Time to Reevaluate?

Two bits of Russian news this afternoon and both of them highlight the incessant hostility between Russia and the West, hostility which stems from our pushing to develop an anti-balisitic missile system in Eastern Europe. The Bush Administration states that this shield will be used to deter an attack from Iran. Russia has maintained that this is unnecessary and that the shield will affect their strategic interests.

Well, now Russia may be cutting off gas to the Czechs in retaliation for allowing the US to build a radar on their territory. Russia, as the article mentions, is the world's largest exporter of energy resources and ever since their current economic windfall, they've been looking to reestablish their influence in Eastern Europe.

I'm anxious as all hell to hear what the Russians' excuse is going to be, what they'll say is "really" the reason they're cutting off gas. They've done this twice before, once in Lithuania after they decided to sell a non-Russian company and once in Ukraine shortly after the Orange Revolution. I think those two incidents were overreactions and unnecessary, but I'm hard pressed to fault the Russians too much for not liking this anti-balistic business. Russia points to recent tests to indicate Iran is incapable of getting a missile that deep into Europe.

But then again, maybe I'm too disillusioned by our saber-rattling towards Iran and want to prove they aren't a threat. It certainly seems as though our pushing the matter isn't helping anything on any side.

And while flexing their energy muscles is arguably sensible, Russia's grudge is pushing them so far as to veto sanctions against Zimbabwe, a move - whether they realize it or not - which is incredibly embarrassing.

On a final note, Robert Farley makes an interesting point: with this current veto, Russia has moved from using its veto power to protect its interests, but not going out of its way to oppose the US, to going out of its way to oppose the US. It's not back to the Cold War, but.....