How much would it hurt Russia if we banned them from US financial markets? Maybe talking about that possibility publicly would help drive down their market and give the US some leverage over the situation in Georgia.
I know other non-military cards they have been talking about is turning the G8 back into the G7 and ending the NATO-Russian partnership.
What other non-military options does the US have?
G7 is done deal, NATO-Russia was already canceled. It’s not so much what we can do to “punish” them, it’s what they already have done to themselves in the last couple of years, and now put the nail in it with outright aggression play and incredibly stupid “ultimatums” and threats, military and economic. Nobody wants to be blackmailed, especially otherwise rich and economically powerful countries. And weaker (former USSR republics or satellites) countries would look to someone else for protection, also both military and economic.
And results are already seen. Putin didn’t diversify the economy, on the contrary he moved to concentrate it in commodities. It’s an all-in bet (poker lingo) and it’s not playing out the way he hoped. Despite huge run up in oil, gas and other commodities prices, and with 70% of RTS comprised of these type of companies, RTS index keeps going down (reached 2 year low just before Georgia invasion) and foreign investment is drying up (Yukos was the beginning, Shell, BP most recently etc.), and partnerships are being reevaluated. Self-isolation seldom works to country’s benefit. The question is not whether Russia will pay a heavy price for this long-planned miscalculation by Putin, the question is how fast and how heavy. I guess, the conclusion is, Putin can’t stand prosperity.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=2y&l=on&z=l&q=c&c=&s=RTS.RS - RTS 2 year chart
http://www.rts.ru/?tid=541 - look at the small bump up from the bottom after 08/08/08 which is already fading.
Produce more and become stronger economically. Strength of a nation ultimately flows from its economic power which flows from its people.
Start building nuclear power plants and generate plentiful cheap electricity. Lower energy costs lowers the cost of everything we produce while at the same time increases our standard of living. That makes us stronger.
In addition with cheap plentiful electricity electric cars will find their way into many homes lowering our demand for oil. Lowering our demand for oil has two big benefits and one big negative... The two up sides are breaking our dependence of foreign countries for oil and stopping the funding of our enemies. The big downside is, if our demand for oil dropped significantly, world prices for oil would collapse. If the price of oil collapses then our competitors that use that oil will have even cheaper energy... And electric cars have to then be able to compete with cheap gas powered cars using cheap gas - and then the oil dependency cycle starts all over again...