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"AFGHANISTAN & THE GENERAL McCHRYSTAL SITUATION"
I have been following the developments regarding General McChrystal's insubordination and have been growing more and more concerned about the entire effort in Afghanistan. I have some definite opinions about the General and his comments but the situation will be handled by the President very quickly today (perhaps even by the time you read this), so there is no point in my saying much about it yet. I do feel the need, however, to make some comments (probably unpopular) about the conduct of the war in Afghanistan. I will be posting that very soon (possibly on Friday, just in time to ruin the weekend...) If anyone cares to leave some comments and opinions either on the comment page or by email, I'll be grateful to read them. -And now, the regular post:"AFGHANISTAN & THE GENERAL McCHRYSTAL SITUATION"
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After some confusion and apparent contradiction over whether the Russian government would continue its sale of S-300 missiles to Iran following the latest round of U.N. Security Council sanctions, the Russian government confirmed that the sale has been canceled. The Russian Federal Service on Military-Technical Cooperation announced: “An analysis of the provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution 1929 adopted on June 9, 2010, conducted by the FSMTC experts, shows that the restrictive measures contained in the document apply to the delivery of S-300 air defense systems to Iran as well.”The announcement came on the heels of a report from a presidential aide in France during a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who said that, “Russia had decided to "freeze the delivery of the S-300 missiles." Putin also said supporting the Iran sanctions was a decision that "wasn't exactly easy," according to the presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The cancellation of the sale marks the apparent end of a contentious arms deal that has irked both American and Israeli officials because of its ability to strengthen Iranian air defense capabilities. While the specific language of the Security Council sanctions do not prohibit the sale, the sanctions do call “upon all States to exercise vigilance and restraint over the supply, sale, transfer, provision, manufacture and use of all other arms and related materiel"
The Russian government apparently has decided that the S-300 deal falls within the spirit, if not the precise wording, of the text. As State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said “For the first time, the resolution calls for states to exercise vigilance and restraint in the sale or transfer of all other arms and related materiel. We appreciate Russia's restraint in the transfer of the S-300 missile system to Iran.”
The Russian cancellation is a diplomatic victory for the United States, which has consistently opposed the sale but was unable to pass a series of Security Council sanctions that expressly prohibited such a sale. The Russian decision could be the start of further cooperation between the United States and Russia on Iran.
All is not positive news, however. This one canceled arms deal is unlikely to prompt Iran to reconsider its nuclear program. What’s more, the Russian government has expressed its determination to maintain defense ties and cooperation with Iran. The cancellation of the missile deal may also remove one of the checks on an Israeli unilateral military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The United States will be happy that Russia canceled the S-300 deal, but will be nervous about it opening up the possibility of a military strike.
And Some Music (my theme):
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