Date published: 2008/02/08
The BBC says:
Russia's President Vladimir Putin says the world is engaged in a new arms race and Nato is failing to accommodate Russia's concerns.
In a nationally-televised speech, he condemned Nato's expansion and the US plan to include Poland and the Czech Republic in a missile defence shield.
"It is already clear that a new phase in the arms race is unfolding in the world," Mr Putin said.
"It is not our fault, because we did not start it," he said.
All pretty obvious stuff, but of course it will if anything have the opposite effect of what is allegedly intended. The messianic nutters running America would be happy for an arms race (more corporate welfare for their friends). Further they will take any words from Putin as an alleged slight on their manhood, so will re-double their effort. After all, you don't want to appear to be "weak". They blew a trillion dollars on destroying Iraq just to prove they were "tough", with very little to show for it except for a (no doubt short-lived) theft of rights to Iraqi oil. They'll be perfectly happy to blow another N billion dollars on a "defence" system in Europe.
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