First Of A Kind
For over a year now, I've read, daily a range of analyses on matters of geopolitical interest, from the Intelligence Provider, STRATFOR. This post is the first of it's kind, which would allow individuals who wish to read this excellent reporting source, a chance to do so. I personally have found the data that's analyzed from the "pages of STRATFOR," to be excellent in nature. As a former political science major @ first, Indiana University (Bloomington), and second, the University of Oregon (Eugene), Bachelor's of Science, University of Oregon, I enjoy understanding more about our geopolitical world.
My primary interest is not the former Soviet Union, or even, modern Russia. It is, nonetheless, important to understand the START Treaty renewal process. The Republican Party has clearly, in many cases, worked diligently to embarrass the President, and weaken his position on a complete broad front, by attacking almost anything he has proposed on just about anything. The reduction of nuclear arms of any kind is worth the effort to assess THEIR value in a post-modern world. Recent admissions made in a Wall Street Journal article, repeated in the Washington Post, show that the Chinese military effort of modernization resembles a "Paper Tiger," in some respects, because the article pointed out ... the Chinese haven't been successful in equipping their own People's Liberation Army Air Force w/modern jet engines.
In fact, the article pointed out, they have had to buy sophisticated jet engines developed & manufactured, by the Russians. If this is the case, after a massive 50 year effort to become a dominant Global military power, that reduces the image of some 800-pound gorilla in the Far East. After all, jet engines are not hunter-killer satellites. The Chinese have, apparently, built the latter, which would seem to be a sophisticated engineering & development program. If they could accomplish that, why not build a simple jet engine for a state-of-the-art tactical weapons system?
At this point, I do not know personally, if these statements are valid. What I do know is that when I read this analysis that apparently represents a true assessment of China's military "might," it took me by surprise. It's Russia, post-U.S.S.R. collapse, that seems to have a broad capability to regain tactical & strategic power vis a vis the United States, not China. Russia President Vladimir Putin is a former KGB Colonel. He's no dunderhead. And he has clearly initiated a massive effort to regain prestige for Russia, now that the U.S.S.R. has collapsed.
The press is loaded w/comments about the Chinese Communist Party's ability to become a superpower in the Far East, almost withou any flaws in the argument. A Superpower should be able to build engines for the most up-to-date jet fighter. China can't do it. Russia can. This suggests that while the Chinese rush to attain Superpower status is all the rage, the Russians are cxapable of rearming themselves in a way so as to intimidate the former S.S.R.'s, of Eastern Europe. This could weaken NATO, and could have serious implications for all of Europe, if Russia under Putin elects to once again, become bellicose, & dominating, through military power.
STRATFOR provides me w/excellent research and analysis of the complexities of the geopolitical 21st Century. A few friends & readers of "hikingapacheria.com" may appreciate this as a service. Therefore, I've added this statement of "authorship" for STRATFOR, as I best understand those requirements.
Coming back to President Obama, then, & his insistence on the "renewed" negotiations for START II, I support our President in this endeavor. Anything that is not foolish, but accredited as being valid and worthwhile by various Democrat & Republican administrations, is clearly a valid move to protect American citizens. Behind that, negotiating and approving through the Senate this new treaty, opens our own modernization process & manufacture of updated tactical & strategic systems.
There is always a possibility that the world could see a nuclear war through tragic mistake. The world may have breathed a sigh of relief when the Soviet Union collapsed, but the Russian KGB colonel who is the President of the Russian Republic, is still a dangerous man. He has Superpower capabilities behind him. It is important to continue to work to reduce the possibilities of nuclear war, with Russia, with China. I hope to refer to accredit STRATFOR analyses in the future, because I respect the objectivity STRATFOR utilizes most often in it's analyses. It is not a mouth piece for the Republican OR Democrat Parties.
It is tremendously worthwhile to me to have a balanced provider of geopolitical information rather than receiving all this data & detail through clearly tainted, partisan think tanks. It's for that reason that I hope to shift these postings to my blog, and also, to my website, under "What's Jerry Up To?"
Making Sense of the START Debate is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
My primary interest is not the former Soviet Union, or even, modern Russia. It is, nonetheless, important to understand the START Treaty renewal process. The Republican Party has clearly, in many cases, worked diligently to embarrass the President, and weaken his position on a complete broad front, by attacking almost anything he has proposed on just about anything. The reduction of nuclear arms of any kind is worth the effort to assess THEIR value in a post-modern world. Recent admissions made in a Wall Street Journal article, repeated in the Washington Post, show that the Chinese military effort of modernization resembles a "Paper Tiger," in some respects, because the article pointed out ... the Chinese haven't been successful in equipping their own People's Liberation Army Air Force w/modern jet engines.
In fact, the article pointed out, they have had to buy sophisticated jet engines developed & manufactured, by the Russians. If this is the case, after a massive 50 year effort to become a dominant Global military power, that reduces the image of some 800-pound gorilla in the Far East. After all, jet engines are not hunter-killer satellites. The Chinese have, apparently, built the latter, which would seem to be a sophisticated engineering & development program. If they could accomplish that, why not build a simple jet engine for a state-of-the-art tactical weapons system?
