Why Russia is standing by Syria's Assad

BBC News ^ | 15 June 2012

[MinorityRepublican]

As the United Nations warns that Syria has descended into civil war, Russia continues to back President Bashar al-Assad in the face of growing international condemnation.

Konstantin von Eggert, political commentator for Kommersant FM radio in Moscow, looks at why the Kremlin is steadfastly supporting the beleaguered Syrian government.

Foreign policy analysts usually tend to explain Moscow's inflexible stance on Syria by evoking arms sales to Damascus (Bashar al-Assad's regime is said to have placed orders for Russian hardware to the tune of $3.5bn) and the Russian naval station in the Syrian port of Tartous.

But this alone does not account for Russia's seeming indifference to the adverse effect that its international advocacy of the Assad government has on its relations with the United States, the European Union and the majority of the Arab states.

The explanation has a lot to do with Russia's domestic policies and the obsessions of the Russian political class.

By standing up for Damascus, the Kremlin is telling the world that neither the UN, nor any other body or group of countries has the right to decide who should or should not govern a sovereign state.

If one looks at the Syrian crisis from this angle, many of Moscow's previously inexplicable actions take on a new, clearer meaning.

[Cronos]

We want all the involved parties to “win”.

Agreed. Let the mozzies slaughter each other, and let Iran get into an internecine war with the Turks, Pakis and Sauds.

[ETL]

I wonder how one is able to pack a nuclear program into it. They actually had some office equimpent, clothes and canned food with them. Not even a single handgun, let alone WMD.

You are a real defender of the Russians, eh? They can do no wrong in your view.

[ETL]

There are no Pootie [Putin] supporters on FR.

Of course there are. "kronos77" (any relation?) is an admitted one.

[ETL]

The Russian government too see's the West as a rival for Russian influence -- mainly for their pride. They have not got the resources to be a serious enemy

Ridiculous. Al-Qaeda is a serious enemy with 1/10,000th the resources of Russia.

[ETL]

Russia’s military spending soars
February, 2011

Russia has revealed details of its ambitious plan to upgrade its army over the next ten years, planning to spend US$650 billion on the project.

­The unveiled large-scale plans of the Russian defense ministry propose the spending of vast sums of money up to 2020.

First and foremost, Russian defense will focus on the development of strategic nuclear weapons, construction of over 100 military vessels for Russian Navy, including construction of four originally French-made Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, and the introduction into the Air Force of over 1,000 helicopters and 600 military planes, including fifth generation PAK-FA fighter.

Most of the military hardware will be equipped with next-generation weaponry.

http://rt.com/news/military-budget-russia-2020/
______________________________________________________________

China and Russia Launch Military Exercises
April 22nd, 2012

China and Russia launched joint naval exercises Sunday in the Yellow Sea between the east coast of mainland China and the Korean peninsula.

Sixteen Chinese surface vessels and two submarines as well as four Russian warships will take part in the six days of drills. ...

China and Russia have conducted four bilateral and multilateral military exercises since 2005.

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/04/22/china-and-russia-launch-military-exercises/

China and Russia Launch Military Exercises
April 22nd, 2012

[ETL]

The Russian government too see's the West as a rival for Russian influence -- mainly for their pride. They have not got the resources to be a serious enemy

That reminds me of this...

May 18, 2008: Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us. ...they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. I mean, if Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance.

May 20, 2008 (2 days later!): Iran is a grave threat. It has an illicit nuclear program. It supports terrorism across the regions and militias in Iraq. It threatens Israel's existence. It denies the Holocaust.

Source for these genuine Obama quotes: NewsBusters.org:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2008/05/23/fnc-shows-obamas-iran-flip-flop-colmes-might-talk-hitler

[ETL]

Russia and Islam are not Separate:
Why Russia backs Al-Qaeda

By Konstantin Preobrazhensky

Americans generally believe that Russia is afraid of Islamic terrorism as much as the U.S.A. They are reminded of the war in Chechnya, the hostage crisis at the Beslan School in 2004 and at the Moscow Theater in 2002, and of the apartment house blasts in Moscow in 1999, where over 200 people were killed. It is clear that Russians are also targets of terrorism today.

