Khamenei and Putin agree to mutual defense pact

Some fascinating political analysis here: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IJ26Ak06.html

On the plus side, it appears Ahmadinejad won't be starting WWIII any time soon. The question is, will Bush? I don't even want to contemplate what might happen if Giuliani is elected, because I'm about 95% certain he IS crazy enough to do it.

Howzabout an Israeli attack on Iran?

it would be funny as hell if the Iranians get the bomb and give it to the Chechnyians who use it.

Oh, there goes the Archduke...

Why should we care about that scenario?

I just think it would be funny. Russia gives the Iranians the room to build the bomb and they give it to someone who proptly uses it against the Russians.

That's as it should be.

Of course, were Iran to do that, Russia would destroy them so thoroughly it wouldn't even be funny. Plus, seeing as Iran doesn't consider Russia to be the Great Satan, it'd be pretty dumb of them to do so.

This is why Clancy doesn't write any more. The world finally got stranger than his stories.

Is he an illegal alien?

So, if Iran nukes a NATO country or any US ally, we get to nuke Russia?

No wonder Cassandra thinks all conservatives are bloodthirsty devils.

Yes, but they'll nuke us back, so it's a bad idea.

Hmmmm....


From like a week ago, from the thread "Re: Tehran conference Redux: will it end in a mutual defense pact?"...

Tis what happens when a nation gives its word.

Dunno about "mutual defense", but I wouldn't be surprised if Russia had agreed to assist Iran in the event of it being attacked. China too.

I regard this as good news (within the context of a bad situation).

The US has now too much to loose by attacking Iran; Iran in turn has too much to loose if they attack anyone, risking the support of their new Big Brother. That's less chance for war, more chance for peace, and that means time. In Iran, time works in our favour, especially if ties with a mainly secular nation such as Russia can further strengthen the secular factions in Iran.

an uneasy peace but peace nonetheless

I guess it was bound to happen eventually, Russia just can't stop hating us.

I predict that strategy will bite Russia in the ass long before it ever gets to us.

How so?

While dictatorial and moving ever Stalininst, Russia can be seen as fairly rational. Religious fundamentalists are rarely so reliable.

So the Iranians are going to stop spreading Islamofascism to the ex-Soviet bloc countries? Methinks this is going to get interesting.

I'm not convinced that's going to be a problem actually... Khamenei, not Ahmadinejad, will have the nuclear suitcase. I think it's very possible he's a modern-day Stalin, minus the famines, and somewhat saner economically (since it appears he hasn't been happy with the Keynesian Ahmadinejad), in that he'd sell out the spread of Islamic fundamentalism to protect Iran, the way Stalin sold out international communism to protect Russia*.

Probably the biggest thing we have to fear is Khamenei dying, and someone more like Ahmadinejad becoming Supreme Leader.

*and if you don't believe that on the face of it, look at how Russia treated Finland vs. Poland and Czechoslovakia vs. China and Yugoslavia and Greece. They rebuffed China and Yugoslavia, when they could have helped spread the Russian brand of communism, and let Grecian communism fail completely. When Finland went communist, the Red Army withdrew. But when Poland and CZ looked like they might become a threat to Russia, it brutally crushed the resistance.

Did you send your humor out to get dry cleaned today?

Lots of fun!

So be it. The Eastern bloc is no longer under Russian control.

Nor should it be under ours. We have no business there, whether they want us to pay for their defense or not.

I was going to say something in response to Packard's guarded optimism from six hours ago, but I forget exactly what. Something along the lines of how it is great if things work out the way he's seeing it. Not so much if this is a "peace in our time" stalling measure on the part of Iran, with Russia in the role of Chamberlain.

But I got distracted by the picture of Putin. I couldn't help thinking that it is too bad James Bond is an orphan, because otherwise he could be worked in for a cameo as Bond's dad in the next Daniel Craig movie.

Do we really know if Bond is an orphan?

The British Secret Service could have just covered up the awful truth...

To whit:

Putin: Comrade M never told you what happened to your father.
Bond: She told me enough. She told me you killed him.
Putin: No. *I* am your father.
Bond: That's not true! That's impossible!
Putin: Search your dossier. You know this to be true.
Bond: NOOOOO!!!!!