U.S. Sees Russia, China and OPEC Financial Threat

[Purveyor]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is worried that Russia, China and OPEC oil-producing countries could use their growing financial clout to advance political goals, the top U.S. spy chief told Congress on Tuesday.

Such economic matters joined terrorism, nuclear proliferation and computer-network vulnerabilities as top U.S. security threats described by National Director of Intelligence Michael McConnell in an annual assessment.

McConnell said U.S. intelligence agencies had "concerns about the financial capabilities of Russia, China and OPEC countries and the potential use of their market access to exert financial leverage to political ends."

Russia, bolstered in part by oil revenues, was positioning itself to control an energy supply and transportation network from Europe to East Asia, and the Russian military had begun to reverse a long decline, he told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

China has pursued a policy of global engagement out of a desire to expand its growing economy and obtain access markets, resources, technology and expertise, McConnell said.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com:80/article/politicsNews/idUSN0516015220080205

[LynnTheDem]

1. Awwwwwww...

Isn't it cute when the US government whines about having fucked America over!

But really, HOW DARE other nations be richer than us!!! HOW DARE they not be as poor & destitute & starving as bush's Iraq & Afghanistan!!! Fuckin' nerve!

:eyes:

World to America; fuck off.

[SquireJons]

12. Wake up.

There's a big difference between competition from open market liberal democracies and command economies run by totalitarian governments. If you are an American who loves your country, you should be very concerned about these other countries mentioned in this report. The only thing they care about is power and quite likely the demise of our system of government and economy. Try living in any of these other places and then tell us to fuck off.

The United States has real enemies, and Iraq and Afghanistan are not even on the list.

[khaos]

15. it's too late.. the US was subverted years ago

what we are now seeing is the execution. adapt

[atreides1]

16. Guess What

The only thing that Bush and his followers care about is power, so we have real enemies? Maybe you should tell that to the clowns who are in office making all the decisions!

I am concerned, but guess what because of 7 years of Republican rule and American fear and bigotry, we're pretty much on the road to being screwed. Our treasury is full of IOU's and with the national debt owned by China and members of OPEC, our military has been totally raked over the coals and can't even provide a defense of the "Homeland".

With the unilateralism practiced by Bush and company we've run out of friends, so while the US gets slammed by Russia, China, and OPEC our buddies will probably sit and watch and do nothing.

So suck it up, because short of a miracle from heaven we are now all going to pay the butcher's bill, some call it karma, others call it pay back, I prefer to call it Devonne justice.

[SquireJons]

17. Crazy as it may sound, it's been worse.

You may not be old enough to remember the cold war first hand, but the U.S. did lots of illegal and immoral things around the world in the name of "fighting communism" and somehow we managed to overcome our reputation. It can happen again, if we have decent and fair government. Truth is, while the * admin has been a disaster, we still have much to offer the world.

But that doesn't apply to countries like China, Russia and the authoritarian governments of the Middle East. They are a special case and deserve our united attention... without the rose colored classes the left has worn in the past.

[htuttle]

19. Ha -- how the hell can anyone blame ANYTHING on the American 'left' nowadays?

I can hardly think of a more discredited, disempowered segment of political society. Why don't you just blame the problem on the old US Communist Party -- I'm sure it has a few dozen members left.

The origin of our problems with China and Russia is NOT because the left is wearing rose colored glasses. Nobody's really listened to the left since FDR died. It's the fault of the corporate and investor classes who thought they could make more money selling our seed corn to China as far back as Nixon.

As Lenin is quoted as saying, "When it comes time to hang the capitalists, they'll sell us the rope." Turns out that corporate America sold China a WHOLE LOT of rope in exchange for basically worthless bling.

And just who the heck do you think has been supporting all those 'authoritarian governments in the Middle East' all these years? Not Russia or China -- it was our own government that's been doing that. Dictatorships have always been easier for investors to deal with than democracies.

[krkaufman]

22. It wasn't just about finding an export market for our goods.

Unable to eliminate US labor, environmental and safety legislation directly, American corporatists wrapped their 20th-Century Rollback plan in the guise of free market globalization and "economic liberty", and, through this end-around, began shipping American jobs, effectively, back to the 19th Century.

Should US companies be allowed to dump toxic waste into our waterways? No? Then why should US companies and workers have to compete against foreign companies that can?

Should the US ban labor unions and collective bargaining? No? Then why are US workers forced to compete against workers who haven't these rights?

etc...

We need to restore fairness to international trade if we're going to help ourselves -- and help the disadvantaged of the world.

[melody]

26. Well said n/t

[krkaufman]

21. Is she some blacksploitation superhero?

Devonne Justice. Great name.

[smiley_glad_hands]

2. This is W's true legacy.

The only way America can remain secure in the future will be energy independence.

[sakabatou]

6. And to do that, it will need to start climbing out of debt

[kirby]

3. Yet...

Just the other day someone from Bush's Treasury Dept was on The Diane Rehm Show claiming that Sovereign Wealth Funds were nothing to worry about because there is no evidence they have been used in the past for anything but financial growth.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Wouldn't it be easier for the 'government' to present a list of countries we don't have to fear?

[peace13]

5. The * regime has intentionally bankrupt this country

and destroyed our armed services from the inside out! This seems clear to me.