But in all these events, the participation of the FSB, Federal Security Service, inheritor to the KGB, is also clear. Their involvement in the Moscow blasts has been proven by lawyer Mikhail Trepashkin, a former FSB Colonel. For this he was illegally imprisoned, and is now suffering torture and deprivation of medical assistance, from which he is not likely to survive.

A key distinction between Russian and American attitudes towards Islamic terrorism is that while for America terrorism is largely seen as an exterior menace, Russia uses terrorism as an object as a tool of the state for manipulation in and outside the home country. Islamic terrorism is only part of the world of terrorism. Long before Islamic terrorism became a global threat, the KGB had used terrorism to facilitate the victory of world Communism.

This leads to the logical connection between Russian and Islamic terrorism. The late Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned in London in November, 2006, told me that his former FSB colleagues had trained famous Al-Qaeda terrorists Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Juma Namangoniy during the 1980s and 1990s. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, one of the world's most wanted terrorists, has been responsible for the murder of U.S. nationals outside the United States. Before his death, Juma Namangoniy (Jumabai Hojiyev), a native of Soviet Uzbekistan, was a right-hand man of Osama bin Laden in charge of the Taliban's northern front in Afghanistan.

In 1996, Alexander Litvinenko was responsible for securing the secrecy of Al-Zawahiri's arrival in Russia, who was trained by FSB instructors in Dagestan, Northern Caucasus, in 1996-1997.

At that time, Litvinenko was the Head of the Subdivision for Internationally Wanted Terrorists of the First Department of the Operative-Inquiry Directorate of the FSB Anti-Terrorist Department. He was ordered to undertake the delicate mission of securing Al-Zawahiri from unintentional disclosure by the Russian police. Though Al-Zawahiri had been brought to Russia by the FSB using a false passport, it was still possible for the police to learn about his arrival and report to Moscow for verification. Such a process could disclose Al-Zawahiri as an FSB collaborator.

In order to prevent this, Litvinenko visited a group of the highly placed police officers to notify them in advance. "If you get information about some suspicious Arabs arriving in the Caucasus, please report it to me before informing your leadership", he told them.

Juma Namangoniy was once a student of the Saboteur Training Center of the First Chief Directorate of the KGB in 1989-91. The school was notorious for the international terrorists who matriculated from it. It now belongs to the FSB, and since only KGB staff officers were allowed to study there, Juma Namangoniy's presence clearly suggests that he was much more than a civil collaborator.

Mohammed Atta, the pilot of the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence agent in Prague, Czech Republic, five months before the attack. But Iraqi intelligence was just a client of Russia's intelligence service. It brings a new understanding to the fact that President Putin was the first foreign President to call President Bush on 9/11. One may conjecture that he knew in advance what was to happen.

Muslim Name and Communist Heart

Tartars have always been patriotic to Russia. Their independent kingdom was conquered by Russia in the 16th century, but their gentry were allowed to join the Russian upper class and enjoy all its privileges. Even today, many Russian families of noble origin have Tartar origins. Russia has a half-millennium of experience in turning conquered Muslim nations into obedient citizens by bribing their elite.

There are many Soviet Muslims, therefore, who seem to face no conflict of spirit. One can be a Muslim in name only, whose heart belongs to Communism. There have been a lot of such people among Russian Muslims, especially among the Tartars. The Soviet Union has typically preferred to appoint them as ambassadors to Muslim countries. Their Muslim names give them a pass to the local society, but their Communist hearts order them to serve world Communism and not the world of Islam.

In the Soviet period, the highest leadership of the Muslim republics like Uzbekistan were unofficially allowed to practice Islam under the guise of folk rites, even though their Russian colleagues were severely reprimanded for participating in such Christian "rites" as Christmas or Easter. Unlike today, Soviet cartoonists were able to mock Islam as they mocked all other religions and it didn't bring any special reaction.

Muslims of the Uzbek and other Central Asian republics' elite joined the KGB intelligence in order to spy on fellow Muslim countries. In the KGB, I have met a lot of such quasi-Muslim officers.

