Here is an interesting news item from Fox News that I stumbled upon:
MOSCOW — President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that Russia and its ex-Soviet allies want to help the United States stabilize Afghanistan, saying Moscow wanted "full-fledged" cooperation with Washington.
He spoke a day after the ex-Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan announced it would evict the U.S. from an air base key to the Afghan war. Kyrgyzstan made the move after getting a promise for $2 billion in loans from Russia — which resents the American presence in a region Moscow regards as part of its traditional sphere of influence.
The possibility of the base closure poses a serious challenge to the new U.S. administration and President Barack Obama's plan to send up to 30,000 more American forces into Afghanistan this year.
"Russia and other (alliance members) are ready for full-fledged comprehensive cooperation with the United States and other coalition members in fighting terrorism in the region. This fight must be comprehensive and include both military and political components. Only in the case will this have a chance to succeed," Medvedev said.
It was not clear if Medvedev's reference to "full-fledged" cooperation was an attempt to reassure Washington or an indication that Moscow would seek concessions in exchange for helping keep the Manas air base open.
Read it all. There were some news stories back in late 2001 - early 2002 about the Russians helping us in Afghanistan. It was all believable back then. But then Russia started being a pain in the ass. It is very hard to trust them. They always have some strange angle. At the same time, it is in their interests to be our allies, in my opinion. After all, they have their own problems with the islamists. But the idiots dreaming of Russia's greatness might screw up the life for us and them.
Powered by Qumana
No comments:
Post a Comment