The plot thickens...

Screw that! Until we can test their vaccines, no way.

Until we can test their vaccines, no way.

I agree, but take the offer serious. With all the research the former Soviet Union did on Anthrax, they no doubt have good stuff.

Talk is cheap. Russia offers vaccine, what do you?

I think that a supply of small pox vaccine would be more useful at this point.

That's what the "REAL" bio attack will be.

What do I offer? I offer the voice of reason. Russia's intentions may be fine right now, but let's not forget our sorted history with them. I don't believe we should look a gift horse in the mouth, but I also don't believe we should ignore history. What's wrong with testing their vaccines? Isn't it more prudent to be cautious?

LOL! If OUR own lab, right here in the good ole U.S.A. doesn't pass the FDA inspection to manufacture the vaccine, what makes us think that the lab conditions in Russia are more pristine than ours? No thank you.

sw

I think this is good from the Russians to make such an offer. If they offer the recipie (to see what we would be taking) and it works that would be awesome.

20 years ago no one on earth would have thought that would be possible.

Should we be cautious? Sure. On the other hand, it looks like the "Evil Empire" is gone and we both have a common enemy who is TOTALLY irrational - a better match than even the Stalin is our friend, Hitler is our enemy scene 50 years ago.

Russians are not stupid. Did you know our govt employs a great deal of Russians in our nuclear weapons programs?

Times have changed. The Russinas are our friends, the Germans and Frech aren't. Couple that with the fact that the Russians did extensive work with anthrax as a biological weapon and they may have some serious technology to offer us. I say we trust but verify as usual.

Facts remain, Russia may have enough vaccine, enough to share even. China will not let middle easterners fly.
U.S. says "yer own yer own, go buy a car?"

Exactly.

I say we trust but verify as usual.

Ditto. On anther note, I always like to see that the Reagan policy for dealing other countries has stood the test of time.

Russians are not stupid

Having worked with a couple of Russian engineers, I would agree with your assessment that stupidity is not one of their problems. Personality transplants, on the other hand, may be useful.

Are you a biochemist? How do they test the vacine, on mice, dogs, people?

Just a little advice my friend, we have a representive form of Government and they will decide from whom and how, not some yahoo. What grates me about your post is the insinuation that we are dumb, incompetent and the Russians people evil and cannot ever become a partner in this battle. It's tone is negative and defeatist.

Then you need to lighten up, buddy, because you are reading WAY too much into my post. If you want to accept gifts from your former enemies without any caution, good for you.

And for the record...

Am I a biochemist? NO. I am a cautious realist.

Am I a yahoo? Maybe. But YOU certainly have not earned the right to call me such.

Negative and defeatist??? I suggest you take a better look at the history of a free republic member before making half-assed, half-cocked insinuations based on ONE post. In that history you would see that I have had nothing but praise for Mr. Putin and his working with the West.

Implying we are dumb??? What's wrong, did I hit a nerve? NO WHERE did I imply that anyone was dumb. If I were looking for dumb people, I'd post at DU.com. I *implied* that such an offer should be treated cautiously.

Anthrax vacines are safe and have been around for over thirty years. The problem with the military's version is that Uncle Sam has a bad tendency of giving to the lowest bidder. In this case the lowest bidder was a shoddy half assessed lab that wound up contaminating the vacines with other bacterias, which in turn caused health problems and death. If you do it right, it's good. Problem is, the vacines were designed to combat naturally occuring anthrax while military grade is grown upto a thousand times thicker.

Problem is, Islam is very rational and very logical, it's just that their reality has very little in common with the Christian reality.