US F18's intercept Russian Bombers

Russia got to where they are now by cutting their military and not confronting the west.

The US can easily start arming and training the Chechens. They would probably even hunt down Bin Laden for us if the price was right.

Southern Russia is ready to explode and the russians have negative demographics.

 

Yes, but Vlad got to where he is by playing tough guy. His domestic political strategy involves causing petty troubles for the West in an attempt to look tough to the locals.

Nationalism still has a lot of fans in Russia and Vlad knows how to play that tune very well.

 

Russia doesn't have the strength anymore. Almost the entire Warsaw Pact are now Nato members and Ukraine is trying to join Nato as well.

 

When you have nukes, you don't need allies.

 

The Russians don't have a lot of "friends" because there were so incredibly abusive of their "friends" in the past.

I was in Poland in 1998 and I tried to speak to a taxi driver in Russian. He understood me, but he went ballistic and told me never to speak Russian in Poland because other Poles would be likely to beat me to death for speaking Russian to them.

Needless to say, I stuck to English for the rest of that trip.

 

Japan wishes to reclaim the Kurile Islands, Finland dreams to retrieve the Karelian Isthmus, Germany has claims on East Prussia and Poland, Romania, Norway, Latvia and Estonia have territorial claims.

It's true the Russia doesn't have too many friends.

 

Manchuria is a big problem for Russia due to Chinese terroritoral claims. The terrority was taken from China and is rich in resources and cropland. Another problem for Russia are large numbers of Chinese immigrants pouring into relatively empty Outer Manchuria from crowded Inner Manchuria.

 

Great line. Feel free to swap in the names of other countries, and see how it still makes sense.

 

President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia may aim nuclear missiles at Ukraine if the Ukraine joins NATO

 

He'll aim them, to push around what little power he has.

He doesn't have the power to actually use them.

 

Aiming your missile at a target you can't strike isn't a show of power, it's a show of weakness.

If you aim a handgun at me and I know you won't use it, I'll walk over to you, punch you in the throat, and rip the handgun out of your hand.

Yes, and no one cares. You're making my point.

Iran has the will, but not the weapons (yet).

Several other countries probably belong on that list. Chechnya would happily nuke Moscow if it would convince the Russians to go away.

 

And this is based on what? A National Intelligence Estimate?

Iran not only halted it's weapons program, the Ayatollah has issued a fatwa against Nuclear Proliferation.

Stop fear mongering.

 

Blahahahahahaha... and Hitler said he only wanted peace.

 

You didn't answer the question.

Where did you get the information you used to form the opinion that Iran wants to use nukes?

 

Outer Manchuria is a big issue for Russia and they should concentrate on resolving that problem as well as its problems in Southern Russia before useless sabre rattling.