Putin's Iran trip in doubt after report of planned assassination attempt by suicide bombers

"a move that would badly strain Moscow's relations with Tehran."

...as long as Iranian oil flows to Russia and Russian weapons flow to Iran....any "strain of relationship" will be minimal...

The fact that there may actually be a jihadist willing to bump off Vladimir Putrid shows how jihad extremism is like obesity: There's always someone fatter.
Here's a guy who supplies nuclear technology to Iran, advanced weapons to Syria, hobnobs with Hamas and makes sure Hezbollah has only the best, and he's being targeted by jihadis? Maybe those are jewhadis instead.
Remember the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact? Russo-Nazis to the end.

In a few years this guy will be leading one of the biggest muslim armies in the world

BBC reporting that the visit will go ahead..

Putin and Ahmadinejad. Has there been such an ugly pair of political bedfellows since Hitler and Stalin?

Hurray for islam !

What has it produced ?

An inexhaustable supply of mindless jihadis.

Way to go, death cult.

"Has there been such an ugly pair of political bedfellows since Hitler and Stalin?

Posted by: waterdragon52 "

.....Deng Xiaoping and Pol Pot....

OT and VERY IMPORTANT:

PEOPLE - PLEASE READ THIS EDITORIAL BY DAVID HOROWITZ CALLED "WHO'S AFRAID OF ISLAMO-FASCISM AWARENESS WEEK" APPEARING TODAY IN THE COLUMBIA "SPECTATOR."

YOU MUST READ!!! THANKS, DARCY

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/27440#comment-8027

I think JewDog is correct. Russia is the best friend--pretty much the only friend--that Iran has in the region. It is also a friend willing to sell them equipment and expertise for their "peaceful" nuclear scheme.

So what is this all about? Is it Russia's actions in Chechnya? Or is it just the chance to murder a high-profile Kaffir?

And it would "anger" Tehran if Putin were to cancel the trip? They certainly know how to treat their allies. Shades of the Hitler/Stalin non-agression pact indeed.

Thanks for the link, Darcy.

Great letter from Mr. Horowitz. I've noticed that there are no comments from the 5th column... yet.

Russia has far more to gain from unsettlement in Iran, uprisings in Ahwaz, and general chaos among the Muslim oil-producers, than it does from everything proceeding smoothly for them. Chaos in Iran, with Kurds and Baluchis and Arabs and even Azeris going for broke, and having to be put down by assorted basiji, is not an impossiblity. Why should Russia not wish for this?

For that matter, right after World War II the Red Army occupied part of what was northern Iran. It was forced out not by the Iranians but by Western pressure. Much as Western political figures may detest the current Russian government (unless, like Gerhard Schroeder, they are indirectly on the Russian payroll), Russia is not the threat to the Western world that Iran and other Muslim states are. Given what it now knows, would the West again give all that weaponry to the locals in Afghanistan, with or without the beaming help of Saudi Arabia, were there to be another Russian drang nach suden in Central Asia? And would the West care if Russia, or Azerbaijan supported by Russia, were to take over swaths of northern Iran?

Much dusting off, in diplomatic libraries everywhere, of Halford Mackinder.

Putin and Beasty Boy Ahmadinijad have lots of enemies. Many of whom are plenty capable of launching a bomb attack. Some Iranian opposition group may plan something like that...kill two birds with one stone or kill Putin and bring Russia's wrath down on Iran, unseating Beasty...There are a number of egomaniacs running things in various country's. They all want to be powerful hunkydoo's.
Tolstoy's comment again about 'the 'good' cannot seek power nor retain it...', is applicable here, None of these people are 'good' people. Not Putin, not Bush, not Beasty Boy, not Hugo, certainly not the psychotic running N Korea, or China, or...You name it, and power seeking, wealth stealing, not so 'good', people are in charge of it. They are all in the same club in that all of them are willing to put their own people at risk in order to push their personal agenda's.
Wherever possible the people use the vote to get rid of 'problematical' leaders. other times they must use a bullet or a bomb. It would help if the people would dump out of control leaders, and not allow them power to begin with. If someone is seeking power, or wants to retain it, they should be rejected. Bush/Putin come to mind, they would both like to be maximum leader forever. Egomania,
right out there in plain site.
A witch, a real one, once told me that legitimate power is based on a simple formula, 'You can have as much power as you 'don't' want'. So those that I named, and others, are case studies in 'illegitimate power', because they want it, and they seek it, and they try to retain it. They are 'not' 'good' people...I do not trust any of them...

