Putin favours Iran with military warning to US

President Vladimir Putin handed the Iranian regime a welcome publicity boost yesterday when he delivered a stern warning against US military action during a historic summit in Teheran.
Revelling in the opportunity to goad Washington, Mr Putin greeted his host, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with a flamboyant display of bonhomie. The two men hugged enthusiastically on a red carpet flanked by a guard of honour. They exchanged hand-shakes and smiled for the cameras as Mr Ahmadinejad greeted his guest who had flown to Iran despite dubious Russian claims of a plot to assassinate him.
If Washington had entertained even vague hopes that Mr Putin would press the Iranian government into abandoning its nuclear ambitions, it was to be disappointed. Not only was Mr Ahmadinejad able to portray the visit as conferring international legitimacy on his isolated regime, Mr Putin seemed eager to offer his counterpart unconditional support, repeating claims that there was no evidence to suggest Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb.
Mr Putin also secured the vital backing of Azerbaijan in a five-nation pact by the Caspian states to prevent the US from using the region as a staging ground for military action against Iran.
Pentagon military planners are said to have hoped for strategic support from Azerbaijan, which shares a border with Iran, has strong energy ties with the West and was one of only two Muslim countries to send troops to Iraq.

But, with a large minority of Azeris living in Iran, many analysts have argued that such hopes were always unrealistic.
"It is important that we do not even think about the possibility of using force," Mr Putin told the summit before the non-aggression declaration, also backed by Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, was signed.
"It is also important that we do not think about the possibility of using our territory for other countries to carry out aggression or military action against other Caspian states."
Although Russia lent its reluctant backing to two United Nations resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran, it has been stridently opposed to escalating the penalties after Teheran refused to stop its uranium enrichment programme.
Among Western diplomats, opinion is divided as to whether Russia — which has little to gain from a nuclear Iran — will eventually acquiesce.
Emboldened by its vast energy resources and desperate to reclaim its status as a global power, Russia could also stand to gain by seeing the United States dragged into a new, controversial and potentially debilitating Middle East conflict.
Among potential American targets would be Iran's first nuclear power plant, which Russia has been building, despite US displeasure, at the Gulf port of Bushehr for the past decade.
Mr Putin gave his host modest hope that the project would be completed, but refused to give a date.
The slow pace of construction has been a source of friction between the two countries, but has given the Kremlin political leverage over both Teheran and Washington. Officially Russia has justified the delays by accusing Iran of missing payments, charges Teheran vigorously denies.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.../wputin117.xml

Renewed bomber sorties, airspace violations, arms deals, and now an outright MILITARY warning to the US. At what point do we face the military reality that we are facing a renewed cold war and return to preparing to deter a hot one? And in light of changes in technology, materials and allies since the end of the last one and our downsizing and Russia's upgrading, what do we need to do in terms of men, materiel and training to prepare?

The world will always be an interesting place.

I should hope we're already preparing and/or prepared. Russia is not a country you want to ignore. Their people really never stopped hating the entire West. That having been said, they've got an uphill battle before they can hope to claim equal status with the United States again. According to the rating (in my Greatest Nations Post), they've fallen behind China in overall technology. Their current ... creative approach to diplomacy doesn't seem likely to gain them much.

They do gain one thing: They can capitalize on the increasingly prevelant hatred of the United States. So by saber rattling and making threats to the USA, perhaps they feel they can vault themselves back to greater relevance in the World stage.

great, just what this world needs, another cold war. it definitely won't be fun if the world is having to deal with nuclear deterrance again. conventional, i think the world as a whole might be able to handle, but if we're looking at a nuclear-based cold war, we could very well end up creek without a paddle.

Originally Posted by bigcanada813

great, just what this world needs, another cold war. it definitely won't be fun if the world is having to deal with nuclear deterrance again. conventional, i think the world as a whole might be able to handle, but if we're looking at a nuclear-based cold war, we could very well end up creek without a paddle.

One big difference is that Russia has to make a LOT of hostile moves before they can bring themselves back to their former USSR status of population and influence. As it stands, today's Russia has half the population, no "Soviet Satellites" and no ideological focus to unite their people. We'll see how handle those problems.

There is an ideological focus. One, the people still fear/hate/distrust the West. And two, Novaiya Russiya is very much a tangible goal the people would sacrifice for.

Guess I'll have to go out and buy another grade school desk. I wonder if they come in XXL?

Originally Posted by godofthunder9010

As it stands, today's Russia has half the population, no "Soviet Satellites" and no ideological focus to unite their people. We'll see how handle those problems.

Announce a military threat to the Russian Motherland and you've got all the ideological focus you need to unite their people.

Wouldn't you be a little pissed if somebody wanted to blow up your nuclear plant?
Not to mention - Russia is finacing a new pipeline through Iran which is a high $ project.

Unfortunately for Russia - that saber their rattling is a little rusty...

Whoops! Who canceled Star Wars again?