Thanks for the reply and I appreciate your firsthand insight. Could you please look over this article from here on Free Republic from May 2012? New Threats for Old: New Russian regime more dangerous than old. Based upon your experience, even if they've tossed Godless Communism overboard, is Russia still a strategic threat to the United States?
I'll admit that I'm skeptical for a leopard can't change his spots. As we all know, the Democrat party remains the party of the Klan in spite of its bogus claims to the contrary. Similarly, has Russia genuinely cast off the demons of Communism after all those decades? I can't help but think of how Russia opposes America in the United Nations. And Michele Bachmann warned of the rise of Russia (she called it the Soviet Union, an understandable slip of the tongue) on the Jay Sekulow back in summer 2011.
Yes, I'd like to think that Russia has come around to the right way of thinking but, as President Reagan said: "Trust but verify". I'm looking forward to your response and hope that it will shed light on the present reality.
Russia has it’s reasons to oppose US in UN on some issues. Every nation has it’s national interests.
You can’t demand someone to ignore all own vital interests in order to please every someone’s wish.
It is a role model for America to follow too.
Pursuing national interests is more important and brings more respect than pleasing gays and muslims.
At this point, our greatest threat is not Russian. Rather, it is Islam, and it will be more so once Turkey revives the Ottoman Empire (caliphate).
> is Russia still a strategic threat to the United States?
A better question would be, “Are the Russians correct in regarding the U.S. as a strategic threat?”
How many countries have Russian combat boots on the ground? Chechnya, maybe a piece of Georgia? How close are these countries to the US?
Now, how many countries have American combat boots on the ground? How close are these countries to Russia?
The United States has, by far, the most advanced military in the world with at least twice the military hardware of our nearest competitors.
A vast preponderance of technological and scientific knowledge is stored in English.
The U.S. has been pushing homosexuality as a “human right” on all the nations of the world and has been taking economic measures toward that end. Many nations, including Russia, have suffered for refusing to fold to the gay mafia, which has commandeered the most powerful nation on earth.
In November 2005, Russia issued a warrant for the arrest of George Soros for currency manipulation. They asked the U.S. to extradite him to Russia for trial. George Bush’s State Department told the Russians to pound sand.
In 1996, the Russians told BJ Klintoon to stay out of the Balkans. But, Klintoon’s State Department was bewailing the “ethnic cleansing” of the Mohammedans. Now, thanks to the Klintoon, Bush, and 0bamao State Departments, the Mohammedans are ethnically cleansing the areas given to them by Nato. Not one tear for the tens of thousands of Christians tortured and murdered at the hands of the spawn of Mohammed in the region.
The U.S. is regarded, not only in Russia, but in most of the rest of the world, as a virulently decadent bully pushing its version of “human rights”, which includes such things as open sodomy, adultery, polyamory, pedophilia and abortion, on parts of the world that, correctly, still prohibit these things.
While Russia still allows abortion, the emerging Orthodox Church there is working to change that.
When I was there, I asked a Russian marine who worked with the orphanages, where all the children in the orphanages came from. He said, well, many of them come from families that cannot afford them, and that many come from prostitution.
I asked him why the prostitutes did not avail themselves of the free, state-sponsored abortions. He bristled and said, “There are some things that even a WHORE would not do!” I surmise that is becoming the prevailing sentiment there.
Russia has a serious demographic problem. They are down to less than 150 million people. They are encouraging people to have babies, giving generous benefits to couples who have children.
There is so much more, but I need to return to my regularly scheduled programming.
:)