This is just part of Putin's schemes to stay in power in Russia. Who actually thinks he will relinquish the grip he has on Russia? The USSR Lives on.

This "assassination threat" may well be Stalinist/Orwellian KGB propaganda -- how strong Putin looks as he struts into the lion's den risking life and limb to assert the manliness and power of a reinvigorated Russian state.

And talking about Orwellian propaganda, a poster above promises us that "Russia is not the threat to the Western world that Iran and other Muslim states are" Yet isn't it Russia, after all, who is providing Iran with the nuclear technology and radioactive raw materials to build their bomb? Isn't it Russia who stands to gain be every retreat of America in the Middle East, which this poster also is constantly calling for? Isn't it Russia, and that other totalitarian nightmare, China, who at every step impede and subvert every effort made by America to stop the proliferation of nuclear technologies in places as far afield as North Korea and Iran?

There is a general assumption among the US Left that Islamofascists only target US allies. For example, Frankfurt airport in Germany is reported to be a US target?

The Iranian government knows that stronger UN sanctions would be in place, if not for the veto of Russia and China. Ahmadinejad, the head of Iran's government, is probably too moderate for the most extreme Islamist groups in Iran.
--
CT Yank

There may be no justice but poetic justice in same cases.

Eaten by the crocodile he raised.

Oh please I'm not buying it, why would they want to kill thier pal and partner in crime...

I remain doubtful that this is even a true story. Is it supposed to make Putin look like less of a supporter of Islamofascism than he really is? Does it make the regime in Tehran the law-and-order folks of Persia, protecting their foreign guests from the ravages of Islamists? Too bad they didn't do that in 1979.
The story is just too convenient for both sides.

This threat could be a Russian plot to make Putin look good, but if Beasty Boy suspects that he was used in a Putin propaganda ploy, it may pzz him off.
At any rate, even if this threat is false, it has put the idea into some people heads. Putin is really just another two bit egomaniac ruler...these types usually have lots of enemies. I have no idea how many people in the world would like to do a number on Putin, 'jillions', probably, out of that vast unknown number, some are capable. All they need is to manufacture a possibility, and go for it.
That's what 'security' is for. If all Putin does is go directly by copter, from the airstrip, to some safe place, meet with Beasty, and go directly back to the plane, he will probably be alright if his security is tight enough. If he tries to drive around town or walk through crowds, he is at high risk. Probably, for high profile despotic rulers like Putin/Bush, just leaving the house is a death threat all by itself...It's a tough job, but someone has to do it, I am just glad it's not me...

I think jsla is right, it looks like a KGB plot to make Putin look fearless. Don't forget that the guy heads the list of his United Russia for the Dec. 3 parliamentary elections.

Keep in mind...
Yes, it could very well be silly propaganda, since it's no secret there are always plots going on to murder leaders of countries each and every day...

Weighing Hugh's take on history (yes, it actually happened-Russia was in northern Iran for a time, and still wants a warm water anchorage for their fleet other than syria-they have for decades) against most of the other posts brought something to mind...

Now follow me on this...it's totally hypothetical, totally abstract, but this is how ya weigh possible scenarios from the perspective of being in the enemys shoes and looking around...

The threat comes from outside iran, namely chechnya. Azeris' too, but not enough to kill him-they detest the iranians worse (azeris under iranian rule HATE the mOslem munchkin)
Russia doesn't need irans oil-they have enough energy base to be an exporter now so that factor is out...
Though the iranians don't like dealing with a power that is ruthless, and knows the munchkin is a fraud, they're not going to risk jeopardizing anything that will shoot down their delusions of grandeur with regards to their imminent "prophecy expedition" (speeding up their "savior"'s arrival from the depths of the Earth...ooops, I meant a well).

However, if things go badly between the two (no, I'm not counting on it at all), what better way to attain mass chaos than
1) kill the dealmaker (or let him be killed by chechens) as he's prepping to leave iran
2) use it to blame those who want the nuke deal stopped-the west and them eeeeevil joooooz
3) make iran look justified in the eyes of islam
4) use same excuse to rally a war against the same
5) all hell breaks loose in the middle east
6) iran would pit Russia against the west
7) it would also give excuse for the SCO to get more hostile to the west as well

After all, if enough people are stupid fall for the outrageous conspiracy kooks` plot claims such as on 9/11, this one wouldn't require much effort either...and based on past wackodom of the mOslem munckin, one cannot put it past him. I wouldn't.

