Mike,
These two statements do not got together.
Dave,
Nato is obsolete. The Europeans are more than capable of taking care of themselves, considering that they are collectively much richer, more technologically advanced, and more populous than Russia. I also doubt very seriously that Russia has the resources or inclination to do more than nibble around the edges, if that.
Attacking Iran would be really dumb, and it is a very serious concern of mine. The Iran deal was about the only major initiative of Obama's that I really liked, and breaking it would be mind-numbingly foolish and likely to lead to very serious blowback, and not just in the Middle East. A land war in Iran, a naval conflict with China, and a failure to improve relations with Russia (exacerbated by the former) is pretty much the definition of my failure state for this administration.
As for the "Siberian Candidate" speculation, in the absence of actual evidence it is not my default hypothesis.
Quote:It seems to be that Chinese hegemony would be much more acceptable to the Russian than American hegemony.
Quote:China borders Russia, a land-based great power with an enormous nuclear arsenal, and India, with a population roughly similar it is own. China does not have the luxury of friendly neighbors allowing them to focus on power projection. They will have to remain a considerable land power.
These two statements do not got together.
Dave,
Nato is obsolete. The Europeans are more than capable of taking care of themselves, considering that they are collectively much richer, more technologically advanced, and more populous than Russia. I also doubt very seriously that Russia has the resources or inclination to do more than nibble around the edges, if that.
Attacking Iran would be really dumb, and it is a very serious concern of mine. The Iran deal was about the only major initiative of Obama's that I really liked, and breaking it would be mind-numbingly foolish and likely to lead to very serious blowback, and not just in the Middle East. A land war in Iran, a naval conflict with China, and a failure to improve relations with Russia (exacerbated by the former) is pretty much the definition of my failure state for this administration.
As for the "Siberian Candidate" speculation, in the absence of actual evidence it is not my default hypothesis.