A noble thought but unlikely
In the wake of the massacre of Beslan, Russia has threatened to strike terrorist bases anywhere in the world. This is a noble thought, BUT I doubt the terrorists are quaking in their burkas.
Unlike the US military, the Russia military is a hollow shell of itself. In order to strike at terrorists "anywhere in the world", you need a military that has the ability to deploy "anywhere in the world". There are basically only two militaries (the US and UK) that are robust enough to deploy troops anywhere in the world. The Ukraine (thanks to all that Soviet-era hardware), Australia and France (maybe) also have the ability to "self"-deploy, but Russia? Don't hold your breath.
I predict that if push ever came to shove, we would see the Russkies asking the US for a helping hand. It looks as if the war on terror has caught a number of countries with their pants down around their collective ankles.
posted by The Great El-ahrairah @ 13:40
2 comments
2 Comments:
True, the Russians can't do much beyond their borders (other than shower nukes on terrorist training camps, which I am sure Putin has seriously considered) but they can provide the US with alot of moral support, especially in the Security Council, where with Britain, the US could outflank the French and Chinese.
Also, don't underestimate the ability of the Russians to "go Soviet" with the terrorists. And Putin is going to do his darndest to help Bush win the election now; Kerry would be less supportive of an "aggressive, unilateral" Russia.
I'm not so worried about them "going Soviet" on terrorists, I'm kind of leary of the Russkies and their moral support. I am afraid that we will see the difference between what the US did in Afghanistan and Iraq to get terrorists (low civilian casualties) and what the Russkies will do (carpet bombing). The left will start whining about this and push either Kerry or Bush to condemn the killing of innocent civilians. This will probably turn out like the classic example of terrorists provoking a military response that kills numerous civilians and pretty well turns the whole country and the UN against the Russkies. If Putin wants to help Bush, he should wait until after the election to bring out the bulldozers.
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