"DSK" wrote in message
...
Oh, are the Russians our pals now?


NOYB wrote:
No. They're deceitful and cannot be trusted.


Then why, during the last election, were you trumpeting that Putin really
really liked Bush & Cheney and wanted us all to vote for him?

Diplomatic blackmail. Bush had Putin dead to rights on a number of issues:
violating the Iraqi sanctions by shipping them arms, helping Saddam smuggle
out WMD, and running interference for Iraq at the UN.









Maybe because of the nuclear material they're selling to Iran, we should
keep a "hands off" approach?



No. But you must use a little more diplomacy with a nuclear power.


Russia's most credible nuclear threat to the US is via terrorist proxy.
Of course, President Bush is doing so little to combat *real* terrorism
that it's a huge threat.

We'd know in a heartbeat if a Russian nuke was detonated on US soil. The
Russians aren't that foolhardy.


Here's an interesting tie-in with this thread:


Wednesday, October 26, 2005 · Last updated 3:10 a.m. PT

Reports: Moscow opposes Syria sanctions

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW -- Russia will try to prevent the United Nations from leveling
sanctions against Syria

Yep.

One of the best reasons for putting the hammer down on Bashir Assad is
that he has a knack for chosing the wrong side, that plus he's a brutal
dictator. OTOH his gov't is both stable & secular, and his help would be
(and was in the past) valuable against radical Muslim terrorist groups.


He has no interest in helping us. In fact, he's working feverishly to
subvert our efforts in Iraq.


He is working at modernizing & Westernizing Syria, and if the U.S. exerted
a little smart diplomacy, could be a valuable ally.

Hogwash. Any country which supports terrorist groups like Hezbollah, is in
no way a potential ally to the US.



We could influence him to grant slightly more human rights, too; although
somebody will first have to convince President Bush that torture is for
bad guys.

President Bush already knows that torture is for bad guys. All of those bad
guys in US military prisons.