Appeasing a Bellicose Expansionist at MUNICH by Handing Him Somebody Else's Territory...?

Reaganite Republican ^ | 10 February 2015 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

-while sending Jews fleeing for their lives?

What could possibly go wrong?

While never sure of his true motivations, I find myself for the first time in memory agreeing with Obama's position on something -talk of sending weaponry to Kiev- and in the face of fierce opposition by the Europeans.

But if Washington can't see why a why an EU surrender to a economically weak, backward Russia was pretty much inevitable, those in the Kremlin could: sold-out, corrupt traitors like Gerhard Shroeder long ago hooked-up the EU's natural gas demand to The Bear's teat. 

Alas, Europeans do seem to be slowly waking up to the foolishness of the situation they've put themselves in, beginning to diversify gas supplies. Putin threatening a pipeline disruption does scare them right-now today, tho
-he's done it before- so he's more than ready to play this card if anyone tries to get in the way of current Russian territorial expansion/attempts
to shatter NATO.

And it's really quite comical to hear EU/European national leaders talk like they're taking-the-high-road, avoiding even military equipment for Ukraine,
as if they act out of superior wisdom or some form of moral enlightenment.

What would the EU do to 'get tough' militarily? NOTHING- and the KGB thugs in the Kremlin knew that, too- that's why they continue to do whatever the hell they want in Ukraine (and blatantly lie to our face every day about it) while cowardly Euro-technocrats sit in some office building somewhere, chewing their fingernails.

Fact is, the Europeans couldn't fight if they wanted to: they have almost no military air transport, drones, or aerial refueling capabilities, and only 4 of 28 member-states even meet their 'mandatory' annual NATO spending requirement. I would bet money the Israeli IDF could easily take on -and wipe the floor with- any EU state all by themselves, save perhaps the UK and France. Once-pround European militaries these days couldn't scare a fly out of the room.

As Vladimir Putin completely and totally ignores the Europeans -not even feeling the obligation/respect to be honest about a single thing- it couldn't be more obvious the EU's much-vaunted 'soft power' is in fact no power at all.

Look, nobody's looking to start WWIII here- but NATO was created specifically as an anti-Russian alliance: NATO having the military power and political will necessary to create an effective deterrent makes war with Ivan less likely, not more- it's always been that way. Obviously, the Russians smell weakness, or they wouldn't be doing what they're doing.

I just hope and pray this Ukrainian crisis will end better than I think it will...
and that somehow the Europeans will be forced out of their little dream world where they don't need to bother with national defense, nor to effectively confront emerging threats -'the Americans can do that'- yet 'we'll still refuse to stand-up alongside them against Islam, Putin... or anything else'.

A lot of what we are seeing is bluff, and the Russians are -as usual- simply playing a weak hand well: they need to be told 'no' in no uncertain terms by someone with the military and resolution to back it up. 

They know that America/NATO has the power, but Putin obviously -and for good reason- doubts Obama's resolve, while feeling he can at least split the US/EU on the issue of confronting him. So far, it's going to his script because we've allowed it to.

Putin is not just after some muddy strip of Ukraine, it will be the Baltics next, as the Russians are RIGHT NOW out to destroy NATO and restore Russia as a 'great power'. His vile regime has got plans to make maximum use of Obama's last two years... BIG plans. 

NOW is the time to stop the Kremlin, what a shame our own president is such a strategic retard, and that America's EU allies -the ones with the most to lose here- are in no condition to help much.

[Reaganite Republican]

***ping***

[pepsionice]

I’ll point this out for the 99th time. All of this whole thing....from the months and years of the EU delaying some trade agreement with Ukraine, to the timing of the “no” given by the Ukraine President, and the civil war that followed....are all scripted items. It’s developed to take NATO to a point where members can’t agree, and it has to evolve into something that will not survive. Whether Putin did this entirely on his own....members of the EU helped in getting the script written....or members of the White House staff are helping...it doesn’t matter. It’s a WWE-type wrestling script to achieve only one significant thing in the end.

[1rudeboy]

Where did you get that? Alex Jones, or the Kremlin?

[sauron]

You have it precisely CORRECT, sir!

NATO can't field much. I recently looked at their military manpower, number of armored vehicles (separating out the true tanks from the flimsy stuff they were trying to count as significant), the number of helicopters and aircraft (again, separating out the true "combat" capable ones) and I was horrified.

Just the other week, the Brits--the BRITS!--couldn't find a sub next to their coast. Needed assistance. How far they've fallen! Then, a small group of Russian ships sheltered up briefly in the Straits of Dover, and the Brits weren't able to send out more than a frigate to escort 'em.

Then, there have been numerous (a dozen or more) incidents where Russian (shall I say, SOVIET?) bombers have flown out of the Baltic, into the North Sea, and in other areas.

All in a show of power. Russia has it, the Euros don't.

Then, there's that dependency they've developed on Russian natural gas.

The Euros have very little freedom of movement, militarily, and even some restriction (energy embargo in retaliation by Russia?) on their economic choices.

Quite seriously, if you look at the land forces, especially, it's a stark and scary difference in power.

How did we let this decline happen? We're tempting the Bear. Weakness, it has been said, can be procative, and lead to the very war that is being avoided at all costs.

Sauron

[ctdonath2]

“what a shame our own president is such a strategic retard”

That’s why Putin is moving now. There is a two year window for would-be oppressors and dictators and tyrants to make their big move, while the USA is led by someone at best an idiotic wimp, and at worst a deliberate facilitator of such changes. WWIII has started because the Obama will do nothing about it.

[Reaganite Republican]

Even if Putin doesn’t finish off NATO, other alliances are already emerging that make it less or totally irrelevant, like Nordic countries vs Russians and/or perhaps a Polish-led, anti-Russian group like Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, et al- or so I’ve read

[Reaganite Republican]

Agreed in full

Also, EU and US military preparedness/mood at a low point, a big help to the Russians

[palmer]

-while sending Jews fleeing for their lives?

Nice try, but US Marine Corps Reverend Mom spilled the beans last week. Her article pointed out that the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion was being funded by Ukraine and neo-Nazis from Sweden and other European countries were joining it. She posts so much pro-Ukrainain propaganda that she let that one slip through without vetting.

[Ivan Mazepa]

Europe is dying and it might be too late to save it. Atheism, socialism, Muslim migrants, low birth rate, little zest for life. But only a hundred years ago European powers ruled the world. What a shame

[Reaganite Republican]

Jews are fleeing Ukraine in fear of the PRO RUSSIAN forces, who also have scared a lot of Tartars off too (Stalin attempted to exterminate them previously)... not any Ukrainian ‘Nazis’, please