Odds of actually happening are probably zero.
Odds of being a possibility are NOT zero.
Regardless what happens, killing Putin would not be of benefit to anyone, save that of chechen ego.
(not to be confused with the chichen-itza region of yucatan).
In any case, best to be prepared for it, just in case, as I wouldn't put a damned thing past that mOslem munchkin lunatic.

Be careful not to overanalyze this situation, because any logical analysis by a western thinker would need to begin with the premise that the jihadist suicide bomber has a rational thought process. The premise that they have a rational motivation fails. Once you get into the mind of the jihadist, you find a confused and psychotic mess.

That being said, if a plot to assassinate Putin really was uncovered, there could be any of a number of possible motivations, including:

First, a jihadist might see Putin as an infidel who made war on the Chechens, who are a part of the Islamic ummah. That alone makes him fair game for the jihadist. A suicide attack on him would be seen as a free ticket to paradise and 72 virgins.

Second, Putin has not given Iran as much as it wants. Admittedly, Putin has been playing a two-faced game, often supporting the jihadists against the west. On the one hand, Putin seems willing to use the Muslims as a tool against other western nations, but on the other hand he does not want to empower them any more than he has to in order to achieve his ends. In the eyes of some Muslims, he may be seen as an opportunist who has not given them everything they would like. For example, rather than just point blank supporting an Iranium uranium processing capability, Putin's Russia offered to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia, where Russia could continue to exercise influence over the Iranians.

It is a shame that the State Department has not done more to convince Putin that the non-Muslim world needs to join forces in opposition to militant Islam. In light of the problems Russia has suffered at the hands of Chechen terrorists, Putin should be open to some degree of cooperation against jihadists. If Iranian Muslims are now threatening to kill him, you would think Putin would be even more receptive to cooperation with other western nations. The State Department has jumped Russia for its efforts to deal forcefully with Chechen terrorists, and other Muslim extremists on its southern flank, when it should be giving him more of a free hand.

If the European nations, including the former Eastern Block nations, could jointly embargo weapons and technology the jihadists need, we could gradually tamp things down, because the jihadists are incapable of manufacturing that stuff no matter how hard they study their Korans. (If we could also get China to stay in its corner, that would be even better.) Instead, the Muslims seem to be playing non-Muslim factions one against the other in the same manner they played the western nations against each other during their centuries of expansion ending at the gates of Vienna. Through that whole process, European traders sold them weapons in an effort to gain a profit or an advantage.

Putin will go to Iran. He and the bearded ventriloquist's dummy will shake hands and issue statements of support. The "plotters" (aka 'usual suspects') will be rounded up for a show trial at a later, politically expedient time.

Putin knows full well that Ahmadinejad is either mad or an idiot or both. Ahmadinejad knows full well that the only interest Putin has in supporting Iran is that it is thorn in America's side.

Both have their best laid plans...and the best laid plans..."the proverb is something musty".

What passes for the Freedom movement in Iran could be the ones behind the threat. Who's to say that the Moderate Movement isn't Communisticly inspired. Just an attempt would be enough for the Russians to demand the pounding of the Theocratic Goverment of Iran. Being so close and all. Who could stop the Russians? Who would want to.

No matter the Who or the Why, When it is done, there will not be much left worth owning.

I agree with Karl2 - we shouldn't overanalyse the situation. This alleged potential assassination attempt by suicide bombers probably has more to do with domestic Russian politics than it does with Islamic radicalism.

If the threat is real, I'd imagine it comes from a Chechen group, and their motivation is the independence of their nation over and above any religious sentiment, although this is of course also a factor. Chechen groups have some support in Iran, but it is limited and mostly unofficial.

More likely, I think, the plot was dreamed up by a PR guy in the Kremlin. Putin is coming up to the most unstable period in his political career as he attempts to transfer his power from the Russian Presidency to the Prime Minister's office. By dismissing threats to his personal safety and continuing with his trip to Iran as planned, he gets to play the tough guy in the eyes of the electorate.

"Has there been such an ugly pair of political bedfellows since Hitler and Stalin?

Posted by: waterdragon52 "

.....Deng Xiaoping and Pol Pot....

