President Putin of Russia is calling for a stronger armed forces--very soon--to thwart the evil plots of America and NATO (!!!) to alter the strategic balance:
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the country’s top brass on Wednesday to drastically upgrade the armed forces in the next few years as part of response to attempts by the United States and NATO to “tip the strategic balance” in the world.
In his address to Russia’s defense ministry and top military officials, Putin said Russia is witnessing “insistent attempts” to change that balance and complained about U.S. plans to create a new missile defense system in Europe and the potential expansion of NATO to former Soviet republics.
Seriously. So all the fuss we make about North Korean and Iranian nuclear plans is just a diabolically clever ploy--which Russia helps out (damn, we're good) by bolstering Iran's and North Korea's ability to resist our efforts to stop them from going nuclear--to build missile defenses to stop Russia from having the ability to nuke Europe and America?
And to expand NATO into ex-Soviet states (which part of ex-Soviet state is unclear, anyway?)
One can only hope that Putin is lucid enough to understand that China is the real threat to Russia, but that it is simply far safer to scare children and aging generals with tales of the scary American plots to undermine Russia, knowing full well that unlike China we won't retaliate for the threatening rhetoric.
And it might hurt the ego to ponder that we don't get worked up about a good shoe-pounding from a Russian leader any more. Ah, glory days, eh comrade?
But he might actually be capable of believing that rubbish.
Still, good luck with that fast plan to revive the Red Army. Russia has problems.
