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Vladimir Putin’s Dangerous Obsession
NY Times ^ | 19 May, 2016 | Editorial Board

Posted on 05/19/2016 7:15:11 PM PDT by MtnClimber

The United States and Russia are now proposing to drop food and other emergency aid from the air if President Bashar al-Assad of Syria does not allow trucks to deliver supplies to his besieged cities. Airdrops are a risky and desperate move — costly, hard to deliver accurately and, if poorly targeted, a threat to kill or injure the people they are supposed to help.

On the surface the move seems a humanitarian gesture from two nations that are supposedly partners in ending Syria’s bloody civil war. What it really does is highlight, once again, the duplicity of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, in Syria and elsewhere. Mr. Assad remains in power largely because of Russian military assistance. It is hard to believe that Mr. Putin, who fancies himself a man who can get what he wants, could not persuade Mr. Assad to let aid get through to the cities if he chose to try.

While promising Secretary of State John Kerry that he would work with America to end the war that has reportedly killed up to 470,000 people, Mr. Putin has been unable or unwilling to stop Mr. Assad from shelling civilians and, according to reports, is continuing Russian airstrikes as well. A temporary cease-fire that raised hopes for a more durable peace has now largely collapsed, talks between the Assad government and opposition forces have broken down and plans to begin a negotiated political transition to a more inclusive government by Aug. 1 seem ever more remote.

Syria is just one arena where Mr. Putin’s obsessive quest to make Russia great again has fueled instability and reawakened political suspicions and animosities that faded after the fall of the Soviet Union.

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


TOPICS: Editorial; Russia
KEYWORDS: putin; russia
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To: gleeaikin

When you do apparently Pooty Poot is the answer....


41 posted on 05/19/2016 11:27:36 PM PDT by eyedigress ((Old storm chaser from the west))
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To: CrimsonTidegirl; All

I thought the love affair with Putin stopped when he bombed the shxx out of Chechens and started assassinating journalists, monopolizing news media, and in general destroying or marginalizing all competitions


42 posted on 05/19/2016 11:29:34 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: gleeaikin

Who needs to? He’s a straight-up player doing his job of looking out for the best interests of his country, and doing a pretty decent job of it too. Hopefully Trump will be similar in looking out for our country. We haven’t had that since Reagan.

That he shows up Obama & Kerry for the evil actors they are is just icing on the cake.


43 posted on 05/19/2016 11:35:19 PM PDT by thoughtomator
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To: DesertRhino

> I never thought id be rooting for MiGs with a Red Star.

When the US abdicated the role of defending civilization from savages, someone was going to step into the void eventually.

Seems some here are on the side of Obama and the savages.


44 posted on 05/19/2016 11:40:30 PM PDT by thoughtomator
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To: thoughtomator

John Kerry gets to grow up with his Countrymen.

He is an idiot. Everyone knows it.

Barry is an aberration of the whack left that idolizes Korea and Venezuela, of course hating the freedom price paid.

DC will soon learn this isn’t their Country.


45 posted on 05/19/2016 11:46:37 PM PDT by eyedigress ((Old storm chaser from the west))
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To: gleeaikin

You sympathize with the Chechens?? Really? Like they didn’t have it coming to them? Ever hear of Beslan? Look it up.

I have ZERO respect for anyone who sympathizes with the Chechen monsters. They deserved everything they got and more. They are radical islamists who practice “honor killings” and support and send fighters for ISIS. They are the scum of the earth. Anyone who sympathizes with the Chechens are scum.

Assassinating journalists and monopolizing news media? Sounds more like Obama to me.


46 posted on 05/20/2016 12:12:53 AM PDT by CrimsonTidegirl (Proud Islamophobe.)
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To: Fred Nerks

Made my day, thanks.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Pooty & Trump.

Sounds like an Australian Law Firm?


47 posted on 05/20/2016 2:52:38 AM PDT by Candor7 ( Obama fascism article:(http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html)
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To: MtnClimber

More championing of that which undermines Western and/or Christian civilization. We are to believe Assad is to blame for the deaths in this civil war (more accurately jihad), not those in the West and its Gulfie and Sunnite allies who fomented and fostered it. Syria has been on the radar of the neocon (”endless war for endless peace”) types well before the Iraq war (Operation Clean Break). I wonder how Syrian Christians must feel, especially those with children. They see the formerly Christian countries of the West essentially supporting jihad and terrorism to overthrow the secular government which protects them. Women in Damascus can walk around the streets without a head covering and can go to universities and be professionals. Yet they see women like Hillary Clinton and other Western feminists effectively side with those who would turn the life of woman in Damascus into a hellish existence. It must be baffling. But I’m sure they also know that radical Sunnite jihadism has been the disastrous weapon of choice for Western neocons and will continue to be so in the future. But, alas, they are merely the frog trying to understand the scorpions logic.

