets the Russians, the new world economics could tip Asia to the hands of a Russian-Japanese-American trilateral block. The Koreans are still split-up and out of the picture due to the Nor/South split.

My analysis is that the US needs to check and balance China. Russia's entry to the G-8 conference this week tips the scales in Asia in favor of a new diplomatic alliance between the Russians, Japanese, and US.

Putin and Koizumi need to end World War 2 hostilities in a better fashion. There are still loose ends to be handled better for the islands north of Japan and South of Kamchatka. These islands have traded identity to the Russians, to the Japanese, and then back again.

Finding mechanisms for Russians and Japanese corporations to cooperate with US firms would be the strongest alliance. These alliances could work with interests in China and Nor Kor to create a foundation for social change.

When the Beijing and Pyongyang "old guard" finally die, the corporations need to be ready to create jobs and opportunity for growth.

One need only look at the maps of the Russian Japanese War to understand the number of times that the lands of Manchuria have changed ownership in the last 100 years.

The Russo-Japanese War began on February 8, 1904, when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Russian naval vessels at Port Arthur (now Lnshun), China. In the late 1890s the Russians had negotiated with China for the right to extend their Trans-Siberian Railroad across Chinese Manchuria and to secure a strategic base at Port Arthur. The Japanese, who also wanted to establish dominance in the region, went to war with Russia before the completion of the railroad. The Russo-Japanese War, which marked the first time an Asian power had defeated a European power in modern times, established Japan as a major force in world affairs.

United States president Theodore Roosevelt meets with Japanese and Russian envoys on a U.S. naval ship in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to discuss peace at the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The resulting treaty awarded Japan control of southern Sakhalin island and territories on the Asian mainland, establishing the country as a new imperialist power.