Rice: Russia becoming isolated, irrelevant

Bush and Condi putting Putin in his place? It does not sound like she is intimidated by the commie vermin AT ALL.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Russia's policies are putting it on a path to isolation and irrelevance, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday.

Rice also said that Moscow's other behavior, including using oil and gas as a weapon, threatening countries with nuclear attack, selling arms to rogue states and political persecution of journalists and dissidents, paints a picture of "a Russia increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad."

Her comments came in a speech on the state of relations between Washington and Moscow.

While the United States has taken issue with Russia's behavior for some time, Rice called its invasion of Georgia last month a "critical moment for Russia and the world."

She warned that Moscow's international standing following the Georgia conflict is at a post-Cold War low.

"Russia's invasion of Georgia has achieved -- and will achieve -- no strategic objective," Rice said. "Russia's leaders will not accomplish their primary war aim of removing Georgia's government. And our strategic goal now is to make it clear to Russia's leaders that their choices are putting Russia on a one-way path to self-imposed isolation and international irrelevance."

The United States and Europe will stand up to Russia and not allow it to bully or threaten its neighbors, she said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/18/rice.russia/