Vladimir Putin fired an acerbic

broadside Thursday at the US,

condemning "imperialism" in world affairs

and blaming Washington for igniting

a new "arms race" that Russia wouldn't ignore

It's the latest in a line of

harsh outbursts against the West

Putin said new tensions had emerged

in international relations in recent years

"because the world changed and there was

an attempt to make it unipolar"

following the disintegration of the Soviet Union

In diplomatic parlance of the last decade,

"unipolar" refers to a world dominated by the US

Putin launches scathing attack on the West

Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a scathing attack on the West, accusing Washington of imperialism and of starting a new arms race.

Putin's comments, which will be popular among ordinary Russians in a year when there is a parliamentary election, are the latest in a line of harsh outbursts against the West.

Russia on Tuesday test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile with multiple warheads and a new cruise missiles, which Russian generals say are sufficient to ensure the country's security for the next 40 years.

"Our partners are stuffing eastern Europe with new weapons," Putin said. "What are we supposed to do? We cannot just observe all this."

Moscow has been alarmed by U.S. plans to deploy elements of its global missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Washington says it wants to avert attacks from "rogue states" such as Iran but Russia sees a threat to its own security.

"There is a clear desire by some international players to dictate their will to everyone without adhering to international law," Putin said. "International law has been replaced by political reasons."

Speaking to reporters after talks with Greek President Carolos Papoulias, Putin said new tensions had emerged in international relations in recent years "because the world changed and there was an attempt to make it unipolar" following the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

In diplomatic parlance of the last decade, "unipolar" refers to a world dominated by the US.

"There was a desire among several international actors to dictate their will to each and everyone and to act not in accordance with the norms of international life and law," he said.

"This is very dangerous and unhealthy ... In our view it is nothing other than diktat, than imperialism."

Putin Is Right - The US Is an Empire out of Control

As Poland and the Czech Republic dither whether to let the US put a few "interceptor missiles" on their territories as part of the US missile defence shield, it is high time to take stock of the latest phase in US plans for reshaping the world in its image.

Having ripped up the hard-won anti-missile defence moratorium of the Cold War, it proceeded to absorbed ex-socialist block countries into its NATO defence arm -- plans are for Croatia, Macedonia and Albania (Al ban ia?) to join next year.

And when Europe dithered about what to think of the US invasion of Iraq, the US succeeded in destroying any semblance of an independent European defence policy by conning Poland, Bulgaria and who-remembers-who-else into joining the carnage.

Rather than quietly dismantling NATO after the Warsaw Pact was buried in 1989, it managed to slowly refashion NATO from its supposed role as bulwark against the nasty Russians into US world gendarme. The hat trick to beat all hat tricks.

Not satisfied with its brilliant success so far, it is now twisting rather flaccid arms in Poland, the Czech Republic and elsewhere into giving the US, sorry, NATO bases as part of its peace-loving anti-missile defence system.

What possible rationale is there for this? Aren't we all friends now, East and West? Didn't the "Evil Empire" collapse? Shouldn't the UN --if anyone -- be the world's policeman?

Is it possible that the UN and the promise of world peace that the very creation of the UN embodied (or so we were led to belief) is intentionally being undermined by the US, sorry, NATO?

If, say, even 15 years ago, after the collapse of the "Evil Empire", in the days of Yeltsin's cowboy capitalism and Clinton's promised "peace dividend", one had tried to conjure up a more absurd scenario for the world -- Poland or the Czech Republic as the brave new defenders of democracy in the guise of airbases aimed at Russia, you would have laughed.

If I had predicted such a nefarious plan 20 years ago, during the rosy days of Gorbachev's perestroika, 30 years ago during the stagnation of the Brezhnev period, or 60 years ago, during the dark days of Stalinism, you would have told me I was paranoid, that the mighty Soviet Union would never face such a frightening prospect.

That these poor little countries were quite harmless. That the US was, after all, the defender of world peace.

But this is no laughing matter and unfortunately I am not paranoid. Russian President Putin told Czech President Vaclav Klaus last week that caving in to US demands would "raise the risk of nuclear destruction".

Klaus pooh-poohed Putin's claim, denying the proposed missiles could possibly be directed at Russia, asserting that Iran and North Korea were the intended destination. Huh?

Enough humbug. Clearly the US is taking aim at what's left of its only real military rival.

In a world of pain and sorrow, we can find few knights in shining armour.

But despite their many faults, all the past leaders of Russian contributed to world peace, with the very clear exception of the recently deceased Yeltsin, who was the one and only Russian leader who shamefully sold his country out to the imperialists.

Funny how only ex-presidents Bush Senior, and Clinton bothered to show up at his funeral. What a shame US Defense Secretary Robert Gates didn't drop by to renew his oh-so-generous offer for Russia to join this latest bit of US of warmongering.

Yes, Stalin was psychotic, Brezhnev dull and scheming, Khrushchev and his political acolyte Gorbachev pompous windbags, but their gut instinct was true.

They stood up to the plans of the imperialists -- European and US, and gave breathing room for Africa and Asia and even for a short while, Latin America, to live in peace and develop in a way that at least partly met the needs of their people.

Since the Soviet Union collapsed, this path has been blocked, and now the world is being forced to take a new road -- the road to hell in a US/ Israeli-nuclear-tipped handcart.

We must not be distracted by the Western media's orchestration of a new anti- Russian politics and solemn promises of US peaceful intentions. Putin objectively represents the forces fighting for world peace.

And if he threatens to withhold gas to the EU, or "worse" -- a moratorium on the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, or deploying of medium range ballistic missiles in Kaliningrad -- he should be commended.

Even if he changes the constitution and accepts a third term as president as the vast majority of Russians want, he should only be congratulated.

His foreign politics embody the will of the people as no other modern Russian leader does. We have seen the glories of US-style democracy at work in Iraq. God forbid this "democracy" rule the world.

Thank God the Russians have a leader with some backbone, and a tradition of world peace.

Now the Polands and Albanias are all flocking to the EU, seduced by Western goodies and moral relativism, sending their doctors to sweep London's streets and their young women to fill Western brothels.

And now, in the absence of any clear European socio-economic alternative to US-led imperialism, they are being jockeyed into accepting nuclear weapons- related facilities -- the thin edge of a possible nuclear wedge?

And to what end? At the same time, Arab and Muslim countries are being denied even nuclear power, and Israel is given carte blanche, not to mention interest-free loans for its German-made nuclear-tipped submarines, to spread its own nuclear terror.

Is this the road to world peace? Is this an honourable way for these new states to show their "independence" and their own desire for peace? Is the UN really to be dismissed as a pathetic plaything of US imperialism?