Russia Grows Muslim

Putin continues the traditional Russian policy of giving privileges to the Muslim elite. Today's Russian Minister of Healthcare, Mikhail Zurabov, is a Chechen. His political agenda includes the total destruction of the Russian healthcare system, looking like revenge for the war in Chechnya. Putin shows no concern over that.

Strategically Russia is surrendering to the Muslim world. The Russian population is declining rapidly, being undermined by 70 years of Communist experiment and the cold indifference of post-communist rulers. Annually, Russia is losing 900 thousand people who are being replaced by Muslims from the Caucasus and Central Asia. Islam is now the second-largest religion in Russia, where it may total up to 28 million adherents. Because of this, Russia was able to join the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2003.

Russia's great qualitative population change represents both a departure from the past and a strengthening link with it. The synergies between the history of Russia's national policies of terrorism and the radical Islamic terrorism that it is spreading around the world are natural partners that may severely impact on America's own future.

_________________

Konstantin Preobrazhensky, a former Lt. Colonel in the KGB who defected to the United States in 1993, is an intelligence expert and specialist on Japan, about which he has written six books. His newest book Russian-American, A New KGB Asset will be published in late 2007. This article was first published by Gerard Group International, Intel Analyses, 31 August 2007.

Link is no longer valid
http://cicentre.com/Documents/russia_islam_not_separate.html

[aruanan]

The Russian government too see's [sic] the West as a rival for Russian influence -- mainly for their pride. They have not got the resources to be a serious enemy

Sure, if you've got some really, really special definition of "resources" and "serious."

[ETL]

"China and Russia have conducted four bilateral and multilateral military exercises since 2005."

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/04/22/china-and-russia-launch-military-exercises/
____________________________________________________

[2009] Russia, China plan new joint military exercises

By MARTIN SIEFF, UPI Senior News Analyst
Published: March 26, 2009

WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- The continuing tensions over Russia's refusal to sell its state-of-the-art land warfare advanced weapons systems to China hasn't interrupted the rhythm of major joint military exercises between the two major land powers on the Eurasian landmass. The latest in the regular, biennial series of exercises between the two nations has been confirmed for this summer.

The next in the now well-established series of exercises called Peace Mission 2009 will be carried out in northeastern China, the Russian Defense Ministry announced March 18, according to a report carried by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The first bilateral Peace Mission maneuvers -- described at the time as counter-terrorism exercises -- were held in Russia and the eastern Chinese province of Shandong in August 2005. As we reported at that time, they were a lot bigger than mere counter-terrorism exercises. Warships, squadrons of combat aircraft and more than 10,000 troops were involved carrying out landings against hypothetically hostile shores. The maneuvers also involved large-scale paratroops drops. The scale and nature of those exercises suggested a trial run for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan with Russian support. ..."

http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2009/03/26/Russia_China_plan_new_joint_military_exercises/UPI-25021238094858/
____________________________________________________

Russia, China flex muscles in joint war games
August 17, 2007

CHEBARKUL, Russia (Reuters) - Russia and China staged their biggest joint exercises on Friday but denied this show of military prowess could lead to the formation of a counterweight to NATO.

"Today's exercises are another step towards strengthening the relations between our countries, a step towards strengthening international peace and security, and first and foremost, the security of our peoples," Putin said.

Fighter jets swooped overhead, commandos jumped from helicopters on to rooftops and the boom of artillery shells shook the firing range in Russia's Ural mountains as two of the largest armies in the world were put through their paces.

The exercises take place against a backdrop of mounting rivalry between the West, and Russia and China for influence over Central Asia, a strategic region that has huge oil, gas and mineral resources.

Russia's growing assertiveness is also causing jitters in the West. Putin announced at the firing range that Russia was resuming Soviet-era sorties by its strategic bomber aircraft near NATO airspace.

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-29030120070817?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
____________________________________________________

War Games: Russia, China Grow Alliance
September 23, 2005

In foreign policy it’s critical to “know thine enemy.” So American policymakers should be aware that Russia and China are inching closer to identifying a common enemy — the United States.

