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Obama’s pathetic response to Putin’s invasion of Crimea
Washington Post ^ | March 20, 2014 | By Charles Krauthammer

Posted on 03/20/2014 11:06:19 PM PDT by Jim Robinson

Early in the Ukraine crisis, when the Europeans were working on bringing Ukraine into the EU system and Vladimir Putin was countering with threats and bribes, one British analyst lamented that “we went to a knife fight with a baguette.”

That was three months ago. Life overtakes parody. During the Ukrainian prime minister’s visit to Washington last week, his government urgently requested military assistance. The Pentagon refused. It offered instead military ration kits.

Putin mobilizes thousands of troops, artillery and attack helicopters on Ukraine’s borders and Washington counters with baguettes, American-style. One thing we can say for sure in these uncertain times: The invasion of Ukraine will be catered by the United States.

Why did we deny Ukraine weapons? Because in the Barack Obama-John Kerry worldview, arming the victim might be taken as a provocation. This kind of mind-bending illogic has marked the administration’s response to the whole Crimea affair.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: crimea; johnfnkerry; kerry; obama; obamaisweak; putin; russia; ukraine; usweakness
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To: tcrlaf

Treasury bonds – more than $200 billion

Dumping those bonds is equivalent with a 7% dip of the US Treasury.


41 posted on 03/21/2014 2:08:05 AM PDT by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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To: tcrlaf

RE: “We will encourage everybody to dump U.S. Treasury bonds, get rid of dollars as an unreliable currency, and leave the U.S. market.”

Someone has to agree to BUY your Treasuries before you can DUMP them.

And that someone will make YOU take a HUGE loss when you sell them.

Driving down the value of the US Dollar is equally insane.

Your debt is payable in US Dollars.

Every time the value of the Dollar drops, the value of your Treasury debt drops, too.


42 posted on 03/21/2014 2:11:07 AM PDT by zeestephen
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To: zeestephen

” In 2004, Ukraine’s own government started falling apart.
Since 2008, Ukraine’s economy has been falling apart.”

And if Ukraine, which depends on Russia for 67% of its energy and 32% of its exports, continues with its vitriolic attacks against RF, it will find itself in the dark and with an economy at stand-still.

Ukraine exported US$1.2 billion worth of merchandise to the United States in 2007, while exports to Russia attained more than $12 billion. Ukrainian imports from Russia in 2007 reached $18 billion, to be compared with imports from Germany - $5 billion.

Who’s gonna be the looser of this idiotic game?


43 posted on 03/21/2014 2:27:00 AM PDT by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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To: Jim Robinson

Obama should have immediately restarted the missile defense program we promised. That would have been a more credible threat.


44 posted on 03/21/2014 2:37:15 AM PDT by lucky american (Progressives are attacking our rights and y'all will sit there and take it.)
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To: Jim Robinson

http://www.theonion.com/articles/thanks-for-being-so-cool-about-everything,35584/


45 posted on 03/21/2014 2:38:19 AM PDT by gasport (Will operate for food.)
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To: Marguerite

Yup. They will sell 200 billion selling it at a loss of tens of billions which will be immediately bought up by the American government, because they have the money.

Read up on a few basics on finance before making ignorant statements like that, Alex Jones acolyte.


46 posted on 03/21/2014 2:39:50 AM PDT by Corporate Democrat
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To: Corporate Democrat

GFY, democrat


47 posted on 03/21/2014 2:45:41 AM PDT by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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To: elhombrelibre
Any day now I expect to see Biden stepping off a plane waving a little piece of white paper exclaiming “Peace in our time”
48 posted on 03/21/2014 2:46:02 AM PDT by dearolddad (/i>)
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To: All

49 posted on 03/21/2014 2:49:44 AM PDT by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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To: goldstategop
Charles - Its none of our business. If we don’t have a vital interest, we should not get involved at all, period. And because of you and the neo-Cold Warrior crowd, America looks weak and the Russians are laughing at us. Even you don’t want to die for Crimea. Why do you think Obama should have been tougher with the Russians? Just asking.

