And yes Russia HAS been in violation, but only in the number of TLE in certain zones rather than the total TLE overall. In other words, it HAS followed through on the total number of pieces of military hardware, it just has a higher-than-allowed concentration in the south, because of Chechnya. I should mention that these breaches have not been condemned or criticized by the west as the Chechen Wars have been mostly tolerated/supported by the west.
And since the 1999 Adapted CFE was never ratified, Russia isn't actually in violation of anything.
The CFE isn't just to hamstring Russia, it's also to keep NATO and the west from over militarizing Europe as well. The last thing Europe EVER needs again is a buildup of conventional forces on its soil.
Pax Night and day you can find me Flogging the Simian
Do not though that "it HAS followed through on the total number of pieces of military hardware, it just has a higher-than-allowed concentration in the south" is a great excuse for a number of things... you know, like the USA have the right number of pieces of hardware, just a higher-than-allowed concentration in Iraq...
Europe's silence on Chechnya is despicable, but if you follow the realpolitik line, then it is indeed an internal problem (although it IS covered by the CFE), whereas Russia's shenanigans in Georgia and Moldova are international law violations... In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