The two would-be superpowers held unprecedented joint military exercises Aug. 18-25. Soothingly named “Peace Mission 2005,” the drills took place on the Shandong peninsula on the Yellow Sea, and included nearly 10,000 troops. Russian long-range bombers, the army, navy, air force, marine, airborne and logistics units from both countries were also involved.

Moscow and Beijing claim the maneuvers were aimed at combating terrorism, extremism and separatism (the last a veiled reference to Taiwan), but it’s clear they were an attempt to counter-balance American military might.

Joint war games are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2001, and reflect the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two Eastern Hemisphere giants."

http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed092605a.cfm
____________________________________________________

""Peace Mission" 2010

Looks like the military exercise between Shanghai Cooperation Organization is becoming an annual occurrence instead of bi-annual [ie, 2005, 2007, 2009].

According to rian, the next one will be this September [2010]. ..."

http://www.informationdissemination.net/2010/07/peace-mission-2010.html

[ETL]

The Russian government too see's the West as a rival for Russian influence -- mainly for their pride. They have not got the resources to be a serious enemy

"Vladimir Putin praised Cold War-era scientists on Thursday for stealing U.S. nuclear secrets so that United States would not be the world's sole atomic power, in comments reflecting his vision of Russia as a counterweight to U.S. power. ...

Putin's remarks referred to the dawn of the Cold War more than half a century ago, but they echoed a message he has made loud and clear more recently: that the United States needs to be restrained, and Russia is the country to do it. …

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...

[ETL]

The Russian government too see's the West as a rival for Russian influence -- mainly for their pride. They have not got the resources to be a serious enemy

Obama, May 20, 2008 (2 days after saying they were NOT a threat!): Iran is a grave threat. It has an illicit nuclear program. It supports terrorism across the regions and militias in Iraq.

Source for these genuine Obama quotes: NewsBusters.org:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2008/05/23/fnc-shows-obamas-iran-flip-flop-colmes-might-talk-hitler

"Iran is a grave threat. It has an illicit nuclear program. It supports terrorism across the regions and militias in Iraq."

At the very, very least, the same can be said about Russia.

[EBH]

WHAT ABOUT SYRIA?

Syria is not among the allies listed in the Russian led invasion of Israel. Syria is probably one of Russia’s favorite allies, at least in a geographical sense. Syria is known as a training ground for terrorists. It is believed to be the base of operations for a number of terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the Hezbollah. Syria is directly linked to Iran, Russia, and Iraq.

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) were never found in Iraq, but not because they did not exist. They were smuggled out of Iraq and into Syria. Satellite pictures showed them being transported to Syria, smuggled out by fifty-six commercial planes with the seats removed. The claim by Iraq was that they were “planes of relief to Syria for a tragedy,” but in actuality, they were Weapons of Mass Destruction. [See The Last Generation: Prophecy, Current World Events, and the End Times for more detailed information, including the sources of this information and their credibility.]

The big question is, “Why isn’t Syria included among the allies in the Russian-led Muslim/Confederacy invasion? The most likely answer is found in the Bible. It concerns a prophecy about the destruction of Damascus [Syria].

The Demise of Damascus [Syria]

“… Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin … The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim …” (Isaiah 17:1-3).

The city of Damascus is the capital of Syria and is “reputed to be the oldest continuously existing city in the world.” It has been conquered by other countries but never destroyed. As a result, we know that this prophecy has not been fulfilled.

Because of the total devastation described in Isaiah 17, the destruction will probably be nuclear. The most likely country to destroy Damascus is Israel. Damascus would likely use WMDs or a dirty bomb against Israel. Israel’s leaders have already stated that they would react with a nuclear bomb. This could happen any day. We don’t know the timing of this event, but we can assume that it is prior to the Russian invasion. Otherwise, Syria would likely be allied with Russia.

http://focalpointpublications.com/ArticleRussia1/ArticleRussia1.html

Could it be that Damascus is destroyed by American backed rebels, not Israel? If it is true Syria is not an ally of Russia in the Bible, then Assad must fall. Or will we see Russia back Syria for a time, but when they see they are going to lose...use the old tactic of slash and burn during retreat? If Chapter 17 is the prophecy, then Israel will destroy Syria...we just have not seen full reason for that action. The fall of Assad and the takeover by terrorists with WMD would be a trigger for Israel to act though.

