Oh shit.. the REAL Cold War is back!

[PoppinFresh]

Hope I am not too late with the news. Personally, I think the US needs to back off this "missile defense" plan. These people aren't stupid. It's like chess. If you're going to set up for an attack, it's smart to develop a preemptive defense to minimize casualties. That's the problem with having a dumb ass president. He thinks he's gonna just sneak shit by them for the setup and rely on pieces of paper. It don't work that way!

Bush! Wake the **** up! You're NOT smart enough and you don't know how to listen! You can't win! Only the people can lose!

We gotta get this warmonger out of office!

Russia signs Europe arms pact suspension into law

By Guy Faulconbridge Fri Nov 30, 3:44 AM ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Friday suspending Russia's participation in a key post-Cold War arms treaty, a move which could allow it to deploy more forces close to western Europe.

Putin's moratorium on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty follows months of increasingly aggressive rhetoric directed against the West ahead of a parliamentary election on Sunday and a presidential vote next March.

"President Putin signed the federal law on suspending the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty," the Kremlin said in a short statement. The bill was passed by parliament this month and needed the president's signature to become law.

The United States, the European Union and NATO had urged Putin not to suspend the treaty, seen as a cornerstone of European security.

But Putin, who has sought to restore the Kremlin's clout after the chaos which accompanied the fall of the Soviet Union, countered that NATO members had not ratified an amended version of the pact and had flexed their muscles near Russia's borders.

The suspension, which will come into effect from Dec 12-13, would allow Moscow to boost military forces on its western and southern borders, although Russian generals have said that will not happen immediately.

Polls show that talking tough about Russia standing up to foreigners strikes a chord with millions of Russians who yearn for the Soviet Union's once mighty superpower status.

Putin has also been sparring with the United States and European Union over plans for a missile defense shield in Europe and proposed independence for Serbia's Kosovo province.

Signed in 1990 and updated in 1999, the CFE treaty limits the number of battle tanks, heavy artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters deployed and stored between the Atlantic and Russia's Ural mountains.

It was originally negotiated among the then-22 member states of NATO and the Warsaw Pact and Russia says it is outdated.

Moscow argues it has been used by an enlarged NATO to limit Russian military movements while NATO builds up forces close to Russia in contravention of earlier agreements.

Western partners have refused to ratify an amended version of the pact until Russia pulls its forces out of Georgia and Moldova as it promised in 1999 when the treaty was reviewed.

Moscow's key problem with the treaty are flank limits which prevent Russia from moving tanks and artillery around its own territory, Russia's top generals say.

NATO has said it would be worrying to see large amounts of equipment limited by the treaty suddenly moving around.

But Russia's top general, Yuri Baluyevsky, said this month said there would be no immediate movement of forces after the moratorium came into effect.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

 

[Pops]

So where is Russia going to get the money for increased arms? They can barely afford their Vodka! Seems that their President is almost as dumb as our. Almost!

 

[karma-shmarma]

alka seltzer plus will fix that cold right up

 

[DogBoy]

So where is Russia going to get the money for increased arms? They can barely afford their Vodka! Seems that their President is almost as dumb as our. Almost!

Extacsy and other drugs have been produced in Russia for several years, same way CIA used the Coke and heroin trade to finance some of Vietnam and other conflicts the Russians could easily take our own money and use it against us.

 

[Pops]

I served in Air Force Intelligence during the last Cold War(63-67) and spied on the Russians. They weren't doing that well financially then and their military was full of drunks. I think this is just hot air to get Putin re-elected, kind like Bush does. Except that Bush actually invades countries, since he has more money to play with.

 

[PoppinFresh]

So where is Russia going to get the money for increased arms? They can barely afford their Vodka! Seems that their President is almost as dumb as our. Almost!

with all of the pissed off nations across the globe, especially in the middle east, i don't think russia will have too much of problem getting funding. but im not too worried about what they would build up. im worried about what they still have now. those weapons aren't that out of date and i'd bet they still work. even i remember a drill or two back in public school and im barely 30.

i think we're looking at the potential for a real WWIII.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

So where is Russia going to get the money for increased arms? They can barely afford their Vodka! Seems that their President is almost as dumb as our. Almost!

You know, they're not as bankrupt as they used to be. Here's what the CIA fact book has to say about Russia's economy:

Russia ended 2006 with its eighth straight year of growth, averaging 6.7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble initially drove this growth, since 2003 consumer demand and, more recently, investment have played a significant role. Over the last five years, fixed capital investments have averaged real gains greater than 10% per year and personal incomes have achieved real gains more than 12% per year. During this time, poverty has declined steadily and the middle class has continued to expand. Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis. The federal budget has run surpluses since 2001 and ended 2006 with a surplus of 9% of GDP.

And there's always the drug smuggling from Afghanistan to Europe/US that transits mainly over Russian-controlled territory. That should bring in a tidy sum of cash.

 

[GMT]

Not to mention how much the whole of europe now depends on russian gas exports.

 

[Yummybud]

In soviet russia car drives you lol.

 

[Pops]

Well, Russia let the mafia(Russian type) get a hold of a lot of their big state-owned business. If they could get those guys to pay taxes, they would be in better shape.