Anyone out there think that Putin gives a second thought about Obama’s response to anything? The Lyin’ King has reduced the United States to less than a Third World nation that uses slingshots as defensive weapons, and void of offensive might.
The following report is depressing, yet necessary to know and understand. Putin has no respect for President Obama, Secretary of State, John Kerry, America’s Department of Defense or what anyone thinks. Europe certainly does not have anyone, or collectively, that Putin should be concerned with. No one can, or will stop him. Can you hear the Anti-Christ warming up?
Jerry Broussard
WWW.WASHINGTONTIMES.COM
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/2/inside-the-beltway-the-put-up-or-shut-up-moment/
By Jennifer Harper
-Question of the Day
Are Russia’s military actions in Ukraine an “uncontested arrival”?
With the help of an impatient news media, a global taste for drama and Russia’s provocative posturing in the Ukraine, the White House is now wedged in the put up or shut up position. Are we in a Cold War now? A Cool War? Maybe it’s just tepid.
War and the rumors of war, like relationships, are complicated these days. Choices are many. Threats of economic sanctions, stern warnings and the withdrawal of diplomatic officials may or may not dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin. Blunt force is effective, but not always efficient.
The mere suggestion of blunt force and dire consequences, however, has been helpful in the past. Recall that strategic deterrence and the old Strategic Air Command’s “peace through strength” motto persevered in difficult decades, back when Russia was the Soviet Union. But wait. There’s already some strategic deterrence afoot. Consider that when Mr. Putin simply parks a warship in Cuba or assembles black-clad, unidentified troops somewhere, he gets much press, and worries challengers plenty. The Russian president is tactically image-minded: Mr. Putin shaped the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics, which proved to be both global spectacle and handy political vehicle.
Another factor. A little saber rattling goes a long way: It is instantly magnified in the press, and even more so on social media. Why, imagine if Hollywood were to craft a buzzworthy, tweetable message that America’s arsenal and resolve are fully intact. So uh, look out.
“Putin has been very lucky both in his domestic and foreign endeavors, in part because of objective factors — when he took over as acting president in 1999, a barrel of crude averaged around $17 a barrel — and in large measure because his opponents, at home and abroad, were politically or economically handicapped,” points out Leon Aron, director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, in an op-ed for CNN.
“As a result, Putin has trusted his luck and his smarts while counting on his opponents’ weaknesses. This means he has operated in accordance with Napoleon’s principle: On s’engage and puis on voit, which I would translate as ‘First get into a fight, and then decide what to do.’”
Journalists and pundits are already busy crafting the narrative of a possible war, a dress rehearsal, a quagmire, or spat. A sampling of headlines in the last 24 hours: “Who blinks first?” (Reuters); “Make Russia pay? It’s not so simple” (New York Times); “Diplomatic language on Ukraine is short of specifics” (CNN); “Ruble set to weaken” (Businessweek); “Muscovites rally for and against Russia’s move into Ukraine” (Wall Street Journal); “Ukraine’s lesson for Russia” (The Daily Beast); “Ukraine is hopeless but not serious” (PJ Media); and “Why Russia no longer fears the West” (Politico).
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