Go read the entire Chapter 17. God is often known for irony...Look at verses 12-14 too. United Nations anyone?

So why does Russia get involved? Russia is protecting Assad? No, not quite. Obama and Putin are to do what with nuclear arms after the election? Russia doesn't have them in Russia. America is but a fool...all that stuff is with Russia's middle east allies. Russia has a vested interest in protecting Assad from this discovery. But, Russia cannot afford to have those weapons fall into the hands of the rebels either.

God's plan will come into play and Syria will be but a remnant...

[EBH]

12 Woe to the multitude of many people (United States)
Who make a noise like the roar of the seas,(lots of words)
And to the rushing of nations (United Nations?)
That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters;(world makes lots of noise about Syria)
But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,
Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.(Israel notifies allies of nuclear strike? And full retreat out of Syria takes place?)

14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble!
And before the morning, he is no more.
This is the portion of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who rob us.

[cunning_fish]

>>>>>>>I wonder how one is able to pack a nuclear program into it. They actually had some office equimpent, clothes and canned food with them. Not even a single handgun, let alone WMD.

You are a real defender of the Russians, eh? They can do no wrong in your view.>>>>>>>>

Even if they are wrong 90% time it doesn’t mean they are wrong about everything. It doesn’t mean they have moved Iraqi nuclear program in a car for sure.

[Cronos]

Ridiculous yourself if Al-Qaeda is a serious enemy with 1/10,000th the resources of Russia. the resources an entity has makes it the enemy then every state is the enemy. Get off the persecution phobia

[Cronos]

It’s bad manners not to copy someone when you speak of him. Nope, Kronos77 isn’t a relation except in the origin of the tagname

[Cronos]

Russian military spending soars - it still lags behind the US, China, india etc.

Russia launch military exercises with China -- the Chinese are still the long-term future enemy of Russia.

[Cronos]

etl: Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us. ...they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. I mean, if Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance. wow -- so now you quote Obama to justify saying Russia is the enemy?

[cunning_fish]

Just ask him how many American killed by Russia since 1991? The answer is 0 despite the fact democrat administrations attacked their allies and supported muzzie uprising inside Russia.
How many Americans killed by sunni muslims supported by democrats is another interesting question.

[null and void]

Thanks.

[ETL]

Russia, under Putin/Medvedev, has supported Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea, the ChiComs, Cuba, Chavez, and other Marxist dictatorships throughout Latin America. If modern Russia has seriously retreated from Communism, why do they continue to build up Communist regimes?? And, if they're in the 'war on terror' with us, why do they support terrorist regimes like Iran?

Russia arms sales to Syria 'don't help peace': Israel
France 24 ^ | 5/18/2010 | AFP via France 24

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday criticised Russia for supplying arms to Syria, saying the move did not help efforts to bring peace to the region.

"The sale of these weapons does not contribute to building an atmosphere of peace," Lieberman told Israel's public radio in what was an unusually muted statement from the outspoken minister.

Lieberman's remarks came just days after a top Russian military official said Moscow was supplying Syria with MiG-29 fighter jets, Pantsir short-range air defence systems and armoured vehicles.

He also insisted the regime of Bashar al-Assad was not interested in peace, and described as "naive" anyone who believed Syria would be ready "to cut ties with Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia" in exchange for a return of the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied during the 1967 Six Day War.

Israel and Syria remain technically in a state of war, and Russia's arms sales and possible nuclear cooperation with Syria, which has close ties to Iran, is unnerving for both the Jewish state and Washington.

Israel has also accused Syria of supplying Hezbollah with Scud missiles.

Lieberman also fired a further salvo of criticism over Russia's "hypocritical" stance on terrorism after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held talks with exiled Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal during a visit to Damascus.

Following the visit, Medvedev and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul called for the radical Islamist movement, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, to be included in the peace process -- in a move which drew a furious response from Israel.