Tangentially, there is an aspect of this Syrian conflict that will never be discussed in open. Consanguinity or inbreeding. I think it was bogger/geneticist Razib Khan (fired from NYT for believing in human biodiversity) who put it bluntly, ISIS is a result of banging your sister. ISIS and jihadism in Syria is found among the population is the highest consanguinity. And higher consanguinity is inversely proportional to IQ. Areas with the lowest consanguinity, such as Damascus, have the highest support for Assad and greater levels of secular attitudes (women should be allowed to vote, got to school, etc.). Interesting subject and explains a lot.

It’s not even close. I know who I side with in Middle East. Anyone fighting the Sunnite Islamists. Specifically R+6.

I pray that Trump’s national security advisor is Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. #MakeTheWorldSafeAndSaneAgain. And peaceful and prosperous for us and for them.


48 posted on 05/20/2016 5:13:37 AM PDT by AC Beach Patrol
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To: AC Beach Patrol

Yep. Not just Syria either. In Egypt Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood boys were murdering Copts and burning churches until Al-Sisi took over. The Muslim Al-Sisi showed up at Christmas Mass and proclaimed a united Egypt and solidarity with the Copts, and he wished them a merry Christmas to wild cheers.

And now Obama is complaining that al-Sisi named the Morsi folks/Muslim Brotherhood terrorists and is excluding them from Egyptian politics. Seems to me he is doing nothing other than the equivalent of de-Nazification.

I’m sure Putin is angling for power in Syria. But the fact is, that with him propping up Assad, you can be guaranteed that the rights of Syrian Christians, especially Orthodox ones, will be respected.

Middle Eastern Priority #1 for every Western nation should be to it that the rights of Christians there be defended.


49 posted on 05/20/2016 7:12:01 AM PDT by Claud
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To: CrimsonTidegirl; All

The Beslan attack in 2004 occurred several years after Putin had been doing the same things to Chechens in the 1990s. Here is a detailed analysis of both the attack itself, events leading up to it, and Putin’s handling of events by enforcing more centralized state control.

http://www.e-ir.info/2013/02/13/analysis-of-the-beslan-massacre/

The Putin governments poor handling of the 2002 theater attack did not win praise either.

http://www.rawstory.com/2012/10/deadly-gas-use-haunts-moscow-theater-hostages-10-years-later/


50 posted on 05/20/2016 11:35:20 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: gleeaikin

Nice try but, sorry, I’m not falling for the propaganda.

http://www.barenakedislam.com/2013/04/19/russia-2004-beslan-school-massacre-by-chechen-muslim-terrorists/

http://archive.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/04/young_women_in_chechnya.html

Naturally, most of the Anti-Chechen truths are hard to find on the internet because the liberals at Google, Yahoo, etc. support the Chechens. Liberals LOVE the Chechens because the Chechens are radical muslims who want to bring down the U.S. and the West.

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/05/345997449/hundreds-of-chechens-join-isis-including-group-s-no-2-leader

Chechens are very active in ISIS & are a danger to the civilized world. Have you forgotten the Tsarvaev brothers and the Boston Marathon?

How anyone can defend that monstrous group of subhumans is beyond me. IMO, Putin didn’t go far enough.


51 posted on 05/21/2016 9:16:01 PM PDT by CrimsonTidegirl (Proud Islamophobe.)
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To: CrimsonTidegirl; All

I know there are some serious issues with the Chechens quite aside from the religious terrorism aspect. In the novel (also a movie made of it) Gorky Park, there is a vivid description of the Chechen/mafia controlled “flea” market where automobiles and everything else was available.


52 posted on 05/22/2016 1:09:49 AM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: gleeaikin

I remember the film “Gorky Park” but didn’t see it. I might download the novel & read it.

Don’t get me wrong, I know the Russians weren’t innocent angels in thr conflict. It’s just that the media portrays the Chechens as complete, innocent victims when that’s just not the case.

Tragic conflict either way.


53 posted on 05/22/2016 12:36:14 PM PDT by CrimsonTidegirl (Proud Islamophobe.)
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