The Thomas Chronicles

As we continue to banter back and forth this election cycle, crucial news is barely being reported about the rising tension in Eastern Europe that could spell a great deal of trouble for us and the world.

It was reported by the BBC and other news organizations that Russia is irate over our support of Kosovo Independence.

Press TV reported:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) and Russia’s FM Sergei Lavrov
Russia has warned the US that Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia puts the pillars of international order at risk.

“We confirmed our principled position on the unacceptability of unilateral actions by Pristina declaring its independence,” said Russian foreign ministry in a statement after Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov criticized the US on Tuesday in a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“We underlined the dangerous consequences of such a step, which threatens the destruction of world order and international stability which have developed over decades,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said he believes that the declaration of Kosovo’s independence is a precedent destroying the system of international law, Russia’s news agency Itar-Tass reported Tuesday.

Ivanov underscored that the declaration of independence by the Kosovo parliament is “opening Pandora’s box” that will bring about a chain reaction in unrecognized territories.

For those unversed in the long troubled history of that region, the 20th century’s first conflagration occurred on the steps of the Balkans, and it has long been feared that instability in the region could spark yet another world war, which was why the UN and NATO was so quick to squelch the genocide in the former Yugoslavia.

It also must be remembered that Russia regards all Slavic people as their own. In a very real sense, they regard the Slavs down in the Balkans similarly to how we regard the state of California.

In what seems to be a tit-for-tat escalation of rhetoric and hostility, our move to support the Independence of Kosovo seems to be in response to Russia’s earlier threat of re-targeting their warheads at our allies in Eastern Europe.

MOSCOW, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia “would have to take counter measures” against a U.S.-planned missile defense system in Ukraine.

“Russia would have to take counter measures … and target those which we think will pose threat to us,” Putin said at his annual and maybe the last press conference before he steps down after a March 2 presidential election.

The marathon conference in Kremlin is attended by nearly 1,400 domestic and foreign journalists and expected to last for three hours.

Washington has pledged to base missile interceptors in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic as part of a project to extend the missile defense system to Europe.

Moscow strongly opposes the plan, saying it poses a threat to its security while Washington says the system is aimed at states and groups in the Middle East which are seeking weapons of mass destruction, not against Russia.

“By fanning anti-Russian sentiments in Poland, it’s easier to pass a decision on fielding missiles in that country. What should Russia do? In that event, one will have to re-target parts of our missile systems at the facilities which, as we believe, will be a threat to us,” Putin said.

Russia knows full well that the missiles we will place in Eastern Europe will be of a defensive nature. They don’t have the offensive capability to strike Russia, and the nations on Russia’s border, like Poland, don'’t have neither the wherewithal nor the desire to attack Russia. So, how are we to interpret their constant threats and protestations?

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