Posted by: exsgtbrown at October 15, 2007 9:18 AM

Yeah, they certainly were contenders, but I missed mentioning that there's probably a menage a trois going on between Putin, Imadinnerjacket and Hugo Chavez.

TEHRAN'S PRICE FOR 'SOLIDARITY'
MULLAHS SEEK USEFUL MARXIST IDIOTS
by Amir Taheri
New York Post
October 12, 2007
October 12, 2007 -- ANXIOUS to create what they call "a global progressive front," Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela are sponsoring projects to underline "the ideological kinship of the left and revolutionary Islam."

Special guests of honour at this august event -- Che Guevara's son and daughter. The daughter, apparently, caused quite a stir by arguing that her dead father was a confirmed atheist and not a man of God as described by one of the Iranians.
Read it all: http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/21063

Hugh is right (about it being in Russia's interest for Iran to be unstable), and what better way to maintain a state of instability than being seend to be supporting a mentalist like Ahmadinejad, and, at the same, knowing what Putin is, probably quietly funding some anti-IRI faction.

"...as long as Iranian oil flows to Russia and Russian weapons flow to Iran....any "strain of relationship" will be minimal..."
------------------------------------

Russia does not get one drop of oil from Iran. She is completely self-sufficient in oil.In fact, Russia has some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world.

Putin is a target for several reasons. First of all for being the only world leader to consistently support the Christian Serbs against the Muslim Jihadists in Kosovo. Also he is hated for crushing Chechnya and the Meshket Turks. Beyond this, other than the Pope, Russian President Putin is the only world leader who speaks out on behalf of the Christian Assyrians in Iraq.

Don't forget that after Israel, it is Russia that suffered more terrorist murders than any other country. This explains why he maintains good relations with Iran. Russia's Muslim population is almost exclusively Sunni. There are virtually no Shi'a in Russia for Iran to incite. The Sunni Al-Qaida types however are a continuing problem. Supporting Shi'a Iran is as classical divide and conquer policy of strengthening the enemy of your enemy.

This is also a two-way street. Although Iran is a Shi'ite theocracy, she arms and supports Christian Armenia against fellow Shi'ite Azerbaijan. Iran does this not because it fears a strong Azerbaijan will destroy the Christians of Armenia but because it fears a victory by Azerbaijan will fuel Azeri seperatism in its own northwest. Thus the geopolitical interests of Armenia and Russia happen to coincide with that of Iran, despite religious and ideological differences.

Caspian states show united front on Putin's Iran visit

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071016/ts_nm/putin_iran_dc_6

This was a probable goal of Putin's trip: an anti-NATO military alliance between Iran and Russia.

Ahhhhhhh crap...

Sieg heil!!

http://www.foxnews.com/images/314331/1_21_iranrussia450.jpg

Bad news folks. Check out these articles.

1) We are close very close to a major war
THE GOLDEN REPORT - By Jerry Golden - August 7, 2007

When the USSR fell so did their naval base in Syria, along with that the spy ship left that was not so secret about mid way in the Mediterranean between Cyprus and Israel. Private boats that didn't know its location would often come close to that Russian Spy Ship at night as it just sit there with its lights turned off and on a very dark night a grey battle ship is hard to see if you are not watching your radar. We were told back then that it sat there to intercept communication between Israel and Europe. The naval base made it very easy for Russia to supply Syria with weapons to fight and hopefully destroy Israel.

We now learn that Russia has made a deal with Syria to supply them with weapons also in that deal Russia can re-establish its naval base on their Mediterranean coast. This puts the Russian navy just north of Israel in a position to once again spy for its Arab allies who live for the day they can kill every Jew on this land. It also puts the Russians in a very close proximity to the US 6th fleet that often bases itself in Mersin Turkey not that far from the Syrian border. It certainly makes me wonder what is really going on, with the great friendship of Bush and Putin, and at this very time the aircraft carrier Enterprise with its group of battle ships are playing war games with the French navy in the Mediterranean. At the same time the US 5th fleet is grouping in or around Guam (I had bad information saying it was in the Indian Ocean, but lets face it, that is getting very close to the Indian Ocean). With deployment of three carriers and their air and naval strike groups: USS Stennis, USS Nimitz and USS Kitty Hawk, altogether 30 warships, 280 warplanes and 22,000 soldiers and sailors. If that don't sound like war on the horizon I have missed something. Like I've said many times when you have everything in place you either use it or lose it.
We all know of the great battle that will take place in the northern part of Israel, we also know it is Russians that will lead the charge. It is Russians the French, North Koreans and Pakistan who are making nuclear weapons available to the Islamic Terrorist Arab Countries. It is Russia who has nuclear subs at all times just off both coast lines of the US. As deadly serious al-Qaida Hamas and Hezbollah are, I think they are the smoke screen for what is really about to happen. The people of the Middle East and North America have never been in so much trouble as they are today. It's like a deadly serious chess game and each move is being thought out very carefully for all the marbles are at stake, it is winner take all.

