Financial Times with the real reasons

As usual, the financial media outlets provide most of the answers to the honest questions people have about U.S. policy. The Financial Times has a real gem here.

The article contains a response of Russian officials to U.S. sanctions against two companies who allegedly dealt weapons to Iran. This snippet is sufficient:

"The US decision could further worsen relations with Russia, which have cooled as the Bush administration has stepped up its rhetoric over the Putin administration’s democratic record."

It is difficult not to notice the rhetoric from the Bush Administration toward the Russian Federation. Why VP Cheney would travel to Moscow and accuse Putin of doing exactly what he himself was doing in the United States? After the situation in Iran started heating up, you can easily put the two together. Iran buys weapons from Russia through its state export company, just like everyone else does who cannot buy them from the United States, and U.S. policy is regime change in Iran. Therefore, until Russia and Iran begins to take orders from the U.S., they will face the prospect of ever increasing squeeze tactics. The last paragraph at least gives some attention to the obvious:

"Michael McFaul, a Russia specialist at Stanford University, said: “The fact that they are doing this now is probably in response to the problems in the Middle East. The timing is not coincidental.”

In any case, this is a good chance to reiterate that most answers can be found in the media reports if you look for them.