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5 Ways Russia's Ukraine "Boomerang" Could Strike
Submitted by Harry Kazianis via The Diplomat,
Last week Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that any sanctions introduced by Washington against Moscow will have a “boomerang” effect. And such a boomerang could have some oomph. What would such a boomerang look like? Here are five ways (beyond the one Ankit Panda pointed out last week) Putin could make life very difficult for America and its allies in Asia if tensions in Eastern Europe were to intensify and Russia sought to retaliate:
1. Russian Arms Sales to China go hog wild – Remember that deal that keeps floating around concerning Russian SU-35s and advanced conventional submarines to China? Even if things don’t get worse in Ukraine, I think we can consider that a done deal now. But, heck, why stop there! If Washington wants to keep upping the ante in Ukraine it might be a great time for Moscow to expand its dealings with China to levels never seen. Remember all that talk about hypersonic weapons in January? Since both nations are pursing such weapons, why not share the costs and the spoils? It seems 5th generation fighters aren’t easy for anyone to craft these days—so why not a joint Russo-Sino development project? If things were to get really nasty, and Russia decided to pull out of the INF treaty, maybe it’s time Moscow and Beijing exchange notes on all those lovely A2/AD weapons systems we like to talk about here on Flashpoints? I could go on and on. The bottom line: If Russia wanted to make things hard for America in Asia at a time when its defense budget is shrinking, here is an easy way to do it.
2. Moscow goes all in on natural resource sales to Beijing – While large deals were announced late last year, China would love to purchase as much Russian oil, natural gas and any other natural resources it could get its hands on. While issues of price have slowed or halted other deals in the past, Russia this time might be a little more flexible, especially if it were to halt or slow sales to Ukraine or Western Europe. China clearly wins in such a deal as it would become less reliant on sea-borne natural resources imports that could be disrupted if things with America were to go really south.
3. Russian Arms Sales to Iran, Rebooted - While any analysis here must factor in P5+1 negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear deal, Moscow could seek to make trouble for Washington and its allies by rebooting arms sales to Iran. With Russia and Iran already trying to work out the aftermath of an aborted sale of the S-300 air defense system, Putin may decide to put the system back on the table for Iran. In fact, he may even suggest selling Tehran the more advanced S-400 system. Consider this: if nuclear negotiations fail and Iran fears an attack by the West over its nuclear facilities, Russia could be in position to supply all the weapons it needs to make such an attack even more complicated than it would already be.
4. Syria: Give Assad all the arms he wants: While Russia may have offered an unlikely solution to the chemical weapons crisis of last summer, the U.S. and its allies should expect nothing from Moscow if Putin’s boomerang comes lunging back at them. Putin could easily begin sending even more arms to his allies in Syria, raising the stakes and a death toll that is already reaching epic if not historic proportions. While it may be hard to envision Russia being able to completely turn the tide with Assad winning a clear victory, Moscow could certainly change the calculus if it decided to go all in and arm Syria to the teeth.
5. The Death of the Pivot/Rebalance: So say tensions in Eastern Europe were to escalate even further with Russia formally annexing Crimea or worse—Russia taking large sections of Eastern Ukraine. It does not seem out of the question that Washington would be forced to consider beefing up its security commitments in Europe. While additional forces could certainly move into the region as a deterrent to further Russia troublemaking, missile defense plans scuttled in the past could be re-crafted, and U.S. naval power could make a strong comeback. All this comes at a price however. Unless the U.S. were to increase its defense spending which, short of a shooting war I consider unlikely, American forces, already stretched thin to begin with, would be even more strained. Washington may simply have no choice but to reconsider its mighty pivot/rebalance to Asia. Add in the fact that a senior defense department official may have put the final coffin in it anyway– stating that “right now, the pivot is being looked at again, because candidly it can’t happen”– one more nail for good measure thanks to Russia would certainly seal its fate.
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More than Israel the key point is oil reserves, oil routes, and oil market in $.
But for sure the "United States CENTRAL command" (CENTCOM) logo or seal is rather clear :
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Seal_of_United_...
#6. China is the number 1, and Russia number 11 foreign holders of U.S. debt. U.S. will have to blink first, or risk having our miserable debt flood bond markets, spiking interest rates, ruining our fragile "economy". It has been decided that It is time for the world to leave the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency.
Not impressed
Hmm... war. Predicted outcome of economic disaster created by bankers and politicians. And everyone picking sides. Even worse is the false sense of choice. Obama vs Putin. History repeats because people are fucking stupid.
Hey ZH asshats, how about some focus here? How about how the MSM refers to our leaders as a political "class?" Guess who approved that shit? How do you feel about that? NWO my ass... it is right here in your stupid, fat face. Obama is a distraction. Someone to hate (or love). Smoke and mirrors you idiots. Putin is no different. Turd versus douchebag.
This place need a fucking wake up call.
Seriously doubt by the time it is all said and done, the defence budget is reduced by anyover 5 years time. This conviently happened just in time for the next budget negotiation. Lots of hot air.... the industrial-military complex has our politicians in their back pocket and they do what ever Blackwater or XE or what ever they are now and Boing and LM and Sarkowsky helicopters.... not to mention that homeland security has more ammo than the rest of the world times 20 stashed away to "protect" us in our little fema cages..........