They all have of course left out the main deciding factor, "GOD". For His Word is always 100% true and He cannot lie.

How much time do we have none of us known but one thing is certain if you don't know Yeshua as your personal Messiah you are in the most trouble. And if you feel the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) tugging at your heart now is the right time to get on your knees before Holy God and ask Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah to come into your life and be the absolute Lord of your life. - - - -

Read Full Report


2) The Russians are coming, and I am not talking about a funny movie
THE GOLDEN REPORT - By Jerry Golden - August 19, 2007

The real problem is not Iran, PA, Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaida or Osama Ben Laden. It is and always has been Russia. In last summer's war the majority of our boys who were killed in Lebanon were killed by weapons supplied by Russia to Hezbollah it was the anti-Tank weapons that is capable of penetrating our tanks and armored carriers.

Yesterday Syria began getting deliveries of Russian anti-aircraft missiles and the land based Pantsyr-SIE defense system (known also as the SA-22 E). It is also rumored here in Israel that Russia is negotiating with Hamas in Gaza to station their navy off the coast making it their second naval base in the area the first being in Syria putting the Israeli Navy sandwiched between them.

It is known that for the first time in 15 years Russia has resumed their long range bomber flights over the North Pole and have been seen flying over the US Navy in Guam. When you put all of this together you don't have to be a rocket scientist as they say to come up with the bad news that all this spells something really bad is about to happen.

The one thing that happens before a major war takes off is posturing of forces of the powers to be. Syria has massed their forces along our northern borders and keeps saying they are not interested in a war with Israel. Hezbollah has been rearmed by Iran and God only knows who else, and sitting their waiting for their task master "Iran" to give them the word to fire their weapons. In the mean time Russia is doing all they can to make it possible for Iran to produce their own nuclear weapons not to mention the possibility that they have already been supplied a few.

The plan is obvious from this vantage point, the evils of this world want both the US and Israel to be wiped out. They know that in order to destroy Israel the US has to be neutralized if not totally destroyed. When you look at the fact that Russian are flying their long range bombers over the North Pole and elsewhere and then consider that it is a known fact that their subs are armed with enough nukes to destroy the entire US sit off both coast lines and most likely in the Gulf as well. It isn't hard to imagine that the Russian Bear has not been declawed and wants revenge in a big way. - - - -

Read Full Report

3) Russia steps up military expansion
THE GUARDIAN - By Luke Harding in Moscow - August 22, 2007

Vladimir Putin announced ambitious plans to revive Russia's military power and restore its role as the world's leading producer of military aircraft yesterday.

Speaking at the opening of the largest airshow in Russia's post-Soviet history, the president said he was determined to make aircraft manufacture a national priority after decades of lagging behind the west.

The remarks follow his decision last week to resume long-range missions by strategic bomber aircraft capable of hitting the US with nuclear weapons. Patrols over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic began last week for the first time since 1992.

Presidential aides hinted yesterday that Russia could shortly resume the production of Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic nuclear bombers, now that the aircraft are again flying "combat missions". The bombers would be used as a "means of strategic deterrence", a presidential aide, Alexander Burutin, told Interfax. - - -

Yesterday a senior Russian general warned the Czech Republic it would be making a "big mistake" if it permitted the US to use its territory. - - -

Analysts, --- acknowledged that Russia had developed some impressive "technologies".

These include a new S-400 missile and aircraft interceptor system, similar but better than the US Patriot, and a lethal new supersonic cruise missile, the Meteorit-A.

"They have some very good kit," one industry observer said.

Russia also used yesterday's airshow - held at Zhukovsky, a former Soviet airbase on the leafy outskirts of Moscow - to show off its latest generation of jet fighters.

