Putin: Russian military organization needs steady advancement

[Nutmegger]

MOSCOW, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia's military organization requires steady improvement to meet current challenges, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a Kremlin ceremony appointing officers to higher positions.

"We can't help noticing that attempts to settle intentional disputes by force are continuing, or that the threat of conflicts between states, territories, the escalation of local conflicts and the spread of weapons of mass destruction remain problems," Putin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

"All this requires the steady improvement of the country's military organization, including the maintenance of high combat readiness for the nuclear deterrence forces," he said.

Supplying the army and navy with advanced weaponry is an indisputable priority, and 5 trillion rubles (190 billion U.S. dollars) are to be assigned for this purpose under the state program of armaments till 2015, he said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/09/content_5825218.htm

[draft_mario_cuomo]

1. Another example of Bush and co. making the world more dangerous

The Bush administration is helping ignite a new arms race with China and Russia. These two nations are not simply limiting their efforts to the military realm. Both nations are taking advantage of the United States' unprecedented low standing around the world and consequent weakness by making political inroads around the world--even in places that they could not have dreamed of having any significant influence during the Cold War. Just recently Russia's Putin visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan. Even at the height of the Soviet Union's power the thought of Moscow having influence in Saudi Arabia would have been laughable. This comes on the heels of Russia publicly stating that it is considering withdrawing from the 1987 INF treaty--using, much to their delight at the irony one presumes, the same rationale that Bush and Cheney used to justify withdrawing from the ABM treaty with Russia.

I do not consider these two nations enemies of the United States but they are potential adversaries. International affairs is to a large extent a zero-sum game, with the exception of working toward common goals through multilateral organizations. As they gain power, the United States' relative power declines.