Posted on 07/25/2008 12:59:29 AM PDT by F15Eagle
LONDON (AFP) — The United States risks starting a new Cold War by proposing to build a missile shield in central and eastern Europe, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev said in comments published here Wednesday.
Washington claims that the anti-missile system for Poland and the Czech Republic is aimed exclusively at countering the threat from so-called "rogue states" like Iran, but Gorbachev said those assertions could not be trusted.
Instead he said the military build-up -- plus the eastward expansion of NATO into Russia's traditional sphere of influence -- was aimed at containing a resurgent Russia, where Dmitry Medvedev is inaugurated as president Wednesday.
"The United States cannot tolerate anyone acting independently," he told the Daily Telegraph in an interview conducted in Paris. "Every US president has to have a war."
Ex-president Vladimir Putin, who will be Medvedev's prime minister, possibly with a role in directing Russian foreign policy, was "not going to start a war with the United States or any other country for that matter", he added.
"Yet we see the United States approving a military budget and the defence secretary pledging to strengthen conventional forces because of the possibility of a war with China or Russia," he said.
"I sometimes have a feeling that the United States is going to wage war against the entire world."
Gorbachev's position stands at odds with recent comments by the Kremlin. It initially held the same view but has significantly softened opposition and now appears to be focusing on getting security guarantees.
The former president said that "erecting elements of missile defence is taking the arms race to the next level. It is a very dangerous step".
"The American's promised that NATO wouldn't move beyond the boundaries of Germany after the Cold War but now half of central and eastern Europe are members, so what happened to their promises?
"It shows they cannot be trusted," he said, adding that US government policy was being driven by the "military-industrial complex".
From a couple months ago -- search for title returned no results current or older articles, so FWIW
Gorbachev is the Al Gore of Russia...
“I sometimes have a feeling that the United States is going to wage war against the entire world.”
Sometimes I think Russia just wants to sell weapons to the world, and says crap like this because it’s good advertising.
Where is Gorby residing these days? Before the wife died they were here in the States for years.
Actually Jimmah Carter would be a more appropriate, as Gorby actually held the top USSR post (Gore, a bridesmaid, never a bride. :)
Although Gore did do a lot of damage to the success of the former-Soviet Union when he encouraged Yeltsen to let the kleptocrats loot the place, thus setting the stage for the inevitable backlash of the Russian people, that Putin rode like Hitler did in 1930s Germany.
Gorby, like Carter were too incompetent to do the long range damage that Gore and Yeltsen did to future Russian-American relations.
Now long-term damage with regard to emboldening Islamo-fascists, that you can lay squarely on Carter and Gorby’s doorsteps.
Screw you Gorby, STFU and be patient.
Your pension check from the CIA will arrive on the last day of the month as it does every month, ok?
[they should have written in a clause in Gorby’s Mole Contract that after dismantling the U.S.S.R., he had to maintain a lower profile, ya know? ;)]
Yeah, that's the plan. The US is going to attack everyone just because we can. STFU, you forehead shit-stained idiot. No one cares about you anymore. You're so 20th century.
What's dangerous about a defensive system?
Hey gorby... russia STILL SUCKS!
LLS
We beat ‘em once, we’ll beat ‘em again.
The one word that describes Gorbachev better than any other is primadonna.
I see Putin’s mouthpiece is hard at work.
Good picture
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