"Russia, but also Egypt and Turkey as well as other countries, have a policy of differentiating between 'good' and 'bad' terrorism, between that which targets Israel and that which targets others," Lieberman said.

(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...

[ETL]

It’s bad manners not to copy someone when you speak of him. Nope, Kronos77 isn’t a relation except in the origin of the tagname

And it's "bad manners" for that SOB to continually attempt to sway naive/uninformed Freepers into believing Putin is a cool guy to be admired.

[ETL]

so now you quote Obama to justify saying Russia is the enemy?

You didn't realize he totally contradicted himself in those two comments I posted?? He was right on the more recent one, describing Iran as a serious threat. In the first, he, like you with Russia, was foolishly (or for some other reason) trying to dismiss them as a threat to the US.

[ETL]

Putin, the ChiComs, Iran, Chavez and Obama are on the same “new world order” page, wanting a stronger Russia and China and a substantially weaker US. Are you on-board with it, too?

[ETL]

Here is FReeper Tailgunner Joe’s response to some misguided Putin admirer back in Mar (2012):

“Putin defends his nation’s interests? How?

By robbing his people blind, nationalizing the oil and gas, the banks and media? By making enemies out of all of Russia neighbors and making an enemy out of the USA and supporting all of America’s terrorist enemies? BY destroying the Russian people’s freedom and throwing anyone who opposes his regime into jail or worse?

This is what you call defending a country’s interests? I’m sorry but you are very wrong, and if you think that someone like Putin is what we should have here in the USA, then you are a very unwise person whose counsel should never be heeded on any important matter. If you think Putin defends his people interests then you are a total fool. Putin is a traitor to his people as he has been all his entire life. He enslaved his people to Communism when he loyally served the KGB and he has enslaved his people again to Putinist fascism. Fools who admire Putin’s tyranny disgust me to no end.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2854409/posts?page=31#31

[ETL]

PING.

[ETL]

the Chinese are still the long-term future enemy of Russia.

Yeah, long after they worked together to remove the US as an obstacle. Same for the islamo-fascist terrorists. Their "unholy alliance" would come to end once America is out of the way. Commies despise religion of any kind.

[EBH]

Mofaz: Turkey Will Become Mideast ‘Superpower’
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157067

Turkey has decided to renege on an agreement to provide Israel with information about ballistic missile launches from terrorist entities
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/156885

Turkey and Russia: A New Friendship
https://csis.org/blog/turkey-and-russia-new-friendship

Kinda’ spooky...

[SunkenCiv]

Assad is our enemy, and claiming that the alternative is worse is a non-sequitur, not least because they’re all equally bad. There’s no reason to support Assad except that one supports Assad.

Russia is our enemy, has been our enemy, and until Russia stops being our enemy, will remain our enemy.

Iran is our enemy, and there’s no quibble or semantics about it. The Iranian people are not all one thing. The only acceptable outcome in Iran is that those who want out from under the mullahcracy chop off the heads of all the mullahs, demolish every mosque in Iran, and toss all the muzzie scribblings into the paper recycling bins, IOW totally annihilate Islam in Iran. Some Iranians are will oppose that, and so will Syria (the Assad dynasty, or the Muzzie Bro-hood) and the Putin regime in Russia.

[Cronos]

Excellent point, cf --> "How many Americans have been killed by Russia since 1991? The answer is 0"

Russia is a rival, a bully, a nuisance yes, but not an enemy. the enemy is islam, full-stop, the same as it has always been for 1400 years.

[Cronos]

Putin is hardly a "cool guy". He's a dictator, a Tsar-wannabe.

Is he "good for Russia" though?

right now, NO. But in the years from 1999-2004, probably yes.

There are many Russians who oppose him, but many who see the agony of the Yeltsin years and do not want to return to that (note also that there is no credible, viable alternative to Putin).

is Putin good for the US? No.

Is the alternative to Putin (a Russia in disarray) good for the US? Mostly, no.

[Cronos]

In the first, he, like you with Russia, was foolishly (or for some other reason) trying to dismiss them as a threat to the US.

I'm an American living in Poland -- I know the fears of Russia's expansion first hand and I repeat that Russia is not the US's enemy. It postures and huffs and puffs, but it has little actual power.

