December 11
--otiations between the International Monetary Fund and the Russian government on an emergency grant represent the last chance to do the right thing for peace and stability in the Middle East and beyond.

The emergency grant is a huge sum of money, $22.4 billion, without which Russia cannot survive the coming winter. Meanwhile, for a much smaller sum, Russia continues to support Iran's military buildup. Russian companies, like Trood, the Bauman Institute, the Central Russian Institute for Aerohyrdodynamics, and other semi-government companies, give the Iranian government crucial assistance in the production of Shihab-3 and Shihab-4 ballistic missiles. The first has a range of nearly 1,300 kilometers and the second nearly 2,100 kilometers. A quick look at the map shows which cities lie within