A Russophobic Rant From Congress

Townhall.com ^ | December 9, 2014 | Pat Buchanan

[Zhang Fei]

It’s similar, but notice my long accumulation of details, all of which apply to both the U.S. intervention in Serbia and the Russian intervention in Georgia. A lot of those are different in the case of Chechenya — blessedly we don’t have a real analogue of Chechenya.

The other key differences are that we have not annexed any part of Serbia, and the Serbs did in fact massacre 8,000 Bosnians at Srebrenica. I don't think Clinton should have jumped in, but we were an honest broker, and we had no intention of annexing either a slice or all of Serbia. Given Putin's repeated encomiums to the Soviet Union, it's evident that he would have annexed Georgia if Bush hadn't sent Air Force resupply missions to Georgia as a tripwire force.

[Zhang Fei]

Amusing comment from an internet poster:

Soviet era joke (anecdote, as Russians say):

Armenian Radio: Why did Lenin wear shoes and Stalin wore boots?

We reply: The sh)t was a lot deeper during Stalin's time.

The new Russian fashion is to wear knee length boots now.

My Russian wife reads me Russian newspapers with articles about Russia and Russian reactions towards the West, especially America. This past summer, Russian articles claimed that Europe and America would be hurt by sanctions, not Russia. Russia would become stronger, the West weaker. The dollar would collapse. Russia would turn off the gas and Europe would cave in. They showed a lot of bravado, back then.

Only now that the ruble is collapsing, the price of oil is tanking and sanctions are hurting Russian companies, Russia is talking about patriotism. There was even a picture in Argumenti y Facti of a Russian with a sack of potatoes over his shoulder, with the caption reading, “We can make do with less! Russians have always heeded the call to show their
patriotism and do with less when the country needs it!”

Putin and the propaganda machine are now evoking pictures of the Great Patriotic War and the need to sacrifice for the good of the state. He recently even evoked the ghost of HIT(er and blamed Russia’s troubles on the West! Loser people and loser countries always blame their troubles on others, instead of looking for the answer in themselves. As long as
Russia sees America and the West as its enemy, then they will never solve their own political and economic problems and join the first rank of nations. Russia likes to compare itself to America, as if that will raise them to the first rank. Better for Russia to compare itself to Brazil, Argentina and Indonesia.

[The_Reader_David]

Oh, right, honest brokers: we cancelled military operations in favor of Muslim holidays, but bombed Serbia on Orthodox Pentecost, including bombing a bridge full of civilians on their way to Liturgy, then rebombing it when the village’s inhabitants came to help casualties from the first attack, killing among others the village priest. We spread breathless false stories about Pristina stadium being turned into a concentration camp and Ibrahim Rugova having been killed — stories debunked by AFP visting the empty stadium and calling on Rugova at his home.

But no, you’re right. There was a difference: Russia acted in its own national interests, Clinton acted on behalf of the Muslim terrorist KLA and European Union ambitions in the Balkans.

[duckln]

Russia sees America and the West as its enemy

You have that backwards.

[elhombrelibre]

Pat has implied it was Poland’s fault that WWII happened due to its intransigence.

[Zhang Fei]

Russia acted in its own national interests, Clinton acted on behalf of the Muslim terrorist KLA and European Union ambitions in the Balkans.

All countries act in their national interests. Russia has gone on the path of military conquest. The EU is a free association of nations. I'm not enamored of it, but countries are free to exit without having EU troops occupy their capitals. Note that Serbia is attempting to join the EU, and may successfully do so by 2020. How bad can the EU be?

[duckln]

Pats point was that it was a treaty that England had to defend Poland that forced it into war and that the treaty was ill conceived.

Just like a NATO (American) commitment with the Ukraine and other Russian border states is also ill conceived.

[1rudeboy]

Pat would also say that the partitioning of E. Europe between the Nazis and Soviets was “none of our business.” Leading to the question, when does the gobbling-up of small countries become our business?

[elhombrelibre]

And his point was that Poland should have been tractable instead of intractable and principled. His point too was that Churchill was part of the problem. If Pat were a Liberal instead of a pseudo conservative, you’d probably see through him, I’d say.

[elhombrelibre]

Pat’s against empire building, except when the empires being built are those of US enemies, like Putin’s Russia. When it’s an empire of US allies or not really empires but places where US influence and mutual cooperation is dominant, he’s quite hostile. He’s not really consistent on this.

