The Return of Russia as a Superpower

America needs healthy, credible competition. I personally am fed up with the Sisyphean task of fighting an elusive, sexually frustrated, and very immature enemy on the outskirts of the civilized world. America needs someone they can talk to face to face, down a few vodka shots, and go for a judo/wrestling match (maybe it can shed some excess baggage in the process).

If it were after me, I would just ignore the ramblings of that madman who is using Western-made technology to videotape himself in various positions. After all, there are more important things to pay attention - like the death of Pavarotti, which it appeared, did not get as much coverage as the said ramblings, at least not here in the US.

My personal theory is that in the absence of an enemy, America will invent one (no, I am not a conspiracy theory believer - but this will occur out of the usual governmental process of scanning for the next credible threat and delivering preemptive strikes). Plus, it will just keep folks on their toes and give them something to talk about while they enjoy their God-given right of sipping Starbucks coffee (daily). It used to be duck and cover.

"The United States has officially announced Russia's influence to the world and that is"...

"Russia is a Superpower" for many reason, they have the world's "largest nuclear weapon arsenal" that is "10 times greater than the US", Russia's economy is also stronger than the US as BBC news reported this recently. Third they are an energy super giant and their military has been continuing to update in all forces of the 21 century weapons compared to the US and they have every domain of power in ideological, diplomatic and technological fronts. Russia is a superpower because they have the economics, the wealth, the diplomatic power, ideological, technological advances than any other country besides the US, they have the cultural sector and lets not forget their military levels (surpreme).

Russia has three countries that are still heavy part of Russia after the Soviet Union and that is Kazakhstan, Ukraine (NATO member) and Belarus. There is many ties these countries have together and also Georgia is very pro Russia and doesn't care for NATO nor does Belarus want anything to due with NATO either. The fact that Russia is a superpower without it's past Soviet countries is a lot to say how strong Russia is. Belarus will do anything Russia wants even if it was hand over invasion back to the Russian Union but Putin has a different plan than bringing back the Soviet Union. The bottom line is Post Soviet countries have very important ties with Russia than the West does. Russia supplies all of West Europe their oil but the post soviet countries it is more than that Russia has. Oil is one thing but land rights, basis, military forces and etc all still tied in many post soviet countries.

Russia is making plans and they can with or without China but China is also another story want it wants from Russia.

Washington Acknowledges Russia as Superpower 2007

http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp

Also Russia is an energy super giant of the world as well.

Russia Super energy power

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php

http://edition.cnn.com/.../index.html

http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php

http://www.strategypage.com/on_point/20041130.aspx

http://www.warpeace.org/article.php

http://72.14.253.104/search

http://www.russophile.com/.../...ard_returned.html

Washington Acknowledges Russia as Superpower

http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp

http://bhtimes.blogspot.com/2007_05_28_archive.html

[[http://www.spacewar.com/Superpowers.html

http://www.spacewar.com/.../...rgy_ties_999.html

Russia Dangerous Superpower

http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp

A Former Superpower Rises Again

http://www.spiegel.de/.../...18,426393,00.html

http://www.spiegel.de/.../...ck-426393,00.html

Russia: A superpower rises again

POSTED: 1203 GMT (2003 HKT), December 13, 2006

Says Russia was always a Superpower

http://edition.cnn.com/.../index.html

http://www.beliefnet.com/boards/message_list.asp

Russia on the march - again

By Con Coughlin

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 13/04/2007

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml

Russia - Economic Superpower

http://lightworker.com/store/product_info.php

In the playground of the superpowers

By Harun Karcic

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/II21Ag01.html

Is the Space Station a Money Pit? Russia to for fill Space Station completion contract for US

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1632890,00.html

NASA a ticking collapse

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2007/10/09.html

If any of you heard the News on CoasttoCoast radio last night with George Noory, NASA is going bankrupt and does not have the funds to complete the International Space Station as Russia was suppose to complete 40% of the station as they are planning their moon space station for 2015 on top of that. They may either need to help the complete the station or the station will go into limbo without the Russian’s to fix the US contract to finish it. The US Space shuttle is an outdated program that even the X-43 program went bankrupt and the US shuttle is just too expensive. A shuttle that takes a crew of 5 people to operate where the Russia space shuttle can fly unmanned and also dismantle its wings in space and attaching into the space station as a counterpart to the station. The Russians have flow more manned space missions that the numbers are impossible to beat that even the current Soyuz rocket has an 95% prefect record (has flown more than 520 missions). I just find it interesting when Russia was in the down in the 90’s but they still preformed their space missions and building nuclear arsenals but now they regained their superpower status again officially when it is expensive to improve military capability and continue space flights, how did they do it?

The US is on an economic plunge as many of us can admit this, not just housing, high gas prices and bad inflation rates but the UNited States is really falling where Russia is greatly improving. You see our problems with illegal immigratments entering the US and corporations continuing to outsource for cheaper labor overseas because the US labor is too expensive, we can’t even afford to fix our immigration problems not just the borders but the internal problems. What is unique about Russia, they don’t have an immigration problem at all, everyone who is not a Russian citizen has to have an entry visa, everyone and anything. The US is broken in so many ways that thr problems they have now will never be fixed as US Congress is out weight with heavy debt and discrimination suits that

kill legislation as it is a democracy country allowing

free will but also with major inflation as the US Federal Reserve can no longer stop inflation will see

more US agencies going under and more US companies will continue to outsource from high US wages increase.

The bottom line is the US is tanking and it's economy is going the opposite direction as a Superpower but to a Power Nation or 2nd Power.

I also wanted to state Russia is completely debt free as they cleared all their past deficits as the US is under it's biggest debt ever

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/22-08-2006/84038-paris-club-0