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2005-11-18 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

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Posted by Fred 2005-11-18 00:00|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 But frustration in Moscow could swing the Russians closer to the U.S.-European position

As in any sort of anger regarding terrorist involvement with the Beslan massacre?

Oops, thought not. Must have something to do with hard currency instead of human life. My bad.

Posted by Zenster 2005-11-18 00:44|| 2005-11-18 00:44|| Front Page Top

#2 A few million to Putin's retirement fund will take care of any bruised feelings. Kiss ~~Stalingrad~~ Volgograd goodbye in a few years.

Posted by ed 2005-11-18 00:57|| 2005-11-18 00:57|| Front Page Top

#3 It's not nice to deceive Putty Poot. W can see into his craven heart.

Incidentially, the "compromise" proposal was a stroke of genius, putting the squeeze on the Russki-Moolah relationship. It put the Ruskies' position in "play"

Posted by Captain America 2005-11-18 01:03|| 2005-11-18 01:03|| Front Page Top

#4 Even Putin can $ee the writing on the wall.

Posted by Rafael 2005-11-18 01:28|| 2005-11-18 01:28|| Front Page Top

#5 GREAT pic, BTW! Another reason I just love RB!

Posted by BA 2005-11-18 07:52|| 2005-11-18 07:52|| Front Page Top

#6 ..Russia is a key Iran ally and veto-wielding member of the Security Council that has opposed referring the Islamic state to the world body.

Having second thoughts now, guys?

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-11-18 10:08|| 2005-11-18 10:08|| Front Page Top

#7 I'm just surprised how long it's taken Russia to see we're right, I guess they are just cautious from the Cold War. I think we've been alot more trusting of Russia, and I don't know if it's a good thing, but so be it, we could use them to cover alot of area.

Posted by Sninelet Elmick9998 2005-11-18 10:23|| 2005-11-18 10:23|| Front Page Top

#8 Russia is a national case study in split personality. Half the time they are European, the other half, Asian, in their outlook of life and things.

The trouble is that they really want to be French, but the French are far too effete for the Russians to enjoy for long. So after reveling in European everything for a while, they crave the Asiatic way.

The European saying for this is that "When a Russian pretends to be a European, he is trying to deceive you; but when he behaves as an Asian, he is both telling you the truth, and embarassed for letting you see his soul."

The Russian loves his fellow Oriental, because the Russian feels so superior to them, but after frolicking in the mud with them for a while, he starts to again pine for the culture of Paris.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-11-18 10:26|| 2005-11-18 10:26|| Front Page Top

#9 Russian on train entering Warsaw, Are we already in Paris?

Parisian on train enterting Warwaw, Are we already in Moscow?

Posted by Shipman 2005-11-18 11:46|| 2005-11-18 11:46|| Front Page Top

#10 Parisian on train enterting Warwaw,

If it's eastern Warsaw he'd probably think he made it to China.

Posted by Rafael 2005-11-18 12:40|| 2005-11-18 12:40|| Front Page Top

#11 Putin wants Russia to be an independent great power, if not a super power. Pretty hard to do, with a population of 140 million and declining, and a weak economy (albeit momentarily propped up by a high oil price) So hes gotta take allies were he can. And Iran is a good strategic match for Russia - they take the same side (anti-Pakistan, anti-Pashtun) on Afghanistan, and by extension central asia. They are both hostile to the Azeris. They are both hostile to Turkey. And they are both hostile to KSA (which is the outside power Russia connects the Jihadis to, not Iran) The problem for Putin is that as much as values the Iran connection, he has bet alot on the "axis of weasels" IE the Russian-German-French connection. And the French and Germans have gotten themselves maneuvered into a position where they have to oppose the Iranian nuclear program, at least up to a point, so that Russian support for Iran, when Iran is humiliating the Euros, pissed the Euros off. To try to hold on to his relation to the Euros, Putin has to back off on supporting the Mullahs. How far he has to back off remains to be seen.

Posted by liberalhawk 2005-11-18 14:39|| 2005-11-18 14:39|| Front Page Top

#12 Though Russia is sorely lacking in the economic front in its attempts to be a superpower (that's where the China alliance is handy), I'd argue that Russia is already a superpower on the level of diplomatic relations, with a number of countries world-wide, from Venezuela to Syria to Greece having so good relations to it that they're almost subservient to Kremlin's whims --- and in its immediate environment the superpower-status is even more evident (even despite the huge positive turn of the Orange Revolution): there's a huge purge in favour of philo-Russian officials in Uzbekistan right now, for example -- moving this country away from the more balanced position between West and Russia of a few years ago. Though China is much more powerful in other matters, it doesn't seem to me to have attained even half the diplomatic influence that Russia has worldwide.

Liberalhawk's practical reasons for the Iran-Russia tensions may be closer to reality -- my own gut feeling (without much to back it on, admittedly) is that it may be more based on the respective opinions concerning the relations between Iran and Russia. Namely I think that Russia wants Iran to be a subservient fascist-state whose sub-imperialism would be directed according to Russia's own desires, and withdrawn when inconvenient. Iran however wants to be a dominant fascist-state that'd like to threaten and impose its wishes on its neighbours without having to get the OK from Russia (or anyone else) first.

Posted by Aris Katsaris 2005-11-18 19:40|| 2005-11-18 19:40|| Front Page Top

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