And they say irony is dead...
ABC:
In an interview with ABC News, Secretary of State of Condoleezza Rice expressed concern about Russia's increasing military assertiveness.
"I think the rapid growth in Russian military spending definitely bears watching," Rice said. "And frankly, some of the efforts - for instance, Bear flights in areas that we haven't seen for a while - are really not helpful to security."[..]
Russia's military spending has increased dramatically under President Putin. U.S. intelligence estimates that Russia now spends as much on its military as China, which has also raised alarms with its build-up.
"Russia is once again indisputably the number two military power in the world, second only to the United States," a senior U.S. official said.
Russia arms sales have also increased dramatically under Putin. And when it comes to arms, the list of Russian customers reads like a who's who of U.S. adversaries, including Iran, Syria, Venezuela and Burma.
Rice said she raised this issue directly in talks over the weekend with Russian leaders in Moscow.
"The Russians, of course, say that there's nothing illegal about these arms sales," Rice said. "I [told them] not everything that is legal in the narrowest sense is good for the international system.
The Russians--based on this article in Pravda--don't appear to be too worried about lowering themselves in the US's estimation. Or in women's estimation in general. Ouch.
Our buddy, Steve Benen, wonders why a power-hungry chief executive with unchecked authority would be so worrying to Condi. You'd think she'd be used to it by now.
