Russia To Cooperate in Afghan War Effort?

This article from the Toronto Star is brief but it seems to suggest that the Russians are willing to open up a supply route for NATO forces:

MOSCOW–Russia's NATO envoy says his nation wants NATO to succeed in
Afghanistan to reduce a regional threat.

Ambassadors from the 26-member alliance will meet in a joint council with Russia tomorrow for the first time since NATO suspended the sessions to protest Russia's "disproportionate" use of force against Georgia last August.

Dmitry Rogozin said Russia is keen to see the afghan mission succeed and noted that as much as half of NATO shipments through Pakistan are stolen or destroyed by the Taliban.

What a disgraceful figure if it's true. This is something you never hear about in the main stream media. Pakistan is a supposed "ally." We aren't given much information but it appears to me that they are negotiating to set up a supply route through Russia. It's a long land route to get there but with Pakistan proving unreliable, it might be an alternative. The US have bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan (the latter on the Afghan border.)

Non-Story of the Year

Russian ships are visiting Cuba for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union. (Drudge Report has a menacing close-up picture of Putin as the lead story.) So what? Are they going to start shelling Miami? (read)

The Admiral Chabanenko, the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and support ships arrived in the Caribbean last month in a deployment also unprecedented since Soviet times. The voyage is widely seen as a show of force close to U.S. shores and a response to the U.S. use of warships to deliver humanitarian aid to Russia's neighbor Georgia after their war in August.

What I find interesting is the naming of the ship after a Czar. Communism is definately over in Russia.

Oh Yeah, Things Are Still a Mess

Meanwhile the world is still falling apart and waiting for Obama to do something about it.

Wall Street:

A case of post-election nerves has sent stocks plunging as investors, again anxious about a recession, are wondering what impact a Barack Obama presidency will have on business and the overall economy. Volatility has returned on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrials falling 486 points to the 9,139 level, and all the major indexes tumbling more than 5 percent.

Iran:

But an Iranian politician said the timing suggested it was directed at Barak Obama, who won Tuesday's U.S. vote, more than the U.S. military, and might reflect concern by hardliners in Iran who thrived on confrontation with Washington.

Russia:

Russia will place short-range missile systems on the EU's eastern border to counter planned US missile defence installations in Eastern Europe President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.

Afghanistan:

"This is my first demand of the new president of the United States — to put an end to civilian casualties." said President Hamid Karzai

I'd be hitting the snooze button a few more times if I had to wake up with these problems to deal with.