Posted on 07/14/2007 7:27:57 AM PDT by stm
MOSCOW — Russia on Saturday suspended its participation in a key European arms control treaty that governs deployment of troops on the continent, the Kremlin said.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending Russia's participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty due to "extraordinary circumstances ... which affect the security of the Russian Federation and require immediate measures," the Kremlin said in a statement.
The law takes effect immediately.
Putin has in the past threatened to freeze his country's compliance with the treaty, accusing the United States and its NATO partners of undermining regional stability with U.S. plans for a missile defense system in former Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe.
The treaty, between Russian and NATO members, was signed in 1990 and amended in 1999 to reflect changes since the breakup of the Soviet Union, adding the requirement that Moscow withdraw troops from the former Soviet republics of Moldova and Georgia.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Go ahead and posture Vlad. But unlike your predecessors, your troops are not on the Elbe anymore. They West should just laugh at him. Pure empty “tough guy” posturing on his part
not only are his troops not on the elbe, but he doesn’t even have any troops and the demographic trends portend even worse for Russia than the rest of Europe. Putin is the world leader who can least afford a ground war based upon declining population.
What do you suppose is the real reason for our positionting defensive missiles in Europe? Do you suppose the Pentagon thinks that Russia might try to ‘expand’ her borders again? Or maybe it’s a strategic step to help deal with a hostile China in the near future? Something is up, and it seems like more than just a plan to defend our allies from Iran.
Russia is not the military power it used to be. The country is in dire straits financially, and the military is worse.
Right. And that is why this is all for domestic Russian consumption. In the end, we get our interceptors, the Russians get to deploy some troops west. Bottom line: win-win.
They can have all the men and hardware they want. Their pilots fly maybe twice a month because there is no money.
The missiles being deployed are bottle rockets compared to what we have in our arsenal. They are not intended to nor could they deter Russia or China from anything. Their capabilties fit the announced goal of stopping an Iranian-type lob.
Putin posturing for the “old commie guard” in the Rodina....sad for the Russian people who wanted democracy.
America is not invincible and America can be beaten.
:::::
Even if Russia were to team with the ChiComs, it would be a fight that would be lost by all. As long as there is a strong US deterrent, they cannot win anything, and they know it. Putin sees personal political strength in building the Iron Curtain again. They are going to have to build and sell alot of arms to the “Dark Side” to get the money to do it. While he crushes capitalism and democracy, he cuts off his links to measurable monies and resources. He is a fool. Time will prove it.
The Old Soviet Union is back,In fact it was never gone in the first place.These American politicians who believed that we defeated the Soviet Union were living in a dream world.
The Communist Cancer seems to have only gone into remission until they could repair their economy by getting all sorts of western technology.
I guess we’ll have to see how dangerous this world becomes in the next 10 years.
Too think that our politicians destroyed our millitary in the 1990’s believing we would be living in peace with our pal Vladimir.What suckers they were.
5.56mm
I have been watching American foreign policy since the early 60’s and it rather stinks. We seem to FU quite a bit and it makes our enemies strong. Bay of Pig, Cuban Missile surrender. That win in the Nam was quite impressive.
::::::
And look at who started, and was in charge, during those tragic fiascos, too. The ‘deterrent’ I am talking about is nuclear defensive deterrent. Has nothing to do with Iran since Iran has not attacked the USA, directly anyway. There is no leadership in Washington anymore. I agree about that. Has not been for decades. The Viet Nam war was the icing on the cake -— it showed how badly we LACK LEADERSHIP committed to this country, its military and its defense.
This is why staunch patriotic conservatives are needed in Washington. Get this country out of the hands of socialist cowards who will give (or sell) any part of America for political power, and be damned about the integrity and safety of the country.
Argh~ vote well in 2008.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.