My view, which is shared by many millions of people in the world, is that Vladimir Putin is the most intelligent, most able and the most influential leader in the world today. I've listened to his 2007 speech in Munch speech in you tube and I have memorized it because it is not just a speech by a treatise, a Prolegomenon for the future of our collective humanity.

I read these commentaries and cannot believe that Russia's not aware of America's history. In 1898, Under President Theodore Roosevelt America started on the road to Empire with fake sinking of the battleship Maine gving reason to go to war with Spain. Then we had the sinking of the Lusitania giving Woodrow Wilson cause for us to get invovled in WW1. Then we had Franklin Roovevelt setting the stage for Pearl Harbor getting us involved in WW2, a war that did not have to happen. FDR and Stalin were partners in that one. The Lyndon Johnson gave us Viet Nam. Bush 1 gave us the first Iraq war. With each of these wars, America has spread its influence in the world. Do you honestly believe America's going to stop now?

The deployment of US medium-range interceptor missiles in Romania is not directed against Russia? Of course not! It is directed against Iran--a major nuclear power that is "a direct threat to the region as well as to the whole world" (Hillary Clinton). May be Abkhazia? How about Qatar, or Luxembourg? Who do they think they are kidding, the perennial provocateurs in Washington and their newly acquired accomplices around Russia's borders? Mr. Balescu's "categorical" statement that Russia is not included as a target of this initiative is beyond imagination. I would really like to know what would Romania gain by playing with such an explosive bomb.

"...I've listened to his 2007 speech in Munch speech in you tube and I have memorized it..." You must have a lot of spare time on your hands. "...Vladimir Putin is the most intelligent, most able and the most influential leader in the world today." I think Miheil Saakashvili, of Grusia, would argue with you on this assessment.

America would not be able to act unilaterally if she didn't have facilitators in NATO to give her aggressions a thin veneer of legitimacy. NATO nations today are too cowardly to throw off the yoke of American domination - but, they must. If the NATO nations can not free themselves from under American domination, they will always remain pawns in American schemes to weaken the Russian Federation.

I wonder if this announcement was deliberate, in order to delay the finalization of the START talks. Lots of people (chickenhawks) in Washington DC would like to see those talks fail.

Kihnu The speech in question is 40 Minutes long!. So 40 minutes of listening to the Putin lecture to Western leaders and impotent European leaders was a delicious sight to watch-it was worth every minute of my 40 Minutes. In that speech, Putin single handedly put a break, literally and symbolic to the eastward expansion of U.S imperialism. His Munch speech was a watershed moment in world history: he confidently told the U.S ruling elite, not mess up with Russia! Here is a link to that speech. You can watch and see the facial expression of Robert Gates, John McCain and a host of impotent servile European leaders. It became clear that at the moment the true protector of democracy and a inclusive common humanity was Putin’s Russia and not the United States; that it was Russia that offered the barrier between potential collective security and U.S corporate barbarism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlY5aZfOgPA&NR=1

Russia should act instead of react. The political situation and balance have changed in USA. President Obama has not any more major political support among US citizens. Obama is a weak president and now in the position to alone bear the responsablity of the war in Afganistan knowing that US Army and NATO are weak too and not the powers and tools for ending the war positively. That's why Obama's war cabinet which in fact is the cabinet of George W. Bush, has taken the rule in war affairs and foreign policy. We can see it now in Romania where USA and NATO will build up a ballistic missile base with medium-range interceptor missiles as part of USA's missile shield plans. That is exactly Bush's policy to isolate and surround Russia militarily with the help of NATO. The next steps would be Bulgaria and Turkey, perhaps Finland. It is also a mean to interfere European security policy in order to maintain a role for US Army and NATO in and among EU security bodies. Naturally it is a plot too to show the world, NATO-member countries, EU Defence and US citizens that Obama and US Army are still going strong. So, since the moves seem to be only US politics and US recuperation but at the expense of Russia and world peace balance, Russia should act instead of only react. For example, a military base in Libya would suit perfectly at this stage and more closer military and economical co-operation with China too.

It reminds me on the missile shield issue in Poland and Czech Republic - a lot of noise but at the end nothing happens. So far Russia has been delaying start of the first Iranian nuclear power plant and delaying the delivery of the advance weaponry (e.g. S-300...) to Iran. However if these missiles were really deployed in Eastern Europe then Russia would stop cooperating with USA on the Iranian issue. Even more, Russia would boost its ties with Iran, Venezuela...

I think the russian leaders seem very naieve when they view the usa gov. intentions, totally dishonest starting with their treatment of the native americans, they still believe in manifest destiny.

Never underestimate the propensity of US administrations--Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama, or anybody else--to plot for the pursuit of the interests of the US ruling class. They will do this regardless of the cost to the American and other peoples. Just remember the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Many Israeli wars on the Palestinians and the Arab states, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Pakistani and Yemeni wars. An endless aggression against the world. This list does not account for preparations of war against Russia and China. On the other hand, look in which direction the pendulum of power is swinging. Toward the East. And relentlessly. The United States will be exhausted within the next 20 years and no American leader can do anything about it however smart he may be.

Is Putin puting us on. The United States will never let other countries tell us what to do and when to do it. This is the job of the banking industry and the owners of the FEDERAL RESERVE.