Beware Putin and His 'Anti-Hitler Coalition'

Townhall.com ^ | October 8, 2015 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Kaslin]

Contrary to the principles of American foreign policy of the last 70 years, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry tacitly invited Russia to "help" monitor things in the Middle East. Now they are learning that there are lots of Middle East scenarios far worse than the relative quiet Iraq that the Obama administration inherited in January 2009 -- and soon abandoned.

[Kaslin]

Ping

[Vigilanteman]

The way to end the murderous rampage of a savage, radical Islamic State is not by joining a Russian-Iranian cartel propping up Shiite terrorists and lapdog dictatorships in the Middle East as it seeks to strong-arm moderate Sunni states and oil-exporting monarchies.

Agreed. But as long as the man child ObaMao's regime is in power, there is no way we can oppose them either.

[hotsteppa]

So the article is telling us what not to do. What should we do then at this point? He doesn’t say.

[Kaslin]

Obviously what we have done before that arrogant pos occupied 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and his puppet worked.

[griswold3]

And I can still hear the 2011 echo of Obama saying, “The war tides are receding”

[urbanpovertylawcenter]

It is quite obvious, elect Hillary Clinton or JebaBush president.

All is well.

[Kaslin]

Yeah right they are. Not

[Servant of the Cross]

VDH ping ...

[Nextrush]

Why did the Republicans with the Corker Bill allow the Iran talks that led to the nuclear deal go through and then stage a fake show vote against the deal that they knew would fail?

The Republican Establishment and its supporting cast of Neocons (Liberal Rockefeller Republicans) cannot have their cake and eat it on this issue of Iran as evil when they allowed that nuke deal to go through.

Why beat the war drums with Russia when you just gave Russia’s ally Iran the favorable deal on its nuclear program?

[gattaca]

ping

[Servant of the Cross]

"Two, Putin is sending a warning to the oil-exporting Sunni monarchies of the Persian Gulf, who are as rich as they are militarily weak: Russia, not the United States, is the new cop on the Middle Eastern beat."

[LRoggy]

“So the article is telling us what not to do. What should we do then at this point? He doesn’t say.”

Having read VDH for many years I’ll wager that he covers that in his next article. Probably would take too many words for the space he gets allotted each article.

[iontheball]

Looks like others were left as flat feeling as I was at the end of Hanson’s article. We all know to be leery of the Russian bear, but no one seems able to be anything but a bystander in the current major Middle East shift.

[Ben Ficklin]

"What should we do then at this point"

The dominant US foreign policy doctrine is Idealism. The two dominant foreign policy groups are NeoCon republicans and Liberal Interventionist democrats and they are idealists.

Idealists say we should be humanitarians, build nations, spread democracy and market economies, get rid of evil leaders(regime change) such as Saddam, Kaddafi, Assad, etc.

The Realists say Idealism is good, but we should act only on what is in the US's interest.

In Syria, through-out 2011 and 2012, the Idealists wanted to intervene, but the Realists and Obama said no.

But eventually and slowly the Realists shifted to supporting intervention in Syria. In the spring of 2013, Congress authorized arming the rebels in Syria. We give them anti-tank weapons but we don't give them anti-aircraft weapons.

Putin's speech at the UN blamed the Idealist US foreign policy for destabilizing the region.

Obama's main authority to act is the Iraq AUMF that he inherited from Bush, but that limits him in Syria and he has asked Congress for authority.

The GOP doesn't want to give him authority because they are worried that might constrain a future GOP prez and the Democrats don't want to give him authority because they are worried that might give a future GOP prez to much power.

[Servant of the Cross]

So the article is telling us what not to do. What should we do then at this point? He doesn’t say.

The first step is to get the democRATS out of our White House. And before they get us into a war with Russia.

[dirtboy]

So the article is telling us what not to do. What should we do then at this point? He doesn’t say.

Russia has joined the Shia side of the burgeoning Shia/Sunni rift. Israel has joined the Sunni side. The choice to the US should be obvious - side with and strengthen the Sunnis. But with Obama in power, the obvious path for US interests is the path less taken.

[DungeonMaster]

Great summary!

[mac_truck]

Among other things...your story omits the entire Libyan regime change fiasco and the subsequent terrorist failed state it created...not to mention rogue government gunrunning scheme that resulted in the death of Ambassador Stevens and thre other brave Americans.

Were the “idealists” or the “realists” in charge of that one?

[tanknetter]

And somewhat related, the American Left LOVED Hitler’s Germany right up to the point where Hitler turned on Stalin and launched Barbarossa.

Then the “pacifists” instantly became vehement anti-Nazi and pro-war.

This transition can be seen in the early work of Dr. Seuss, who was a political cartoonist for the Leftist “Punch” magazine.

It’s also been long alleged that the instant switch was evidence of just how well the American Left was infiltrated and manipulated by Soviet agents. The Venona decrypts and some of the stuff found in the Soviet archives during the Yeltsin era support this as well.