Biden Says Weakened Russia Will Bend to U.S.

By GottaLaff

Vice President Biden speaks and pow! The punditiots start right in. Just now on CNN, Bill Schneider said that although Biden's points were good ones, he shouldn't have expressed them out loud. Well, Bill, he did:

Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview that Russia's economy is "withering," and suggested the trend will force the country to make accommodations to the West on a wide range of national-security issues, including loosening its grip on former Soviet republics and shrinking its vast nuclear arsenal.

Mr. Biden said he believes Russia's economic problems are part of a series of developments that have contributed to a significant rethinking by Moscow of its international self-interest. The geographical proximity of the emerging nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea is also likely to make Russia more cooperative with the U.S. in blocking their growth, he said.

But in the interview, at the end of a four-day trip to Ukraine and Georgia, Mr. Biden said domestic troubles are the most important factor driving Russia's new global outlook. "I think we vastly underestimate the hand that we hold," he said.

There are several quotes here. A sample:

On domestic difficulties that are affecting Russian foreign policy:

"The reality is the Russians are where they are. They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they're in a situation where the world is changing before them and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable." [...]

On whether Moscow will assist the U.S. in clamping down on nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea:

"I can see Putin sitting in Moscow saying, 'Jesus Christ, Iran gets the nuclear weapon, who goes first?' Moscow, not Washington." [...]

On the need for the U.S. not to overplay its hand with Moscow:

"It is never smart to embarrass an individual or a country when they're dealing with significant loss of face. My dad used to put it another way: Never put another man in a corner where the only way out is over you. It just is not smart."

Much more here.