These include an upgraded Sukhoi jet, the SU-35, which has a new engines and a new radar system, and a revamped "vector thrust" MIG, the MIG 29- OVT. "They are good aircraft. The MIG can do a very lovely flip," the industry observer added. - - - -

Read Full Report

4) RAF Jets Intercept Russian Bomber
SKY NEWS - August 21, 2007

It has emerged that two RAF jets have intercepted a Russian bomber over the north Atlantic.

Typhoon interceptors shadowed a Russian Tupolev- 95 "Bear" reconnaissance aircraft last Friday.

It is the first time the £60m Eurofighter has been scrambled on a genuine alert since it took over defence of Britain's airspace in June.

The MoD said in a statement: "RAF Typhoons from Numbers 3(F) and XI Squadrons launched to shadow a Russian Bear-H aircraft over the North Atlantic Ocean on Friday 17 August 2007."

The £67 million fighter jets were officially put on active standby last month, ready to protect the UK from hijacked airliners and other threats from the skies.

A dozen Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft of 3 (Fighter) Squadron are now on round-the-clock active duty at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. - - - -

Read Full Report

5) Russia, China hold joint war games
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Ivan Sekretarev - August 17, 2007

CHEBARKUL TESTING RANGE, Russia - Fighter jets streaked through the air as Russian and Chinese forces held their first joint maneuvers on Russian land Friday in a demonstration of their growing military ties and a shared desire to counter U.S. global clout.

The war games in the southern Ural Mountains involved some 6,000 troops from Russia and China along with a handful of soldiers from four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations that are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional group dominated by Moscow and Beijing.

The drills coincided with a massive Russian air force exercise in which dozens of Russian strategic bombers ranged far over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans.

President Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Hu Jintao and other leaders of the SCO nations attended the exercise, which followed their summit Thursday in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.

The summit concluded with a communique that sounded like a thinly veiled warning to the United States to stay away from the strategically placed, resource-rich region.

"Stability and security in Central Asia are best ensured primarily through efforts taken by the nations of the region on the basis of the existing regional associations," the statement said.

Friday's military exercise involved dozens of aircraft and hundreds of armored vehicles which countered a mock attack by terrorists and insurgents striving to take control of energy resources. - - - -

Read Full Report

6) Russia Orders Long-Range Bomber Patrols
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Vladimir Isachenkov - August 17, 2007

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he had ordered the military to resume regular long- range flights of strategic bombers, a show of Russia's resurgent military power which comes amid a chill in relations with the United States.

Speaking after Russian and Chinese forces completed major war games exercises for the first time on Russian turf, Putin said a halt in long-range bombers' flights after the Soviet collapse had affected Russia's security as other nations had continued such missions - an oblique reference to the United States.

"I have made a decision to resume regular flights of Russian strategic aviation," Putin said in televised remarks. "We proceed from the assumption that our partners will view the resumption of flights of Russia's strategic aviation with understanding."

The Russian-Chinese war games, which took place near the Ural Mountain city of Chelyabinsk, coincided with Russian air force maneuvers involving strategic bombers which ranged far over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans.

Putin said that 20 Russian bombers were involved in the exercise.

"Starting today, such tours of duty would be conducted regularly and on the strategic scale," Putin said. "Our pilots have been grounded for too long, they are happy to start a new life."

Soviet bombers routinely flew such missions to areas from which nuclear-tipped cruise missiles could be launched at the United States, but stopped in the post- Soviet economic meltdown.

"Starting in 1992, the Russian Federation unilaterally suspended strategic aviation flights to remote areas," Putin said. "Regrettably, other nations haven't followed our example. That has created certain problems for Russia's security."

Booming oil prices have allowed Russia to sharply increase its military spending. - - - -

Read Full Report

7) Russia to send manned mission to the Moon by 2025
RUSSIAN NEWS & INFORMATION AGENCY (RIA Novosti) - August 31, 2007

MOSCOW - Russia plans to send cosmonauts to the Moon by 2025 and establish a permanent manned base there in 2027-2032, the head of the space agency said Friday.

Anatoly Perminov said that in accordance with Russia's space program through 2040, a manned flight to Mars will be carried out after 2035.

He said that toward the end of this year, Russia will have 103 satellites in orbit, up from the current 95.

There are plans for a new space center in the country, but a site has not yet been selected, he said. Russia currently launches all manned flights from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Perminov said previously that construction of a new launch facility would only begin after a new type of spacecraft was built.

A major source of revenue for the agency in recent years has been space tourist flights from Baikonur to the International Space Station (ISS), with tickets currently priced at around $30 million. Russia has put five wealthy foreign tourists into space since 2001.

