This is not about economy (though you are wrong about what this means to US industry). This is about the sphere of influence - in case you have not noticed, the cold war is making a comeback. If the US chooses not to play the part of the super-power anymore it has the full right to do so, but I am not sure that most Americans consider the consequences.
Its not making a comeback Bozon. I dont know if you were alive for it, and I cant discuss Politics here, but at its heart the Cold War was an ideological battle for world wide domination of communism/socialism. Now its all about national interest in a multi-Polar world.
The Russians are simply doing business. Sure they would like to extend their sphere of influence on their periphery. But alliances are costly, as they learned when their empire came crashing down. The Hind is simply the right tool, for the right task, at the right price, for the job. And without having to get approved by a US Congress.
Correct me if Im wrong but dont the Iraqi's have experience and background with the Hind?