Visit Russia and see how the country is highly feudal, is inward-looking.

This is not the Bolshie world conquerors.

They threaten Poland, but in real terms could not defeat the Polish army without nukes.

[Cronos]

Putin, the ChiComs, Iran, Chavez and Obama

you're mixing up Iran with the others. And Obama is a loon.

Iran is tied in with the Sauds, Pakis etc. -- all Moslem nations who want America DEAD or islamic

Putin, the Chinese etc. want to be considered powers on-par with the USA.

China will have enough money but it's not going to get out of the middle-income trap and it's neighbors except for North Korea don't trust it.

Russia won't get there -- it's too much a resource dependent.

obama if re-elected will ruin us

If Palin comes in, we will be restored as a pre-eminent nation

[Cronos]

There’s no reason to support Assad except that one supports Assad.

you are wrong. supporting Assad makes sense because the alternative is worse.

We should let Assad keep killing his Sunni al-Aeda enemys. Let the moslems kill each other -- you have a problem with that?

I do NOT advocate the US giving weapons or indeed ANYTHING to Assad, but similarly I say we should not give ANYTHING to his opposition. Let's stay out of this. ditto for the Brits and French -- let the Moslems slaughter each other.

I said the same thing about Libya -- the best option would have been to let Ghaddafi keep slaughtering his jihadi foes. He would never have completely won, so his attention would have been away from attacking the West (or Israel) and Al-Qaeda would be tied up trying to get rid of one secular dictator

How can one be so silly not to realize that one of Al-Qaeda's stated aims is removing secular Arab leaders so that they can start up their Caliphate.

[Cronos]

Russia is our enemy, has been our enemy, and until Russia stops being our enemy, will remain our enemy.

Russia is not our enemy. Don't keep your head stuck in the cold-war. Russia is a rival, it's not a friend, but it's not an enemy either

Our enemies are clearly islam and internal communism (Obama).

[ETL]

Russia is not our enemy. Don't keep your head stuck in the cold-war.

KGB Putin has his head stuck in the days of the Soviet Union.

Putin praises Cold War moles for stealing U.S. nuclear secrets
Reuters ^ | Wed Feb 22, 2012 5:04pm EST | Steve Gutterman "Putin's remarks referred to the dawn of the Cold War more than half a century ago, but they echoed a message he has made loud and clear more recently: that the United States needs to be restrained, and Russia is the country to do it. …

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
__________________________________________________________

KGB Putin thinks the "COLLAPSE" of the mass-murdering communist Soviet Union was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th Century"

"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century" -Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the collapse of the Soviet Union...
"World democratic opinion has yet to realize the alarming implications of President Vladimir Putin's State of the Union speech on April 25, 2005, in which he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union represented the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'
http://www.hooverdigest.org/053/beichman.html
____________________________________________________

"'The Black Book of Communism,'; a scholarly accounting of communism’s crimes, counts about 94 million murdered by the supposed champions of the common man (20 million for the Soviets alone), and some say that number is too low."

Forgetting the Evils of Communism: The amnesia bites a little deeper
By Jonah Goldberg, August 2008:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZmY0MjI1MDgyYjg1M2UwNDMzMTk2Mjk5YTk0ZTdlMWE=
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[ETL]

Russia is not our enemy.

They're never likely to outright declare themselves our "enemy". You have to observe their actions. They've stood behind and aided open enemies of the US, such as Saddam Hussein/Iraq, Hugo Chavez/Venezuela, Kim Jung-Il/North Korea, the Castro bros/Cuba, Ahmadinejad/Iran, on and on. You know they must have silently cheered 911.

[ETL]

If Russia is truly done with Communism and are now "Capitalists", why do you suppose they still support Marxist dictatorships such as Venezuela, Cuba, other far left regimes throughout Latin America, the ChiComs and North Korea? Their criticisms of Obama being a Socialist are bogus. If they really are now opposed to Socialism/Communism they would join us (pre-Obama) in condemning these regimes, not help build them up. Again, when it comes to the chess champions Russians, don't rely on what they SAY, look at what they DO.

