[The_Reader_David]

So where's the FReeper "The Ruskies are still commies brigade" on this thread?

I that crickets I hear?

[ROTB]

Whether they are communists or capitalists, they are still supplying Iran with nuclear tech, thus they are still supporting the enemy of our friend, Israel, and thus are still butting heads indirectly with us.

If I have mis-analyzed, please correct me.

[Zhang Fei]

So where's the FReeper "The Ruskies are still commies brigade" on this thread? I that crickets I hear?

The problem with Russia isn't that it's Communist - it's that it's Russian, with the traditional Russian zeal for conquering *and* annexing its neighbors. That, at least, was Richard Pipes's contention. My contention is that our problem with China is similar, that it's with China's two thousand year tradition of empire-building, not Communism. Nobody worries about Yugoslavian- and Albanian-style Communism, which keep their hands to themselves.

[Valin]

Shhhh! :-)