Originally Posted by Sid447

Having recently,

married a Russian and listened to some of the politics from a different pov, I'm now convinced we "Westerners" were fed on a not inconsiderable amount of bullshit that served a purpose for our respective governments.
Western propoganda.
They also had their fair share of it.

Look on the bright side though and ignore the politics, ........they have some of the best looking women on the planet.

Makes one wonder why you married one then I'd have just kept going back for more.

Originally Posted by Biped

I suspect that once all the countries of the world have all entered into friendly organisations such as this, we will see the end of war, as everyone will be tied to their agreements, a bit like before WW1 . . . . . . oh

'there was a tiny flaw in the plan...it was bollokcs.'

Originally Posted by eodmatt

Makes one wonder why you married one then I'd have just kept going back for more.

I did spend some time doing intensive trials and development.

Originally Posted by Sid447

Originally Posted by eodmatt

Makes one wonder why you married one then I'd have just kept going back for more.

I did spend some time doing intensive trials and development.

Good man, thats what I am heavily involved in over here

Dear friends, thank you for intersting remarks, propositions, suggestions.

Russia has a long way to walk to reach some minimal standards in respect to human rights, democracy, basic freedoms. So it is too early to speak about the membership in the near future. But who knows what would happen later.

Originally Posted by parapauk

If Russia sorts its domestic political issues out over the next ten-fifteen years and (I hope) joins Nato a few years after that, then as far as the UK is concerned, the conventional threat to Britain is gone for good and we and many others can live happily ever after. It would be a hell of a privilege to be alive on that day, if you think about everything that has gone before it.

How to do it? Well there was a report by a Medevev-leaning think-tank released a couple of weeks ago that recommended dismantling the FSB and a host of other internal reforms (do you have a link Serg?). If that could be pushed through, of course making sure Putin had gone for good, and some security system could be worked out to give confidence to the Baltic states, together with a final settlement with regards to Ukraine, it could be done.

And the world will be pink and fluffy. And all of the money we spend on defence can be used to buy votes from the dolekommando. What a load of nonsense. No nuclear Iran, no scrambling after scarce energy resources, no potential water wars. We will just be in a great big multicultural socialist heaven

We could sure use their help in Afgan - with Ivan in there too its a goer.

Today

Does the US need NATO- not really at the moment and neither does of the other big payers into NATO. Germany, UK etc.

The first of the newer members Poland and the rest of the expansion buffer were needed to reign in the Russians back in the 1990ies to enable the US missile shields (not yet built) to be installed. The new members got a good deal out of it they thought but the US has of course changed its mind as the technology has evolved (even if 4 out of their last 6 test intercepts failed – or is that a 33% success rate?). So the shield will be on ships now.

With the scare mongering of the after effects of 9/11, WMD armed Missiles from Syria and Iraq and Iran and…. They were still needed for the same.

Not sure why Albania and Croatia have been allowed to join at all but the are in now, perhaps to provide cannon fodder in Afghan when the Dutch, Ities and Canadians pull out.

Long term yes for a while.

10 years time when oil is at $250 plus a barrel and climbing and the Chinese have a blue water fleet and have managed to rape Africa and still need oil I think NATO might be needed to keep the Chinese from taking over. Say the UK-Falklands oil fields, Brazilian oil fields and any others they fancy by in the West by force.

The US can still drill its own off shore oil but needs NATO as a buffer to keep them away.

AS in the Cold war MAD will prevent the pushing of the big red button for a few more decades but when after Peak oil then the USA will do what they did pre Depression.

Originally Posted by KGB_resident

Dear friends, thank you for intersting remarks, propositions, suggestions.

Russia has a long way to walk to reach some minimal standards in respect to human rights, democracy, basic freedoms. So it is too early to speak about the membership in the near future. But who knows what would happen later.

I have posted earlier that I think that we should be looking towards a closer relationship with Russia.

It seems to me tha we increasingly have more in common - and indeed we even have a common enemy in "terrorism".

Originally Posted by old_bloke

Today

Does the US need NATO- not really at the moment and neither does of the other big payers into NATO. Germany, UK etc.

The first of the newer members Poland and the rest of the expansion buffer were needed to reign in the Russians back in the 1990ies to enable the US missile shields (not yet built) to be installed. The new members got a good deal out of it they thought but the US has of course changed its mind as the technology has evolved (even if 4 out of their last 6 test intercepts failed – or is that a 33% success rate?). So the shield will be on ships now.

With the scare mongering of the after effects of 9/11, WMD armed Missiles from Syria and Iraq and Iran and…. They were still needed for the same.

Not sure why Albania and Croatia have been allowed to join at all but the are in now, perhaps to provide cannon fodder in Afghan when the Dutch, Ities and Canadians pull out.

Long term yes for a while.

10 years time when oil is at $250 plus a barrel and climbing and the Chinese have a blue water fleet and have managed to rape Africa and still need oil I think NATO might be needed to keep the Chinese from taking over. Say the UK-Falklands oil fields, Brazilian oil fields and any others they fancy by in the West by force.

The US can still drill its own off shore oil but needs NATO as a buffer to keep them away.

AS in the Cold war MAD will prevent the pushing of the big red button for a few more decades but when after Peak oil then the USA will do what they did pre Depression.

NATO membership is a precursor to EU membership.