Perminov said the first Russian space tourist, who will fly to the ISS in 2009, is a businessman and politician. - - - -

Read Full Report

8) Russian sub plants flag under North Pole
REUTERS - By Guy Faulconbridge - August 2, 2007

MOSCOW - Russian explorers dived deep below the North Pole in a submersible on Thursday and planted a national flag on the seabed to stake a symbolic claim to the energy riches of the Arctic. - - -

But Canada mocked Russia's ambitions and said the expedition was nothing more than a show.

"This isn't the 15th century. You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say 'We're claiming this territory'," Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay told CTV television.

Under international law, the five states with territory inside the Arctic Circle -- Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States and Denmark via its control of Greenland -- have a 320 km (200 mile) economic zone around the north of their coastline.

Russia is claiming a larger slice extending as far as the pole because, Moscow says, the Arctic seabed and Siberia are linked by one continental shelf. - - - -

Read Full Report

9) Russia Suspends Arms Agreement Over U.S. Shield
NEW YORK TIMES - By Andrew E. Kramer and Thom Shanker - July 15, 2007

MOSCOW, July 14 - President Vladimir V. Putin, angered by American plans to deploy a missile shield in Eastern Europe, formally notified NATO governments on Saturday that Russia will suspend its obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, a key cold war-era arms limitation agreement.

The decision ratcheted up tensions over the missile shield plan, but also reflected a trend of rising anti- Americanism and deep suspicion toward the West here as Russia's March presidential elections approach.

Russia's suspension will take effect in 150 days, according to a copy of the president's decree posted on a Kremlin Web site. That delay leaves open the possibility of further negotiation on the 1990 treaty, which resulted in a huge wave of disarmament along the former East-West divide in Europe.

Despite a Foreign Ministry statement that Russia would reject any limitations on redeploying heavy weaponry on its Western border, the Kremlin's move is not expected to radically transform the security situation.

But the decision is a strong indicator that the smiles and warm embraces between Presidents Bush and Putin just a few weekends ago at the so-called lobster summit in Maine did little to soften the Kremlin's pique over proposals to build two American missile defense bases in former Soviet satellite states, Poland and the Czech Republic. - - - -

Also

U.S. intelligence chief says Russian spies at "Cold War levels" RUSSIAN NEWS & INFORMATION AGENCY (RIA Novosti) - June 8, 2007 WASHINGTON, June 7 - The United States national counterintelligence chief said the number of Russian agents operating in the country had reached "Cold War levels," but added that this was normal and would not affect bilateral relations. Joel Brenner said in a radio interview, "They are sending over an increasing and troubling number of intelligence officers into the United States," adding that Russia, China, Iran, Cuba were the most persistent and aggressive intelligence threats to the U.S. - - - - Read Full Report

Read Full Report

Putin evidently HAS gone ahead with his 'historic' visit to Tehran and has rather obliquely announced Russia as a partner with the Iranian mullahs in their undeclared war against the western democracies.

Don't they deserve each other, Russia and Iran?

Provoslani:

The Muslim world provenly murdered more than 50 million Christians during the twentieth century--and their killings did not all take place in Islamic countries-- and STILL not all Christians feel any comraderie with the present Soviet government and its misdeeds at all. I certainly don't. There is not excuse for evil and that is what Vladimir Putin really is--evil.

And, by the way, it was probably GREECE that suffered the greatest losses of life from Islamic terror attacks in the twentieth century, not Russia or even Israel.

Even if what you said WAS true--None of this would EVER excuse Vladcimir Putin's abominable (if not downriught murderous) behavior for A SECOND.

For anyone to be aiding and abetting the Iranian mullahs is to be an accessory to conspirators and conspiracy to commit genocide. Know it and digest that properly.

ps: I predict that shortly after Iran attacks Europe and North America with nuclear-armed missiles there will be Soviet tanks rolling across BOTH continents.

putin's also lost his mind, too...
taken a left (PUN) turn to the world of the surreal.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/19/wputin119.xml
...suggesting we want to invade russia for its resources???? (a clear and unmistakable sign things are not going his & his SCO masters' way, along with the fact that communism is alive & well, just repackaged is all)...

LMAO...sounds like the mOslem munchkins schizopathy has rubbed off on him, too! How pathetically lame!
LMAO

Is it now a bad time to break out the *air violins"?
LMAO