Thursday, October 06, 2011

Birds of a Feather

We're upset with Russia and China over their veto of a UN Security Council resolution to punish the Assad regime over their continuing killing campaign to suppress opposition:

The United States says it is "outraged" by a veto by Russia and China of a draft UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria over its crackdown on antigovernment protesters.

And Russia is whining that they might not be able to nuke European targets:

Russia said on Thursday moves by the United States to create a NATO-wide missile shield could undermine its security, ramping up criticism of the project following a new deal that will see U.S. anti-missile warships deployed on the Spanish coast.

The agreement with Spain "cannot fail to cause concern," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It said the deployment would represent a "significant increase in U.S. anti-missile capabilities in the European zone."
Would someone please ask the Russians why it is so important to maintain their ability to nuke Europe? And why our recent START treaty that ignored Russia's large theater nuclear arsenal doesn't give them that capability?

As for China, let's just mention North Korea and leave it at that for now.

Ah, the fruits of "reset" and "engagement!" We may have to conclude that Russia and China support sons of bitches because they are themselves sons of bitches.

I hasten to add that this doesn't mean that war with either is likely (or desirable). But we should approach our relationships with a clearer vision of what both do in the international arena and keep our powder dry.