First Putin exposed the duplicity ^[1] about the missile-defense for everybody to watch by offering a, for detection of “Iranian missiles” superior location of the Czech radar station, in Azerbaijan. USA declined and removed all possible doubts about the shield’s purpose ^[2].

Now Russia offers “help” in Afghanistan and cooperation with NATO in the military encirclement ^[3] of itself. A clever idea to challenge the stated rationale of war, is it really a ‘war on terrorism’ or is it about something else? The islamists were old allies in Afghanistan ^[4] and the Balkans ^[5] and Tim Osman ^[6] after all an old CIA ‘asset’.

Asia Times:Russia throws a wrench in NATO’s works ^[7]

The million-dollar question is whether there is political will on the part of the Bush administration to reach a “strategic consensus” over Afghanistan with Russia at the forthcoming NATO summit. Clearly, Moscow is willing. NATO old-timers such as France and Germany, too, are conscious that the alliance may suffer a defeat in Afghanistan, which would be a catastrophic blow to its standing, and that NATO and Russia after all share the same goals in Afghanistan.

But cooperation with Russia involves NATO embarking on cooperation with CSTO and possibly with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as well.

What worries the US is that any such link up between NATO and CSTO and SCO would undermine its “containment” policy toward Russia (and China), apart from jeopardizing the US global strategy of projecting NATO as a political organization on the world arena.

The most damaging part is that Russia-NATO cooperation will inevitably strengthen Russia’s ties with European countries and that, in turn, would weaken the US’s trans-Atlantic leadership role in the 21st century.

By putting forth a bold blueprint of cooperation with NATO over Afghanistan, Russia has effectively challenged the US to make a choice. It is by no means an easy choice for Washington. How do you deal in the world of tomorrow with a country whose energy exports are close to reaching a milestone of US$1 billion per day?

Will Washington bite? Putin, with his trademark fighting spirit of a black belt in karate, could well be counting that his presidency still has five or six weeks to go and that is a lot of time for making Russia NATO’s number one partner globally and ensuring a durable place for Russia within the common European home.

On the other side of the Atlantic, CENTCOM chief Admiral William Fallon has resigned.

Asia Times:Fallon falls: Iran should worry ^[8]

Fallon’s greatest concern appears to have been preventing war with Iran. He was one a group of senior military officers, apparently including most of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who were alarmed in late 2006 and early 2007 by indications that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were contemplating a possible attack on Iran.

Asia Times: ^[8]Israel raises the ante against Iran ^[9]

Coinciding with the ominous news that US CENTCOM chief Admiral William Fallon has resigned – or been sacked – for his opposition to a war with Iran, [Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi] Livni hopes to harvest a blowing wind of war against another Middle Eastern country that dares to challenge Israel’s regional hegemony.

… the waning months of the George W Bush administration represent a golden opportunity for Israel to ignite another Middle East conflict that, in essence, is rooted in Israel’s structural inability to make peace with the Arab and Muslim world.

At the same time several subsea communication cables has been cut in February. New preparations for Armageddon?

Rense:Connecting The Many Undersea Cut Cable Dots – 9 Or More? ^[10]

all of them, save one, have occurred in waters near predominantly Muslim nations, causing disruption in those countries;all but two of the cut/damaged cables are in Middle Eastern waters; so many like incidents in such a short period of time suggests that they are not accidents, but are in fact deliberate acts, i.e., sabotage.