Did Communism Fake Its Own Death in 1991?
American Thinker ^ | January 16, 2010 | Jason McNew

In a [] 1984 book [New Lies for Old], ex-KGB Major Anatoliy Golitsyn predicted the liberalization of the Soviet Bloc and claimed that it would be a strategic deception. ..."

"Golitsyn's argument was that beginning in about 1960, the Soviet Union embarked on a strategy of massive long-range strategic deception which would span several decades and result in the destruction of Western capitalism and the erection of a communist world government."

"Golitsyn published his second book, The Perestroika Deception, after the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991. This book contained further analysis of the liberalization, in addition to previously classified memoranda submitted by Golitsyn to the CIA. The two books must be read together to get a complete picture of Golitsyn's thesis."

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/01/did_communism_fake_its_own_dea.html

[SunkenCiv]

Our internal enemies are, as they have been throughout US history, bankrolled and trained by our external enemies, and that list includes Russia, which continues to arm, train, and otherwise support our enemies, including in our own hemisphere.

[SunkenCiv]

You are wrong, and it’s interesting that you advocate support for Assad, then say, let’s not give him anything — but that makes sense from your pro-Russian perspective, since Russia is helping the Iranian mullahs prop up the Assad dynasty.

The only time a caliphate has been set up, it has been set up via conquest. The Islamic world is and was fragmented precisely because of ethnicities and national identities — not to mention the sectarian schisms — and that isn’t going to suddenly change after fourteen centuries.

The correct approach is to covertly recruit, train, and arm dozens of Islamofascist groups and direct them into war with each other, continuing this in order to shatter the regimes capable of running a nuclear weapons program or funding jihad — and continue this until the recruit pool dries up.

[SunkenCiv]

How many Americans were killed by the USSR between Lenin’s rise and the end of WWII? The answer is zero. See, the USSR wasn’t our enemy at all.

IOW, that’s not a point at all. Russia has returned to a single party state dictatorship in all but name, and its dictator is devoted to our destruction.

[ETL]

It’s really disturbing that these Putin apologists and/or propagandists are permitted to repeatedly post their BS here, particularly because it seems they’re actually convincing some of our less informed members that Russia isn’t a threat to the US. That we can basically trust them. Dangerous crap, especially in this day and age with Putin and Obama conspiring with the ChiComs, Chavez, and others, to create a “new world order” with them all being stronger and the US substantially weaker.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) Haven’t you heard?!? The atheist commie KGB leader is PROTECTOR OF THE FAITH!!! ;’)

[Cronos]

How many Americans were killed by the USSR between Lenin’s rise and the end of WWII? The answer is zero

that is incorrect. Americans were involved in anti-Bolshevik fighting during the Russian Civil war and also in the Polish-Russian war.

Communism was the enemy.

Russia is not the enemy

[Cronos]

but that makes sense from your pro-Russian perspective, since Russia is helping the Iranian mullahs prop up the Assad dynasty.

Look before you leap to wrong conclusions.

I'm not pro-Russian. Far from it. In sheer geo-political views I am anti-Muscowite

[Eleutheria5]

On the contrary. That’s why it’s a good idea to give to both sides. If you want them to slaughter each other, make sure they’re well-equipped with refurbished old crap.

[Cronos]

good point, but how to maximise the amount of damage they do to each other? the islamists opposing Assad would win over him if they had the same weapon quantity as he does (by sheer force of number). And neither do we want him to win, but we want him to have smouldering fires that never allow him to focus attention on Israel or the west.

In fact, the longer he slaughters Sunnis, the more the Sunni-shia rift widens

[ETL]

Communism was the enemy. Russia is not the enemy

When are you going to answer the question about why Russia is propping up communist regimes TODAY, 2012?

[ETL]

Russia is not the enemy

Or why they support and assist our other enemies: Iran, Iraq (under Saddam), No Korea, Chavez, on and on.

[ETL]

You describe Russia today as a “rival”, not enemy. Don’t you think one crosses the line between enemy and rival when they equip sworn enemies of ours with arms and other assistance to defeat us.