Guy I'm just curious, what are your opinions on Russia as far as an ally, enemy, or neutral?
They did shoot down a passenger plane over the Ukraine and supported a dictator who used a nerve gas to kill a bunch of people. He's just as brutal with terrorists so there's that.
I try not to buy Russian ammo for the reasons stated above.
I try not to buy Russian ammo for the reasons stated above.
Right now they're a competing business interest in the global energy and weapons markets.
I think GTG pretty much has it nailed--they're the competition. They're not necessarily an enemy, but they're certainly not an ally. The UK is an ally--when the rotating oscillator starts spinning up, we know that the Brits will have our back, but we can only count on the Russians being on our side if our interests happen to align at the time, and only while those interests align.
Power, like nature, abhors a vacuum. Obama's coolness to and abandonment of former allies in the middle east created a vacuum that attracted Russia's involvement for economic reasons and for garnering of power and prestige in the world. Countries formerly under our influence turned to Russia when they figured out they could not depend on the US for support/protection.
Russia is playing the smart game in the face of perceived American weakness and lack of resolve by former allies. They are doing exactly as we would do if the situation was reversed - seeing opportunities and seizing them for their own benefit.
I have been to Russia on three occasions and I detected no ill will from the Russian people in general. They are a lot like us in many ways. The US blew it as far as Russia goes IMHO. When the Soviet Union crumbled we should have welcomed them to the free world with open arms and helped them in every way we could. If we had maybe Putin would not have gained so much power and we may have gained a powerful ally. Now he is a virtual dictator and his strongman style is appealing to a country struggling to create a national identity for itself in the world after their great fall.
I sometimes wonder if there was too much vested interest in keeping the cold war alive. Without a Soviet boogey man a lot of people may have lost their reason for existing...
Russia is playing the smart game in the face of perceived American weakness and lack of resolve by former allies. They are doing exactly as we would do if the situation was reversed - seeing opportunities and seizing them for their own benefit.
I have been to Russia on three occasions and I detected no ill will from the Russian people in general. They are a lot like us in many ways. The US blew it as far as Russia goes IMHO. When the Soviet Union crumbled we should have welcomed them to the free world with open arms and helped them in every way we could. If we had maybe Putin would not have gained so much power and we may have gained a powerful ally. Now he is a virtual dictator and his strongman style is appealing to a country struggling to create a national identity for itself in the world after their great fall.
I sometimes wonder if there was too much vested interest in keeping the cold war alive. Without a Soviet boogey man a lot of people may have lost their reason for existing...
He does kind of have the Mickey Mouse ear thing going. More like a rat?
The US doesn't necessarily hold the moral high ground on that score.
I think we've been better than Russia ever will. We're not perfect but I think we make an honest attempt to avoid civilian casualties. I didn't serve over there but that is the impression that I'm under.
Can you imagine what Russia or China would have done if they had a 9/11 and had the same military capabilities we do.
They haven't had much regard for human life in their past.
144.717 million lives later, along with a couple of other dictators.
http://popten.net/2010/05/top-ten-most-evil-dictators-of-all-time-in-order-of-kill-count/
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