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Did the Russia Talks Matter?
Russian-American relations may be on the mend, but is it all talk and no action for Presidents Obama and Medvedev? The pair met in Russia and called a truce on a number of issues—vowing to open a joint early warning center to share data on missile launches and agreeing to each get rid of weapons-grade plutonium—but past presidents made similar deals and never made good on them, writes The New York Times. President Clinton and Boris Yeltsin agreed to build the data-sharing center in 1998, as did Clinton and Putin in 2000 and Bush and Putin in 2007, yet the center remains unbuilt. The plutonium initiative first came to light in the 1990s but hasn’t been enforced, either. Still, Obama’s top Russia adviser said the progress made by the two was groundbreaking. “They’re real things. It is not fluff,” said Michael McFaul. “I dare you to think of a summit that was so substantive. We didn’t solve everything in two days—that would be impossible. But I think we came a long way in terms of developing both a relationship that advances our national interest with the government and also laying out a philosophy about foreign policy."
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In other words, more fluff! Two days of substantive talks and that is all they can say, no mention of details. Maybe a flyover, maybe decrease in missiles and plutonium, maybe a relationship.
We should work with the Russians on areas where we can agree and oppose them when we have to. It's always been that way. If it's in their interests to join us in cutting back nuclear weapons or helping in the war with the Islamic facsist to their south, then they will work with us. It is also likely that they are not all that fond of North Korea and its constant threats to nuke all its neighbors.
In other areas, we will just have to agree to disagree with the Russians, but it has never been any different. They are rational actors who do not want war with the West, and we can live with that. Russia is an authoritarian country, but then it has never been a democracy in its history. It's like any other country: if there's ever going to be a real democracy, then they will have to do it themselves.
We can talk all we want,Puttin will do as he wishes.But if it is to their benefit to be with us,they will.We are just socializing.
Those who think this trip was a success for Obama's foreign policy are foolish. We gained nothing. The much touted fly over rights to supply our soldiers in Afghanistan was a waste of time. We have several air resupply flight paths that work just fine. We wanted over land avenues to transport heavy equipment like tanks and large vehicles. Obama failed to achieve the goal.
Instead, he's crashing our missile defense. It'll take Iran less than the 33 minutes it takes for a North Korean warhead to vaporize a US city. Good luck Boston..
-Direct flights from Germany/ US/ anywhere else in the world (free of charge) unprecedented.
Russia is kind of a large country and has a lot of airspace...
-Did you really think Russia would let us drive tanks, etc overland? and you called other people foolish?
-Missile system going ahead as before (much to our $$$, despite lack of functionality)
-Iran has no ICBMs and would not wish to commit national suicide if they did. I doubt they would trade Boston for their 2,500 year old civilization. Heck, they probably wouldn't even trade Dallas and it's most famous resident!
Didn't give up new NATO members,
Didn't give up the missile shield,
Got unprecedented direct flights, free of charge,
Potential for increased trade...
I can't see a downside. Help me out Malicious...
I hope your right.. Everything Obama does has an Expiration date.. Russia is near death. There are no replacement Russians being born.
We would save 178 million dollars a year if we had a ground route into Afghanistan, and be able to surge an end to the conflict in the quick and fair American way.
That's some dark demography, but you're right, their life expectancy is 20 years less than our and the death rate exceeds the birth rate.
you're also right about the land route being cheaper and easier, of course, but that was never on the table. Think about the last time foreign tanks were in Russia... bad times
Those guys are totally paranoid! Check out this article here on the Beast, Mal, I bet you'll dig it the most!
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-07-08/obamas-wasted- russia-trip/?cid=bs:archive6
I doubt that he's seen those roads in Russia and Kaakhstan, but I have. they're no good, and it takes a very long time to get anywhere.
Russia needed the new arms treaty more than we did. Its nuclear arsenal is aging fast and it cannot afford another arms race, particularly at a time of economic crisis. Agreeing to mutual cuts in nuclear warheads and launchers is the only chance Moscow had to preserve some semblance of parity with us. Remember the last time they tried to keep up with us in an arms race? Oh yeah, that ended in the dissolution of the USSR.
Thank you.
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