Oh yeah - and where did the smart-ass Tyler commentary go?
Has ZH been bought? Threatened? WTF?
Lord Balfour in 1913 gave Palestine and USA to Zionists, out of Palestine zionists made 'israel', out of the USA zionists made a money-tree, and the worlds largest mercenary army and prison/MIL complex in world history.
Today Palestine & USA are prisons. Where the inhabitants are miserable, and policing costs are out of control, time for a MAJOR fucking CULLING, in Palestine & USA.
It's time now for Lord Balfour to give the Zionists Europe, and tomorrow China/Russia.
*
USA/Palestine have been devoured by the Beast(ZIO), now the beast is devouring EUROPE, but from the east rather than west,
CHINA/RUSSIA should pay careful attention, for they are the next targets.
Another false flag... like the Brady bunch reruns... getting old. If Obunga really had any nutsack, he would default on all Russian and Chinese bond holdings, before they are inevitably dumped. Big help for our national debt, bring all the mfg jobs home, no more Most favored nation for the slants... tell Iran back down or ride the nukes... ditto ROK... let's do the isolationist thing for a decade while the world economy melts down... impeach the fraud and get our strength back...
Zio's engineered WW1, & WW2, and left their GIMP the USA has last man standing to make auto's and fridges and that lasted about 20 years, and that was the only time in history that the USA was great.
It ain't coming back, and even isolation ain't bringing it back,
Say high-tech post 1970's, if not for the ASIAN, there would be no microsoft, oracle, or anything.
The WHITE hairlip IQ in the USA has dropped below 100, from METH & TV, the future of the USA is dismal.
Prepare for gold-mine repos. Centerra, Petropavlovsk and other western interests, beware.
Show & Tell
The Public Be Suckered
http://patrick.net/forum/?p=1230886
6. Gold hockey stick rips through $1500 (remember 1979 and Russians in Afghanistan) only this time it's th EU/US/NATO in the bear trap. good luck guys.
The biggest long-term geopolitical threat to Russia is China. China is running low on resources, drinkable water and livable space. Chinese move in thousands to Russia's Siberia and Far East, outnumbering local population. Chenese lease Russian land to grow crops, overwhelming locals with Chinese domination in the region where land leases are permitted. China and Russia had skimmirshes over border regions, which stopped only due to the Russian threat to use nuclear arms. Today, China posses nuclear arms, has larger and better equipped army (since late 1990s every year Russia sold more advanced arms to China than Russian millitary itsef recieved), has stronger economy, more people, industrial complex (unlike Russia that runs on remrants of the industry built in 1970s). The most commonly accepted development forecast is that China annexes bigger part of Siberia and Far East within the next 25 years, piece by piece. Many people in Russia understand it. So yes, Russia will divert its arms sales and its resources to strengthen China (points #1 and #2). Whoever wrote the piece, has no idea what they are talking about.
Hey, sounds plausible, but I really think at this point in time, what with the US/Japan excursions in the region, that Russia and China have more in common, than China and US. Thanks to the efforts of the Fed Res and the TBTF banks, America is no longer the consumer powerhouse it once was, and it only looks to get worse with this set of morons running the show.
So, I really see a stronger relationship between Russia and China developing out of this, rather than otherwise.
>>>Russia and China have more in common, than China and US.
Perhaps a "Zimmermann Telegram" from US to China would be received with interest.
According to the survey, the majority of Russians believe Russia and China another U.S. enemy Russia. Russians believe that Siberia may belong to China in the future. But Siberia can not belong to the United States, ever.
Dude Russian Far East is a tough place to live, its like Canada (but worse weather), all the population centers are along border with China where weather is warmest. The Chinese get what they want which is the Oil and Gas via pipelines. They could spread to much nicer weather into Burma etc. They are much more powerful and can muscle into southeast asia where there is no Russia and the weather is much better. Australia is a nice target as is Papua New Guinea (oil there also and very sparsely populated with Aussie providing defense but wait till Chinese move in with business and numbers go up, heck Indonesia took half of it by military action in the 60s). The Chinese will infiltrate slowly and build up their numbers in the south before they do it north. Nobody likes Crappy Weather. Plus women down south in larger numbers for Chinese guys (and they know the Russian gals are expensive and hard to afford).
No no no you are wrong. Zero Hedge is a about bashing America ONLY! Everyone else in the world is just a victim of U.S.
Please stop making sense..
Russia has 36 YAK-130 on hold for Syria.
Russia has 24 MiG-29M2 on hold for Syria. It's the latest and modernized version that resembles MiG-35.
And here's why F-22 and F-35 sucks.
WOW a lot of useful idiots here. You really should educate yourselves on Easern-Europe and Russian relations. Those of you who see this as anything but a invasion started by Russia are blinded by your hatred of Obama. Something tells me ZH is the place where the bitte McDonalds workers of the world come to complain. Libertarians ? I can't see any here..
WOW a lot of useful idiots here. You really should educate yourselves on Easern-Europe and Russian relations. Those of you who see this as anything but a invasion started by Russia are blinded by your hatred of Obama. Something tells me ZH is the place where the bitte McDonalds workers of the world come to complain. Libertarians ? I can't see any here..