I'm with you. The Crimea has a history that portended this. Yet, the people on this forum will not see it. You, and I suppose I will be too, are being attacked because this putrid administration has no clue what to do. Yet, the attackers on this thread don't either.

I certainly don't wan the U.S. to go to war over the Crimea. Not in any way. Yet, it seems we have a bunch of hawks on FR who want war - with anyone just to have a war. All in the hopes of making the worst president in the history of the U.S. look bad. He can't possibly be any worse but starting a fight in the Crimea will make him look bad and that's what we should advocate. Sure, right.

50 posted on 03/21/2014 3:12:54 AM PDT by raybbr (Obamacare needs a death panel.)
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To: goldstategop
Its none of our business. If we don’t have a vital interest, we should not get involved at all, period.

We have an obligation to defend the Ukraine because we signed a treaty with them. In exchange for them giving up their nukes, we and Britain promised them we would hold Russia at bay.

Do we now refuse to honor treaty obligations? (Though I believe we shouldn't have made that agreement in the first place).

51 posted on 03/21/2014 3:53:16 AM PDT by SunTzuWu
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To: elhombrelibre
There's another thread this morning linked to a New York Times report about the new Ukrainian government calling for all of their civilian militias to be disarmed. Yeah, that's the ticket ... disarm the very same people who helped overthrow the prior Russian-backed leader.

Let's think about this for a second ... the Russian-backed government in Crimea isn't issuing any such orders, but the US/EU-backed government in Ukraine is. Who do we think we're kidding?

52 posted on 03/21/2014 3:58:41 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I've never seen such a conclave of minstrels in my life.")
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To: Marguerite

Nothing happened to him. He’s a big-government globalist, and this is part of his globalist agenda.


53 posted on 03/21/2014 4:02:22 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I've never seen such a conclave of minstrels in my life.")
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To: Jim Robinson; Marguerite; Admin Moderator; Natufian
Marguerite: An America-hating, Russian-shilling, Alex Jones conspiracy supporting foreigner

America Hating:

Originally posted by Natufian:

"Marguerite is a real piece of anti-american trash. Check out this...

“USNATO can still keep the little leaders gnomes like Camerons, Hollandes ank Tusks under their thumb, but the peoples of Europe hate their guts and want only one thing; that the warmongering US, CIA and their Blackwater thugs go back to America and never return. It happened before to hear it, isn’t so? When Charles de Gaulle ordered the evacuation of all US military bases from France, people chanted “Yankees, go home!”.

If you think that Europeans forgot your barbaric bombings in Yugoslavia, you’re deadly wrong. THE LAST THING Europe wants is a shodown with Russia. And for your information, Europe continent ends at Ural Mountains, Moscow, St.Petersburg, Nijni Novgorod and Archangels are European cities! They won’t build Europe against Russia, but WITH Russia. Ukraine IS in Europe, 7,000 miles away from US. I really don’t see how it’s America’s business. Besides, Ukraine isn’t even a member of NATO, they must get the hell out of there.”

Post

Alex Jones acolyte

“merely russian propaganda”

Nope!

Back in December 2013, at the time Victoria Nuland announced that the United States had invested $5 billion dollars to help Ukrainians achieve a new form of government, Senator John McCain met with national-socialist (nazi) Svoboda Party leader Oleh Tyahnybok, sharing the stage with him at an event during which McCain gave the United States’ blessing for the opposition revolt.

As recently as three weeks ago, Nuland met with both Tyahnybok and Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who is now Ukraine’s putschist Prime Minister. In a leaked phone conversation, Nuland was caught red-handed scheming to install Yatsenyuk in the government before President Viktor Yanukovych had even left Kiev!

Despite Svoboda’s neo-nazi connections, the party has been handed key positions in the newly formed government. These posts include the deputy prime minister and the heads of the agriculture and environmental ministries. In addition to these positions, a Svoboda lawmaker was appointed the new prosecutor general in the interim government!

