Saturday, February 10, 2007

The U.S. is "very dangerous"

...says the Russian dictator- er, "President" of Russia.

From the Telegraph:




Vladimir Putin has described the United States as "very dangerous" and says its increased use of military force is creating a new arms race.

The Russian president, speaking at a conference of the world's top security officials, said: "The United States has overstepped its national borders in every way ... This is very dangerous, nobody feels secure any more because nobody can hide behind international law."

Delegates at the Munich conference on security policy included the Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, as well as more than 40 defence and foreign ministers from around the world. In the harshly critical speech, Putin also voiced concern about US plans to build a missile defence system in eastern Europe, probably Poland and the Czech Republic, and the expansion of NATO as possible challenges to Russia.

U.S. efforts around the globe have not always been wise or successful. However, American goals have at least been to support and expand democracy, free trade and egalitarian ideals. The same cannot be said for Russia, which exports nuclear technology and assistance to pariah states, enables their ambitions, and simultaneously erodes liberties at home.

Putin should bite his tongue and look at his own country's serious shortcoming before hypocritically criticizing others.

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