And Putin's Russia is a test to see how long Russians will indulge their Soviet and tsarist tendencies with Orthodox wrapping, in the name of sticking it to the decadent West.
John Bolton is heading to Moscow this week w/ members of Congress not far behind to arrange a rumored Trump-Putin summit, and maybe catch some World Cup soccer.
When Russia starts harassing Americans sitting at restaurants then I will worry about them...
“What then is one to make of Vladimir Putin’s military interventions in Ukraine or his venture in Syria?”
Yeah, a NATO expansion up to his very border including plans to make Sevastopol a NATO navy base, and a scheme to remove Russia’s decades long ally in Syria. An Ally that gives them what is basically their only overseas base.
So yeah, what is one to make of that? Complete freaking mystery.....to a neocon.
Or he could just keep focused on leveraging his incredibly smart people and wealth of natural resources to build-up his own country to greatness, and keep his nose out of other peoples’ business.
Yeah, I know. Will never happen.
“What is Putin’s foreign-policy strategy?
Some analysts here insist he seeks recognition as America’s equal, a desire born of the psychology of his generation that still sees the world in terms of a U.S.-Russian divide.”
Russia is a Third World country with a First World nuclear arsenal. It cannot sustain a prolonged arms race, nor keep up with us in commerce.
What we SHOULD do is to find areas of common interest with Russia, and cooperate there. That, and expand trade. The combination of the two will make us friendlier (not friends, but friendlier), and both reduce the possibility of conflict and boost the chance for actual friendship way down the line (as in 1-2 generations).
effin’ idjits don’t know the difference between ‘war” and “bidness”.
Both the USA and Russia are in business. Sometimes our interests coincide....sometimes not.
But to call it a “war” is to confuse the issue...and consequently the thinking about it.
A bit more on the economic disparity between the US and Russia: with an economy 12x as large as Russia’s, 3.0% growth in the economy in one year equals 36% growth in Russia’s; if (as reports seem to indicate) our economy grows by 4.0%, then we are adding 48% of Russia’s economy to ours - in one year!
There IS no comparison between the two. Yes, occasionally Russia will pull a technological rabbit out of its hat (mainly in materials science), but by and large the US is not only leading, but pulling away both economically and technologically. Most of this is due to corruption in Russia, which is very akin to what is holding back the Mexican economy.
Ping