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As 2008 begins, a defense analyst says that the United States-along with its traditional Western allies-will face a new cold war against a much stronger alliance than what they confronted in the first East-West showdown.Greg Copley, president of the International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), believes recent elections in Russia have sent a message to the West that Vladimir Putin will continue to wield a great deal of power, even though he is officially stepping aside from the presidency. Putin will clearly look out for Russia's interests, says Copley, and will move the country further away from the West. "What we're seeing is the emergence of a new cold war framework in the world. In this case, the new cold war framework will include on the one side China, Russia, Iran and so on," he continues; "and on the other side, the traditional Western alliance. This time, however, the cold war adversaries of the West will be much, much stronger."The ISSA president says while those adversaries may not be seeking military confrontation or have any substantial ideological differences with the West, "there will be competition." That competition, he believes, has been brought on in part by the failure of the United States to embrace Russia following the fall of the Soviet Union. Copley argues the allies made the same mistake at the end of World War I when they punished a vanquished Germany, forcing it to become an enemy again in World War II.As in the days of Noah...
