Target Russia? - by Arnaud de Borchgrave
Beating up on Russia's shrinking democracy has become a geopolitical blood sport from Vice President Dick Cheney down to unreconstructed cold warriors who gleefully say, "I told you so." They see no contradiction in berating Vladimir Putin's governing style and imprecatory Bush administration diplomatic efforts to enlist the Russian president's support to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.Today, the U.S. borrows $7 billion a day -- much of the debt held by China, Japan, Russia and Saudi Arabia -- to stay in the superpower business. But Mr. Putin does not denounce President Bush for gambling with global monetary stability. Or blast the laissez-faire gambling of a derivative market of $300 trillion (U.S. Fed estimate) -- not $300 billion -- in bets for or against almost anything placed by wealthy hedge fund managers. Futures, forwards, options, calls, swaps are greed run amok. Warren Buffett, the legendary investor, has raised serious concerns about the growing menace of derivatives. A derivatives meltdown would be a global financial tsunami.
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