Putin goes knockin' on Arab doors and they lay out the red carpet....

Isnt this guy responsible for the ruthless oppression of Muslims - esp Chechins ?

I guess enemy of my enemy is my friend concept being applied here - just because he is sympathetic to Arab causes compared to the US?

He is Saudi - offering them Nuclear help like they really need energy sources ! He was in Qatar sitting in the Sultans lap...

Ya Ikhwan-Al-Arab!! When will you wake up from this nightmare ?

i wish we had leaders like Putin in the Muslim world..this man has saved his nation from destruction and has cahoonas..unlike our sheep...yes he has oppressed our brethren in Chechnya...however we must sit with this man and come up with a solution for chechnya...we cannot ignore the bear any longer...its is in our strategic interest to court him..especially while he is waging his own covert battle with the Jewish zionist oligarchs and their agents!!..i wish Pakistan had a leader like this man...alas we only hear empty rhetoric!!

so what's new? I'm positive that we Pakistanis are the only ones who run around with the dard of the entire "ummah" on our shoulders. no else gives a hoot.

Arabs and Saudis in particular are some of the most vile, racist, ignorant, backward people on the planet. and therefore, I don't expect anything better from them. many people think that we Asians suffer from an inferiority complex wrt westerners. those people haven't met Arabs yet.

generalization overload.

thank you captain obvious for your insight - as usual.

Actually it is not that at all. Russia today is perhaps the only country, most certainly the only country with global impact, that can give thumbs down to Middle East countries and get away with it. United States(and Western countries) have to do their nefarious designs to ensure Oil reservoirs. China is playing what it calls "Strings of Pearls" philosphy - one of the main objective of whose is to have Gwadar ensure Oil for China's booming requirements. Indeed thats the reason why Chinese investment in Gwadar far exceeds Pakistan's investment in the port.

Compare this with Russia. It has one of the largest Oil reserves and have started massive production. Last year it was world's second Oil producer(and exporter) in the world. In the month of March it had replaced Saudi Arabia as world's premier Oil Producer. It also happen to have World's richest Gas reserves.

So basically the sole bargaining chip that Saudi Arabia(or for that matter any Middle Eastern country really) utilizes(namely Oil) counts for nothing infront of Russia. Now look at what Saudi Arabia needs - clearly Nuclear Technology and Arms. If Iran goes that route Saudi Arabia will go too for sure. And they can not get it from US, China wont do it openly..so who remains?


I have to say honestly that it makes me wonder how educated people like you make that kind of statement. I take it that you have lived in Middle East for a while. Generally speaking do you think Arabs show the same courtsey to a fellow Muslim from Pakistan/India as they show to a gori chamri? Forget any extra perks do you evenget the same treatment?

Someone mentioned how Pakistanis are the only people who care for Ummah. And he may very well be right. Bhai saab aapne to Saudi King ke naam ke ek poora shahar bana diya(Faislabad). Jaraa wehan jaake petrol ki kimat bhi dekh lein. When was the last time Saudi Arabia(or any oil rich state) made sure that oil prices were low in Pakistan?

xxxx

I for one think of it as a good deal. America has always been over protective about Israel, it’s about time we as Muslims support a fallen super power and recheck the imbalance and in doing so make America realize its follies. It’s about time we make the US cringe on its supposed feeling of absoluteness and we can start by jabbing an economic punch. Replace the dollar as the base currency in all the Muslim countries. That ought to magnify the effects of them trade deficits. The notion of US riding on the crest at our expense has gone on for far too long. Israel meanwhile has been roasting the Muslim turkey as if it was the only menu on buffet. It’s about time we as Muslims setup our very own one dish, let’s call it the Israeli gyro made in Arab oil waited seasoned by them Russian spices from the farms of Ana Kornikova. If anything it’s going to make for fancy confrontation.

China has ensured her presence in the Arabian sea by "gifting" Pakistan the Gwadar port. The understanding there is that the chinese war ships would be given access to the port which is still fine. Now why did China gift Pakistan the Gwadar port? Its because the Caspian Sea has the largest deep sea oil reserves. And all this while you thought America went to Afghanistan to catch Osama? Guess which countries have the stake in the Caspian sea oil reserves. Russia, China, Iran and AFGHANISTAN.

