Obama wants to quadruple military spending in Europe to counter Russian aggression

In another acknowledgment that sanctions and diplomacy haven't deterred Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, the Obama administration said Tuesday it wants to quadruple military spending in Europe to reassure NATO allies still anxious over Moscow's intervention in Ukraine.

The spending would increase to $3.4 billion under the new plan, which will be introduced next week as part of Mr. Obama's final budget.

Having been unable to dislodge Russian President Vladimir Putin's proxy forces from Ukraine through diplomacy, Mr. Obama now wants to spend the extra money on "continuous U.S. armored brigade rotations" through stations in Central and Eastern Europe, beefed-up U.S. participation in NATO military exercises and the deployment of more combat vehicles and supplies.

The president said the move "should make clear that America will stand firm with its allies in defending not just NATO territory but also shared principles of international law and order." He plans to prod allies to ratchet up their own contributions to the military alliance at an upcoming NATO conference in Poland.

"It is clear that the United States and our allies must do more to advance our common defense in support of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace," Mr. Obama said.

Some foreign policy analysts said the administration is acknowledging belatedly the proposed "Russian reset" championed by Mr. Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been a failure, as Mr. Putin has repeatedly challenged U.S. interests in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

"Russia's aggression in Europe is in large part a direct result of the Obama administration's misguided policies toward Russia," said Dan Kochis, a foreign policy specialist at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "The administration is now playing catch-up, trying to alleviate the aftermath of a lack of American leadership in Europe...

Ted Cruz on ISIS, Russia, Obama, missile defense, and the New START Treaty with Russia...

"If we want to actually dismantle ISIS, we need to dramatically change course. We need a real, robust campaign that maximizes our overwhelming air advantage.

We need to focus our efforts not on trying to create friends, but on supporting our real ones, especially the Kurds in Iraq and Syria who have actually had success against ISIS."

-snip-

"We can redouble our efforts to develop the defensive weapons that neutralized the offensive Soviet threat -- particularly missile defense, which has seen a 25% budget reduction under Obama, according to an analysis from the conservative Heritage Foundation, and has been constrained by bad arms deals like New START.

We should not only move quickly to install the canceled interceptor sites Putin opposed in Poland and the Czech Republic, but also to develop the next generation of systems that will only increase his discomfiture.

These options do not entail a ground war in Syria, yet would effectively shake us free from the failed policies that have brought us to our current impasse.

These options set us on a new path that puts Putin on notice that the United States is reclaiming our traditional role as leader of the free world."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html

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"I think it would be a mistake to get involved in the Syrian civil war. There have been voices in Washington eager for us to send our sons and daughters over to fight that civil war for some time. I haven't been one of them. I think the touchstone of U.S. military policy should be protecting the national security of this country."

"What we're seeing Putin in Russia do is a direct response to the profound weakness of Obama over six and a half years.

Putin views Obama as weak, as ineffective, and frankly, as a laughingstock. And, as a result, he is moving in, he is invading his neighbors, like Ukraine, he's kidnapping Estonians, and he's moving into Syria to gain a stronger foothold in the Middle East."

https://www.tedcruz.org/news/icymi-cruz-we-have-no-business-getting-in-the-middle-of-the-syrian-civil-war-goal-should-be-to-defeat-isis/

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Ted Cruz:
"We need a coherent plan to address both the specific crisis in Syria and the challenge posed more broadly by Putin's resurgent Russia.

The good news is that America still has options, if our leaders can summon the will to exercise them.

For starters, in Syria we can't double down on the failed strategies that have given Putin his opportunity to intervene.

We are now two years out from President Obama's proposed intervention after al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. ..."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html

From Real Clear Politics, Sept 10, 2015...

"In a 2014 New Yorker interview, Obama said his goal was to create a 'new equilibrium' in the Middle East.

In the short run, at least, his signature diplomatic undertaking can be counted on to bring more violence to this volatile region.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the [Obama-Putin Iran deal] agreement is formally known, provides the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism an infusion of somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 billion of unfrozen assets and a great deal more of continuing revenues as businesses and governments around the world rush to profit from oil-and-gas-rich Iran's reintegration into the world economy.

The agreement relaxes the international isolation of the Islamic Republic and ratifies Tehran's status as a nuclear threshold state. And it relieves restrictions on Iran's acquisition of weapons, including ballistic missiles. ..."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/09/10/iran_deal_throws_sparks_on_mideast_tinderbox_128034.html
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Aug 2015...

photo Obama Iran Deal Russia KGB Putin 01_zpspjyus9ja.jpg

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