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Russia's Great-Power Strategy

Geopolitics for a Thursday. With all the talk about Vladimir Putin's recent speech in Munich, in which the Russian President criticized the US' current role as an overly meddlesome world power, many observers have been trying to understand the importance of Putin's words and Russia's ambitions.

John Mauldin gives us Stratfor strategist, George Friedman's view in his latest "Outside The Box" e-letter. Here is an excerpt from Friedman's analysis, "Russia's Great Power Strategy":

At Munich, Putin launched a systematic attack on the role the United States is playing in the world. He said: "One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way ... This is nourishing an arms race with the desire of countries to get nuclear weapons." In other words, the United States has gone beyond its legitimate reach and is therefore responsible for attempts by other countries -- an obvious reference to Iran -- to acquire nuclear weapons.

The essay also goes on to analyze Russia's interests in the Middle East and the lever of control the country is seen to have over the United States due to its heavy involvement in that region.

Have a look.

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