U.S. concerned by Russian arms sales to Iran, Syria

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

By David Brunnstrom
24 minutes ago

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States expressed concern on Wednesday
about Russia's arms sales to Iran, Syria and Venezuela and accused Moscow
of bullying its neighbors.

Speaking in Brussels before talks with EU officials, U.S. Assistant Secretary
of State David Kramer welcomed Russian cooperation on issues such as
counter-terrorism and the nuclear crises with Iran and North Korea and
Middle East tensions.

But he also highlighted what Washington saw as negative aspects of
Russian policy complicating post-Cold War relations.

-snip-

"We have serious concerns about Russian arms sales to states we feel
countries should not be engaging, such as Iran, such as Syria and also
... Venezuela as well."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070321/ts_nm/russia_eu_dc_1

[TayTay]

1. US looks to sell arms in Gulf -- Boston Globe 3/21/07

Congressional OK needed
By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff | March 21, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The State Department and the Pentagon are quietly seeking congressional approval for significant new military sales to US allies in the Persian Gulf region. The move is part of a broader American strategy to contain Iranian influence by strengthening Iran's neighbors and signaling that the United States is still a strong military player in the Middle East, despite all the difficulties in Iraq.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts But the arms sales, which would come on top of a recent upgrade of US Patriot antimissile interceptors in Qatar and Kuwait and the deployment of two aircraft carriers to the Gulf, could spark concerns that further military buildup in the volatile region would bring Washington closer to a confrontation with Iran.

Senior US officials have been tight-lipped in public about what systems they hope to sell, citing the need to get congressional support for the measure first and skittishness among Arab allies that don't want the publicity. Current and former US officials and analysts familiar with the discussions say items under consideration include sophisticated air and missile defense systems, advanced early warning radar aircraft that could detect low-flying missiles, and light coastal combat ships that could sweep the Gulf for mines and help gather underwater intelligence.

The arms sales are a Cold War-style geopolitical maneuver designed to isolate Iran by arming its neighbors against a perceived common threat.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/03/21/us_looks_to_sell_arms_in_gulf_to_try_to_contain_iran/

[Tempest]

2. If nothing else...

This administration are hypocrites.

[nolabels]

4. I square this with most tripe analysis from corporate press is just that.

Most of it is produced to mislead and confuse the public or is just as mislead and confused it's self.

The best thing to do if you have to read it is to read it from back to front.


Moscow denies giving Tehran nuclear ultimatum
Iranian state television slams russia as 'unreliable partner' in building power plant
(snip)
Sergei Novikov, a spokesman for Rosatom, Russia's Federal Nuclear Power Agency, confirmed that the number of Russian workers at the Bushehr plant had recently decreased because of what he said were Iranian payment delays. He would not say how many had left.

Iran, which denies falling behind in payments, was furious, convinced Russia was now using the claim of financial arrears as a pretext to increase pressure for it to heed the council.

"Double standard stances by Russian officials regarding Iran's nuclear issue shows that Russians are not a reliable partner in the field of nuclear cooperation," Iranian state television said Tuesday in a commentary. It said politics, not technical issues, were the reason behind the delay.

Meanwhile, Germany and China urged rapid approval of the UN draft resolution that would impose new sanctions on Iran. - Agencies
(snip)

[madrchsod]

3. bush has restored the russian influence in the middle east

it`s the restoration of the old soviet -american cold war played out in the middle east....way to go george!

[Supersedeas]

5. what....just exercising laissez faire economics in the Defense sector