[dirtboy]

Sadly we, FRs, and the people's house, more than Obama, are phobic in unwarranted bigoted hatred of Russia.

You are as pathetic an apologist for Putin as Dems are in claiming opposition to Obama is racist.

[editor-surveyor]

Is this the guy?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3235363/posts?page=16#16

.

[SunkenCiv]

Pitchfork Pat's against sanctions now, but in his earlier expediencies and demagogueries he was in favor of tariffs and against globalism.

He's advocated in favor of the Putin dictatorship at every opportunity, including here.

He was and is against interdiction of ISIS.

He's been in favor of Iranian nukes.

He's accused Israel of operating a Gaza concentration camp.

He's claimed that the far right and far left are natural allies.

• An Iran-Russia Axis
• Russia cancels trains to Ukraine
• Tortured in Ukraine: Christians Living a Nightmare
• Putin: Crimea is Russia's Temple Mount
• Four young Christians beheaded in Iraq, Turkey's PM tells pope Islamophbia to blame for ISIS
• Putin, in Defeat, Diverts Pipeline
• Putin to push trade in Turkey despite disagreement on Syria
• Putin -- Saruman Come Alive [Victor Davis Hanson]
• Syria and its Progressive Friends
• Russia wants Israeli explanation for 'aggressive actions' in Syria [Ezekiel 38 Accession]
• Syria Claims Israel Attacked Missile Sites

[duckln]

I don't think the USSR ever had an empire in the sense that the UK, Germany, France, Spain and the Dutch had.

Today the empire builders are the Islamists and NATO. Not Russia. They have so much resources of their own to exploit, they don't need more. Putin is protecting what they have.

[The_Reader_David]

How bad can the EU be?

I guess that depends on whether you want to be free to live as a Christian, or prefer to have aggressive secularism in its multiculturalist incarnation rammed down your throat, and whether you want your country to have its own economic policy or to have its economic decisions dictated from Brussels (and indirectly Berlin).

Full disclosure: my tag-line is a quote from remarks Slobodan Milosevic made when the kangaroo court in the Hague refused to allow him to show photographs of Bosniak jihadis exulting over piles heads from decapitated Serb prisoners. If FR gave us more room it would read

"And when they behead your own people in the wars which are to come, then you will know what this was about." -- Slobodan Milosevic

[duckln]

What, that concerns us, does Putin have to apologize for?

[Zhang Fei]

I guess that depends on whether you want to be free to live as a Christian, or prefer to have aggressive secularism in its multiculturalist incarnation rammed down your throat, and whether you want your country to have its own economic policy or to have its economic decisions dictated from Brussels (and indirectly Berlin). Full disclosure: my tag-line is a quote from remarks Slobodan Milosevic made when the kangaroo court in the Hague refused to allow him to show photographs of Bosniak jihadis exulting over piles heads from decapitated Serb prisoners. If FR gave us more room it would read "And when they behead your own people in the wars which are to come, then you will know what this was about." -- Slobodan Milosevic

As compared to Putin who annexes neighboring countries, demolishes Catholic and Protestant churches and allows Chechnya to impose elements sharia law, including banning gambling and alcohol and requiring women to wear headscarfs? Serbia has the option of not joining the EU.

[dirtboy]

The apologist is you. Trying to deflect legitimate criticism of Putin’s actions with the same nonsense the Dems use for such with Obama.

[JadeEmperor]

Would good ole' Pat ever give Israel the same consideration and understanding he gives to Putin's Russia here? Or do the paleocons really hate the Jews more than they love America? Enough to fall into the lap of a KGB thugster who pipes "right-sounding" tune?

[The_Reader_David]

Let’s see: the main parties in Serbia that would oppose joining the EU have had their leaders kidnapped and brought up on war-crimes charges against which they have been prevented from offering an effective defense; the remaining members of the parties subjected to incessant vilification by the spokesmen of NATO, the EU and the Western media; Serbia’s spiritual heartland has been forcibly detached and is still occupied by NATO to enforce rule by a government composed of criminal gangs that financed themselves by drug-dealing and trade in human organs harvested from murdered Serbs; and the pro-EU parties have received massive aid from Western governments and Soros-backed NGOs, and Serbia “has the option of not joining the EU”. Okay, sure, and Germany had the option of not signing the Treaty of Versailles.