[Winterblues]

7. Duhhh

Republicans have caused the US Dollar to lose more than half it's value in six short years and now they realize it might become a security threat......Republicans almost seem to be the definition of stupid...

[ixion]

8. maybe we should have thought of that before we

-- dismantled our manufacturing and IT sectors and shipped them off to China and India; and

-- allowed Big Energy to stand in the way of developing alternative energy systems; and

-- allowed Big Auto to stand in the way of developing alternatives to the combustion engine.

But, as usual, we 'worry' about a problem after the damage has been done and there's not much we can do about it.

[krkaufman]

23. good summary of our 3 decades of blunders under Reaganomics. n/t

[Hugabear]

9. I'll re-write this: Russia, China, OPEC see US threat

What a bunch of horseshit. Of course, countries are going to look out for their own self interests! Why does the United States think that THEY are the only country in the world that matters, that every other country in the world should work to satisfy America's interest? For decades, we've been throwing our weight around the world, so why should it surprise anyone when other countries decide to start advancing their own political goals?

The United States is worried that Russia, China and OPEC oil-producing countries could use their growing financial clout to advance political goals

Well....DUH. Stupid motherfuckers!

[Peace Patriot]

10. Duh...

"terrorism" - OBL still free, but lots of innocents rotting away in Guantanamo Bay

nuclear proliferation - top U.S. counter-proliferation expert and her entire CIA network outed

computer-network vulnerabilities - computer networks expanded dramatically, even into our very voting booths

financial capabilities of Russia, China and OPEC countries - who hogtied us to an oil economy? who sent our manufacturing capability to China (and other slave labor countries)? who is alienating Russia by putting U.S.missiles in Poland? who is demonizing, alienating and seeking to topple democratic members of OPEC--Venezuela, Ecuador?

Seems like somebody has a plan to topple the U.S. of A.--and it ain't no foreign governments.

[MasonJar]

11. And why should they not? Thanks, George for your stupid policies!!!

[xchrom]

13. it's the threat to diversity in our economy that gives

these other countries an open door.

in order to give the american consumer ''cheap'' goods -- we have opened the door to a service sector only economy.

we have neighbors to trade with -- the EU and our neighbors to the south who are our natural partners -- we have not negotiated treaties with these neighbors that will benefit equitably all partners at that table.

[DCKit]

18. "...benefit equitably all partners at that table."

Thus begins the circular argument about why we don't trade with any country on an equal basis. Free trade - not fair trade - and cheap, borrowed money are the policies that have brought us to our knees.

It would be nice if those countries we've treated so poorly in the past would refrain from kicking us while we're down, but I'm covering my head and rolling up in a ball, just in case they don't.

[jwirr]

14. NOW after the *ss administration has done everything it can to force

a alliance between these groups it is going to be afraid? Russia is also much closer to EU these days. It seems to me that what is happening is that the rest of the world is recognizing to danger that the US poses to any country that may not want to do their bidding and are banding together to defend themselves. This is also happening in SA.

[krkaufman]

24. see...? Bush *is* a uniter...!! n/t

[krkaufman]

20. Ok, the fact that Bush's disastrous war in Iraq has led to the exact opposite ...

... of PNAC's goals would be one of funniest damn things in the world, if hundreds of thousands hadn't have died in the process.

So, now, rather than having prevented any competitors from having an advantage over us, we are on the brink of third world status and all our old rivals are rising to supremacy.

How high, Hu? What color, Vlad?

[cottonseed]

25. When you're 10 Trillion in debt. There's a lot of threats out there.

We've got to get our house in order. Quickly.

[Dover]

27. An interesting paragraph.......>

Interesting the way the first sentence segues into the next with no explanation of their relationship, although it seems to imply there is one... (ie. the cable cutting incident in the ME).
Is that a subtle way of pointing a finger away from theories circulating of the U.S.'s hand in that sabotage? Or is it a confession of sorts? I just don't understand the reason for this article...it's all over the place and seems to say, "the boogeyman is everywhere!".



Russia and China have long been able to target U.S. computer systems to collect intelligence, he said. "The worrisome part is, today, they also could target information infrastructure systems for degradation or destruction."

In the energy sector, a weak U.S. dollar had prompted some oil suppliers, including Iran, Syria and Libya, to ask for payment in other currencies, or to delink their currencies from the dollar, McConnell said. "Continued concerns about dollar depreciation could tempt other producers to follow suit."


------

And then there is this paragraph...same old complaint:


Among other top worries, Iran still had the potential to develop nuclear weapons, despite stopping work on nuclear warhead design, he said. A finding by U.S. intelligence agencies last year that Iran had suspended design activities led conservative critics to charge the report undermined U.S. efforts to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.

McConnell did not alter the assessment of Iran, but said he should have tried to explain it better.

"I may have put it up front with a little diagram, what are the component parts, so that the reader could quickly grasp that a portion of it, I would argue maybe even the least significant portion, was halted and there are other parts that continue."



Which seems at odds with this news that the U.S. Energy Dept. has in fact been helping to supply Iran's nuclear capabilities through Russia.

http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=9808379
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/06/healthscience/05well.php

[Warren Stupidity]

28. The security war and prison boondoggles

need a perpetual crisis to keep their scams going. "Be afraid. Give us all your money."