Obama, Putin, Iran's S-300 Missiles ... and Face Saving.

Based on President Obama's rocking speech last night ... an economic, social and foreign policy home-run... it is very easy to understand why foreign states - allies and adversaries - continue to celebrate the departure of Bush 43. Obama's candid and unabashedly open-mindedness for talks with former Axis-of-Evil nations (Iran, Syria and North Korea specifically) and Axis-of-Weasels (Russian, Venezuela, Cuba) bodes well for the soothing of diplomatic tension - and certainly an opportunity to better focus on economic solutions versus saber-rattling. 

SO, the Kremlin's announcement in mid-Jan that a cheery Russia would suspend the sale of pretty-damn-effective Russian-built S-300 anti-aircraft missile batteries (complete with Russian 'consultants' [read: operators, security]) to the ridiculously annoying Iran was a news item to be celebrated for sure. The reason for the freeze on an $800m deal already signed and paid for by an eager Iran? Obama! Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (read: Putin) felt bullish with upcoming U.S. talks with a potentially naive President Obama as to pause the sale of weaponry designed to protect and defend the very annoying (and now active) Iranian Nuclear Power Generator (read: Uranium-enrichment-facilitator). Such a move surely designed to reduce Israel's escalatory jiggling and increasingly desire to attack Iran with 'Made in America' bunker-busters. 

So - succinctly: Russia to pause selling anti-aircraft missiles to Iran that could defend its nuclear facilities against Israel - armed with U.S. weaponry and potential assistance in said attacked - until Medvedev (Putin) and Obama meet with a friendly bear hug. 

Somethings smell ripe - somethings truly stink. This one has a pungent stench of bullshit to it. 

The truth - when it emerges - certainly glows with the light of clarity! It cuts through the double-speak like a drunk Russian in a knife fight. 

Russian nuclear experts today announced Iran's nuclear 'power plant' as being operational. This is a dangerous escalation in the eyes of everyone (including France) as Israel ponders the logical next steps to 'defend' itself through a unilateral assault on Iran. With this in mind - does Russia really want to get in between two nations raring to go at it with Russian weaponry - of which recent reports have suggested as being not as cutting edge and omnipotent as the bad guys anticipated? 

The hot new F-35 stealth Lightening Joint Strike Fighter it is bragged, can detect, avoid, and / or destroy Russia's smoking 'defense' equipment guarding Iran's nuclear assets. 

Put another way - in one sentence: 

Does Russia want its massive arms industry's top shelf weaponry (S-300's) to be proven ineffective by the U.S.'s top-shelf-weaponry (F-35's) ... which we can guess might be covertly 'lent' to Israel should they decide to attack? 

One last twist in this complicated game of chess: Obama's announced 10% budget cut in Military spending will (or could) potentially include the cancellation of future orders for this Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth Lightening Joint Strike Fighter wonder-war-machine - which has been labeled by Obama's accountants as a product of the Cold War. Ha ha!