Now China also went into Africa and incidently Nigeria became the first African country to become free from the WorldBank debt. Nigeria is the richest oil country in Africa, as far as my memory serves me. Guess who signed up with Nigeria for a direct trade link? China

So Russia, why would they march onto the Arab desert when of all their worries, Oil is at the very low end of the spectrum. Well if Russia plays her cards right. The supply of oil to USA could really really go low. Russia could get the Arab oil there by preventing USA access to a commodity so integral in todays time. China has ensured that Africa and Caspian sea is secured. Where does that leave USA. OOOOOOOOH SNAAAAAP

It's called realpolitik, MiG.

Also for my more intellect friends on the board here. Tell me what does this acronym coined just last year, "BRIC's" stands for and whats its significance?

Wazzup my continent hopping kangaroo buddy. Its valentines day and you are posting on a cricket forum? You better have a darn good excuse coz from what I gather, St Valentine wont be impressed by this abomination.

I stated the obvious because that's all it deserved.

http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-que...nd&string=exact
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIC
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bric.asp

This is why I love Google so much. The wikipedia link is the most informative.

Elections are fast approaching in Russia. Putin needs to show his world strength and he finds the easiest target - the Arabs ( apart from that out of the blue criticism of US)

All Arabs have got from Putin is double talk - no action. He could not stop the invasion of Iraq, Russian prostitutes, dodgy businessmen, dodgy tourists now flood the streets of Dubai - in short Russians play this two faced game of supporting Arabs but back down at the most crucial moment.

[btw, Have to say that I am a little taken aback by your statement about my educational background !]

As for Chechnya, it doesnt matter what the Arabs do, the fact is that Russian forces have killed and destroyed so many lives in that part of the world that it makes the Indian atrocities in Kashmir look like a picnic!

Putin is a 2 faced liar - he will do whats best to look important at the world stage but he will never take any concrete step against the US - Arabs kowtowing to him is farcical.

We've having a bit of a nor'easter here in Boston at the moment mate, though it's funny what a fuss is being made of it when we've only gotten six inches so far. Apparently it was meant to be a lot worse but the storm passed a bit too far to the north (northern New England are getting about a foot and a half).

Right now it's turned to a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain which makes driving a pain - I'm hoping it sorts itself out by the time I have to go to class at 4pm...

As for Valentine's Day, my gf is in Toronto so it'll be VD in front of the TV for me tonight.

MIG.

You are somehow trying to show Putin as the bad-guy and Arabs as some "innocent" novice who are generally taken in by good words. Well I have news for you, Arabs are anything but that. It is high time Arab(and the rest of the Muslim world) accepted their faults and drawbacks and stopped blaming Rest of the World for all the ills. Heck I saw today that the lack of Social Security in Pakistan was somehow linked to Western World. Go figure.

Putin may be a two-faced liar. Is Musharraf any different? But atleast Putin gets to Middle East, gets a grand reception from Saudi and Qatar and other countries, manages to issue some statement that catches world's attention(or we would not have been having this conversation really) and rest assured that he shall be back home with some good trade deal(most certainly in arms). If nothing it would raise eyebrows in West and USA would be quick to cajole Russia. Just watch out.

And what exactly did Musharraf saab get when he went to Middle East recently? A big fat thenga. Sorry but that should answer your question about the priorities of Arabs and the way they see Muslims plights around the world.

xxx

PS: My statement about your education was not personal but more general. I had explained why I feel that way(why some Pakistanis refuse to see the world as the way it is). Of course I do not claim to be right and if it hurt you in any way my sincere apologies.

can't believe some people are hailing this idiot...he's a dictator...he was responsible for gunning down Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in a gangstyle attack...she was exposing Russian atrocities in Chechnya like no other...his intelligence agencies are poisoning dissidents with radiation...he restarted a war with the chechens that yeltsin was about to halt...the guy is essentially the head of the Russian mob which basically rules the country...

having said that, i'd still side with him to some extent to acquire nukes...its business just like it was between rivals just like pakistan and iran...unfortunately the only way to buffer American warlords is through proliferation of nuclear weapons...