A long long time ago I enlisted in the Royal Air Force as a Technical Apprentice at the tender age of 16 1/2. We 'boys' arrived at our training unit promptly, all full of excitement tinged with a degree of trepidation, and after the obligatory savage haircut, we trooped into a lecture hall to receive our welcome talk from a serving officer. This officer strode into the hall resplendent in immaculate uniform complete with gleaming white pilot's wings brevet and two rows of medals, and we all gazed in awe at this "godlike" figure before us before he began his address After the mandatory welcome words he carried on with this very overt warning... " boys....let's be clear about this...the russians are NOT the potential enemy...they ARE the enemy" Judging by recent tragic events allegedly perpetrated by the soviets both in the UK and several other parts of europe and the middle east, I'm in two minds as to whether the advise was purely military jingoism or a well deserved advance warning of things to come What do all you peeps think then ?
I think the West was deceived when they thought Russia was finished when the Soviet Union fell. I think the advice was sound. I also think that China should be factored into the equation. I think the only nation China fears is Japan. They have no fear or respect for the U.S. or any other Western nation.
Well, I don't really watch the Russians although maybe I should. I remember my uncle who served in WW2 saying, "Don't ever trust the Russians". This would seem to go along with your officer's words, Bill. My father, who also served in WW2 said the biggest mistake the Allies made was to let the Soviets have as much of Berlin as they got. But them didn't the Soviets actually take Berlin? (I wasn't here yet)
They were allowed to take Berlin. Patton could have taken it, but Eisenhower ordered him to allow the Russians to get there first, thus igniting a long cold war and the Berlin blockade and airlift. I know Roosevelt idolized Stalin, so he may have ultimately been behind the move. Churchill hated having to deal with Stalin, so it wasn't his fault. Your father was very correct.
If it isn't the Russians, it will be somebody else. We need an enemy. It's us against them. It has ever been thus and, I suspect, always will be.
It will be interesting to see what @Terry Page 's take on this is, given that he lives in Russia 6 months of the year...
I think we should not trust the Russians, or any other government, for that matter, but that China is a greater threat to us here in the US than Russia is. As long as we insist on our "war against terrorism," we have interests in common with Russia, and should exploit them, much as Russia was our ally in World War II, but without leaving ourselves open.
I agree Shirley that's my belief completely. I agree Ken that the governments are the main problem regarding trust, the viewpoint from Russia is of course completely different to ours in the west, Putin has created an image which appeals to the majority of the population here, who see him as a strong leader who is defending Russia from the evils of Europe and the US. The media here is of course heavily controlled and simply a propaganda machine, personally I don't believe much news from here or the west, it's all suspect in my opinion........the truth is somewhere in the middle I guess though well hidden... Putin has also very cleverly allied himself to the Russian Orthodox church, who are very powerful due to the majority of Russians being devout Christians. There is a huge surge in the building of new churches all over Russia, and they all have full congregations........... Like most leaders he is corrupt and deceitful and only interested in himself, power and control, the population are not really cared for and he has ruined the economy here, but being ex KGB he is very good at removing anyone who opposes him, so there is little hope of any change. The Russian people themselves are just getting on with life as usual, they admire the British and like to discuss the Royal Family, the Americans are also fine but their governments they don't approve of in general ............ and some hate what Putin has done to Russia but dare not speak out in public. China of course is a whole other story....