If Russia can foment some new crisis in a big oil-producing nation -- some proxy war in Saudi Arabia or something -- that can create new uncertainties in the commodity markets and drive back up the price of oil.
not bloody likely http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_of_Saudi_Arabia The Saudi armed forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة الملكية السعودية, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al Malakeeya as-Suʿūdiyyah) consists of the Saudi Arabian Army, the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Royal Saudi Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Defense, the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), and paramilitary forces, totaling over 200,000 active-duty personnel The army is composed of three armored brigades, five mechanized brigades, one airborne brigade, one Royal Guard brigade, and eight artillery battalions. The army also has one aviation command with two aviation brigades. 315 M–1A2 Abrams, 290 AMX–30, and 450 M60A3 main battle tanks; 300 reconnaissance vehicles; 570+ AMX–10P and 400 M–2 Bradley armored infantry fighting vehicles; 3,000+ M113 and 100 Al-Fahd armored personnel carriers, produced in Saudi Arabia; 200+ towed artillery pieces; 110 self-propelled artillery pieces; 60 multiple rocket launchers; 400 mortars; 10 surface-to-surface missiles; about 2,000 antitank guided weapons; about 200 rocket launchers; 450 recoilless launchers; 12 attack helicopters; 50+ transport helicopters; and 1,000 surface-to-air missiles. As of 2011, Saudi Arabia has around 300 combat aircraft. The kingdom's combat aircraft are newly acquired Eurofighter Typhoons and upgraded Tornado IDS, F-15 Eagle and F-15E Strike Eagle fighter planes. Saudi Arabia has a further 80+ F-15 Eagles on order and an option to buy another 72 Eurofighter Typhoons.
That is true but imagining that nothing has changed since the Wall fell and that Putin is Stalin or Breshnev is silly and only benefits the military industrial complex. The "Russkies" are not about to start WW III with nukes or invade Western Europe. They might start building more missiles to defeat the US moving missiles to their border with Uraine but again that is a desirable as it creates a need for us to deploy even more missiles.
Perhaps some of the older posters might remember when the military industrialists/ neo-cons were in a panic after the Berlin Wall fell as for awhile it looked like their might be a Peace Dividend and they just don't make the same return on government expenditures on health education and welfare for other folks' kids as they can make on weapons.
Except for the fact it is getting cold there I find myself in rare agreement with Santiago though he is probably afraid that despite the falling ruble the Russkies might steal his precious bodily fluids.
And there was no way that Imperial Japan would be stupid enough to attack a country with over 10 times their industrial capacity after the US shut down their oil, right? Assuming that Putin is going to be perfectly rational is in and of itself not rational. The world just does not work like that.
Ahh the venerable old: "he or they (Sadam Iran Putin the Russkies in general etc. etc.) so crazy" that I don't need to make any sort of rational argument. After all if someone is so crazy that they don't care if they turn their whole country into a parking lot who is to say and I don't need to mae a rational argument either. Never fails to satisfy some types I guess.
So will you change your own view when he doesn't? Please specify what will show that he has gone "bonkers". Note not doing what the US as evidenced in the mainstream media wants is not enough of an answer ; nor does making ordinary foreign policy or economic gaffes. As an aside when Bush and Cheney invaded Iraq (big time gaffe) did that mean that they had gone "bonkers" and therefore were on the verge of starting WW III with nukes or invading Russia or China? War criminals that they might be I would say: "no.".
I don't think Putin will go bonkers. This severely weakens him. He'll just have to repress his people even more. But who cares about that, right glynch? The communist paradise will rise again. Certain types cling to failed ideologies.
Hey he isn't a great democrat, and I don't cling to communist ideology, but we have enough real enemies around the world without trying to make more. It is just so silly to make him out as some sort of arch villain of historic proportions. I understand most just follow the mainstream media or even Fox which are largely in agreement that Putin is some sort of big villain. It just isn't so and it is just stupid that we had to overthrow the elected leader of the Ukraine inept as he was and expand NATO to threaten Russia needlessly.
I never said he was some arch villain. He's a product of his country. It's still dealing with the legacy of communism, and not very well.
I'm not entirely sure on the dynamics of this, but I think the worst "sanction" Americans could put forth would be to start exporting natural gas. Just a random idea, but I think it would totally cut out the legs from Russia.
Well, yeah. So why get so upset over it when there are many other larger problems. US inequality. Climate change. I really don't think that we love us some little Ukraines or Russkies that much. Besides they are better at solving their problems without our interference. Some folks think that it just a typical drive to dominate the world and we just want to pit the Euros vs the Russians to extend our influence. It is really hard to see why we provoked this crisis by getting involved in an internal conflict between Russian speaking and other Ukrainians.. In addition how is it that important or how does it benefit anyone if we accomplish our big goal of extending NATO and putting missiles on the Russian border?
That will take a few years. Infrastructure is still under construction. In a few years oil might already be up again.
Hmm, you're really upset that people are upset about Russia invading Ukraine. I never said I was upset. What's weirder, being upset about a country getting invaded? Or getting upset that other people are upset about a country getting invaded?