37 posted on 3/4/2014 11:16:51 AM by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)

Post

Just a quick search of some of that text showed me where he was copying and pasting and posting as 'news' to support his pro-russian, america-hating, conspiratorial Alex Jones views.(Others were from RT and other Russian outlets)

InfoWars (Screenshot only)

Russian shilling

Well, just read her most recent posts.

*reposted from an earlier post of mine*

I don’t think there’s a single thing he’s said about Russia or Putin that is negative, or a single thing about America that could be called positive.

And it’s not just Crimea he’s been defending. He’s been defending Russia on its invasion of Georgia too. Glorifying Putin, defending Russia’s economy, downplaying Russia’s expansionist motives and breathlessly posting ‘good news’ coming out of Russia and all with a heavy dosing of America hating in between.

Foreigner

Nothing wrong with that by itself, but here's his take on it:

"That’s all you know? Accusing everyone who doesn’t share your views to be either Russian, Serb, Libyan or any other nationality you fathom to be your “enemy”

I’m not from Russia, doofus, but I don’t want your crazy, inept president to start a nuclear war in Europe. What’s the US beef with Ukraine anyway, how is that its bloody business? Don’t you think that is high time America stop meddling in other countries’ affairs? Hasn’t it bomb enough countries to “save” them?"

58 posted on 3/12/2014 2:30:07 PM by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)

Post

54 posted on 03/21/2014 4:05:08 AM PDT by Corporate Democrat
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To: Alberta's Child
Your perception of the story is slightly off.

It is the IMF and the EBRD that are demanding this to occur before they will help Ukraine financially.

Of course we pretty much fund the IMF and EBRD.

So indirectly and perhaps directly we are the ones asking for the disarmament of the militias.

My guess is that they won't turn them in, or that the Ukraine government will show them a pile of rifles they took out of the repair depot. The bean counters would never know the difference and the working guns would be stashed under the floor boards.

55 posted on 03/21/2014 4:05:59 AM PDT by Cold Heat (Have you reached your breaking point yet? If not now....then when?)
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To: SunTzuWu
We have an obligation to defend the Ukraine because we signed a treaty with them.

I believe we signed a treaty with the government represented by the now deposed government of elected President Viktor Yanukovych not the new rebel militia government. They need a "special election" in Ukraine....pronto!

56 posted on 03/21/2014 4:08:54 AM PDT by Drago
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To: Corporate Democrat

Thank you for the free publicity.
My posts are well repeating.

P.S. You’re still a moron democrat.


57 posted on 03/21/2014 4:24:36 AM PDT by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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To: Marguerite

A third world country like Russia has limited options when it comes to economic warfare.


58 posted on 03/21/2014 4:29:41 AM PDT by Natufian (t)
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To: Natufian

But it has clout in Europe, where Ukraine is.

EU countries won’t sacrifice their economical interests to please Obama, especially now when they are barely out of a deep recession. The unemployment in the EU is 12%. ANYTHING that will produce more work losses, make the EU leaders jittering in their Italian mocassins.


59 posted on 03/21/2014 4:34:51 AM PDT by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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To: SunTzuWu
"We have an obligation to ... the ... because we signed a treaty"

Blast from the not so faraway past

In 2006, the U.S. rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Gaddafi’s son was invited on a study tour of the US including a VIP tour of the Air Force Academy in Colorado - Libyan National Security Adviser Mutassim Gaddafi with Hillary Clinton in 2009:

When Obama considered Gaddafi a good guy... It was in 2009

"Yes, Gaddafi is a very bad guy. But he quit the terrorism business a decade ago and paid compensation to the families of victims of the Lockerbie bombing. He surrendered his nuclear program in 2003. He co-operates with the EU in stopping illegal migration into Italy. He is a reliable oil supplier and a good customer for Western companies."

Barely two years later in 2011

Obama goes from the UN Security Council resolution of creating a no-fly zone in Libyan sky, but not bombing, to ... this:

Obama is the last guy who would respect his word.

60 posted on 03/21/2014 5:09:20 AM PDT by Marguerite (When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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