DISADVANTAGE/RUSSIA

IMPACT: RUSSIA WILL THREATEN NUCLEAR WEAPON USE

RUSSIAN IMPERIALISM THREATENS NUCLEAR WEAPON USE

Haroon Siddiqui The Toronto Star November 18, 1999, HEADLINE: HIT RUSSIA WHERE IT HURTS: IMF LOANS // ln-acs 12/18/99

The intrigue, the interventions and the bullying - so reminiscent of Czarist and Stalinist eras - have increased in proportion to the ascendancy of the Russian military in these waning days of Boris Yeltsin's erratic presidency. Generals are full of bluster they won't cave in on Chechnya. The defence minister is even threatening to dip into the nuclear kit.

RUSSIA IS WILLING TO USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS AS MILITARY POWER PROJECTION

Richard F. Staar, a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford, DECEMBER 15, 1999, The San Francisco Chronicle; Pg. A27; HEADLINE: Russia's New Military Doctrine Deserves a Read // ln-acs 12/18/99

The new military doctrine states that, in response to the use of conventional weapons or those of mass destruction by an aggressor, the High Command will launch nuclear-tipped missiles if the situation becomes critical. Russian ground troops already were being equipped with tactical nuclear weapons, according to an article in Izvestiia of April 30, 1999.

RUSSIA CONTINUES TO DEVELOP NEW AND MORE SOPHISTICATED WEAPONS

Robert S. Dudney, Executive Editor March, 2001 Air Force Magazine SECTION: VERBATIM; Pg. 52 HEADLINE: Now That's Cooperation //VT2002acsln

-- Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, written response query propounded by the Senate Armed Services Committee before Jan. 11 confirmation hearing.

"Russia . . . claims to lack the financial resources to eliminate weapons of mass destruction but continues to invest scarce resources in the development of newer, more sophisticated ICBMs and other weapons. We would not want the US investment in the CTR [Cooperative Threat Reduction] program to become the means by which Russia frees up resources to finance its military modernization programs."

RUSSIA IS ENHANCING ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS CAPABILITIES

ROBERT WALL February 12, 2001 Aviation Week & Space Technology SECTION: WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS; Vol. 154, No. 7; Pg. 30 HEADLINE: CIA Details Proliferation Concerns, Other Threats //VT2002acsln

Concerning Russia's nuclear arsenal, Wilson pointed out that Moscow is not only deploying the SS-27 ICBM, but also working on upgrades to the system. Overall, Wilson said, ''I remain relatively pessimistic about Russia's prospects'' for economic advance. That, in turn, will continue to stifle its ability to improve the plight of its conventional forces. which have been underfunded for years.

A REFORMIST RUSSIA CAN HELP SOLVE WORLD PROBLEMS, A HOSTILE RUSSIA WILL BE THE WORLD’S BIGGEST PROBLEM

Strobe Talbott; Deputy Secretary of State, US Department of State Dispatch, August 18, 1997; Pg. 22; HEADLINE: The end of the beginning: the emergence of a new Russia; acs-VT99

We are not neutral bystanders. There is no doubt where our own national interest lies: Quite simply, we want to see the ascendancy of Russia's reformers, those who look outward and forward rather than inward and backward for the signposts of national revival. A Russia that reflects their aspirations is likely to be part of the solution to the world's many problems. Conversely, a Russia that erects barriers against what it sees as a hostile world and that believes the best defense is a good offense -- such a Russia could be, in the 21st century just as it was in much of the 20th, one of the biggest of the problems we and our children will face.