At this point, I do not know personally, if these statements are valid. What I do know is that when I read this analysis that apparently represents a true assessment of China's military "might," it took me by surprise. It's Russia, post-U.S.S.R. collapse, that seems to have a broad capability to regain tactical & strategic power vis a vis the United States, not China. Russia President Vladimir Putin is a former KGB Colonel. He's no dunderhead. And he has clearly initiated a massive effort to regain prestige for Russia, now that the U.S.S.R. has collapsed.
The press is loaded w/comments about the Chinese Communist Party's ability to become a superpower in the Far East, almost withou any flaws in the argument. A Superpower should be able to build engines for the most up-to-date jet fighter. China can't do it. Russia can. This suggests that while the Chinese rush to attain Superpower status is all the rage, the Russians are cxapable of rearming themselves in a way so as to intimidate the former S.S.R.'s, of Eastern Europe. This could weaken NATO, and could have serious implications for all of Europe, if Russia under Putin elects to once again, become bellicose, & dominating, through military power.
STRATFOR provides me w/excellent research and analysis of the complexities of the geopolitical 21st Century. A few friends & readers of "hikingapacheria.com" may appreciate this as a service. Therefore, I've added this statement of "authorship" for STRATFOR, as I best understand those requirements.
Coming back to President Obama, then, & his insistence on the "renewed" negotiations for START II, I support our President in this endeavor. Anything that is not foolish, but accredited as being valid and worthwhile by various Democrat & Republican administrations, is clearly a valid move to protect American citizens. Behind that, negotiating and approving through the Senate this new treaty, opens our own modernization process & manufacture of updated tactical & strategic systems.
There is always a possibility that the world could see a nuclear war through tragic mistake. The world may have breathed a sigh of relief when the Soviet Union collapsed, but the Russian KGB colonel who is the President of the Russian Republic, is still a dangerous man. He has Superpower capabilities behind him. It is important to continue to work to reduce the possibilities of nuclear war, with Russia, with China. I hope to refer to accredit STRATFOR analyses in the future, because I respect the objectivity STRATFOR utilizes most often in it's analyses. It is not a mouth piece for the Republican OR Democrat Parties.
It is tremendously worthwhile to me to have a balanced provider of geopolitical information rather than receiving all this data & detail through clearly tainted, partisan think tanks. It's for that reason that I hope to shift these postings to my blog, and also, to my website, under "What's Jerry Up To?"
Making Sense of the START Debate is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
posted by skyminder at
1:14 AM
3 Comments:
So Jerry, Russia is NOT our friend. What is the logic of DECREASING our nuclear capability's?One of the peculilarity's of the left is making decision's based on "what they would LIKE the world to be..Not what it really IS..
I hardly see Russia as a friend. I think the point I made was that while the internet & certainly, cable news like CNBC, suggest China's already a Superpower in all areas, if China has to go to Russia to purchase the most sophisticated jet engines for it's aircraft, after 50+ years of working on a manufacturing base that can produce any kind of weapons system it wants ... & hasn't gotten there, it's not yet a TRUE Superpower.
Russia, after sinking into profound depths of corruption & soul stink, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has "come back" in many ways. It's certain that Putin is a more aggressive, edgy leader than I'd like to see in Russia.
The offensive Putin's undertaken lately, to show the "power" Russia has, is disturbing. Obviously, if the Russians can, w/out much effort, produce high quality jet engines, & they're selling them to China, that's potentially a very big problem. If those two nations ever put their forces together, we've got serious problems.
Russia, therefore, has some more limited possibilities of challenging the U.S. across the Board. We KNOW the Russians possess a nuclear arsenal that could take out the entire U.S. in a nuclear exchange. We don't know that about the Chinese. The Chinese PLA Navy is certainly NOT an equivalent Superpower force v. the U.S. The Russian Navy may no longer be, either. However, if the Russian leadership became even more authoritarian, & forced it's citizens to produce ... or else ... they might be able to present a far more serious threat to us, globally, than the Chinese.
I'm not a friend of Russia.
I think Russia's more aggressive moves as well as China's, have been stepped up in tempo because the U.S. is now on a trajectory to remove a large combat force from South Asia, & the Middle East, "Hub Of Islam," in Afghanistan, & Iraq, respectively.
WE need to make more sweeping diplomatic & economic agreements w/India, as a counter to Chinese belligerence. WE should also set a standard that dictates that, any nation we wish to cooperate w/on many levels, must allow it's citizens the fundamental freedom of an uncensored "google" of any subject under God's Green earth.
India's closer to that, by a long stretch, than China. I do not know what Russian citizens can do so far as unfettered google searches. I think there's not really much intrusion by the State on that front, but I'd be surprised if there weren't serious surveillance of who is posting what on the Internet, in Russia.
Hence: let's find ways to establish business partnerships more w/: India; Sri Lanka; South Africa; Botswana; Brazil; Australia; New Zealand; Japan & certainly South Korea; Singapore if they allow unfettered internet access. Such nations offer another massive market for U.S. goods, and we need to slowly establish these relationships while distancing ourselves from China.
China will not yield any time soon on unfettered access to the Internet. So be it. Let's make our own moves to withdraw from such an arrangement gradually, and allow them to be what they are: an authoritarian state in the process of dramatic change ... hopefully, in their own way, toward greater personal freedom for their people.
Jerry, it's completely irrational to be degrading any of our armnements during these times of uncertainy.It simply makes no sense..Like a typical Leftie, you don't understand Human nature. The leaders of China and Russia ONLY recognize and respect STRENGTH.
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