Posted on 10/02/2015 11:09:36 AM PDT by Kaslin
If the humiliation of the Obama administration continues at this rate, by this time next week you should expect to see Secretary of State John Kerry on all fours at the United Nations, getting paddled by the Russian foreign minister and shouting, "Thank you, comrade! May I have another?"
On Monday, President Obama and Vladimir Putin had a meeting at the United Nations. All Putin wanted from it was a photo of the two men huddling together. The Russian president needed to show his people that he's still a major player on the world stage, a big man driving events. Obama, who spent much of the last year trying to isolate the butcher of Ukraine, gave Putin exactly what he wanted. In wall-to-wall coverage, Russian media celebrated the big man's diplomatic triumph and his geo-strategic genius.
What was Obama's price for granting Putin this PR windfall? The leader of the free world made the Russian autocrat listen to another tedious lecture about how Putin doesn't understand his country's interests as well as Obama does. No doubt Putin would have preferred to avoid yet another seminar on how the word should work. But if Paris was worth a mass for Henry IV, no doubt Syria (and not just Syria) was worth yet another sonorous tutorial about the moral arc of the universe doing jobs our president won't.
While Obama droned on about the importance of cooperation and communication, Putin was probably counting the minutes until he could get back to reviewing Syrian targets for his bombers.
It didn't take long for Putin to reveal what he thinks of Obama's sermons on the importance of communication. On Wednesday, a three-star Russian general marched into the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and issued a démarche -- a fancy diplomatic word for a formal, non-negotiable declaration. The general reportedly instructed U.S. officials that Russia would commence airstrikes within the hour and that American forces had better clear out. In diplomatic terms, it was somewhere between a white-gloved slap in the face and a spit in the eye.
A State Department spokesman later said, "We've seen media reporting that has suggested Russian missions have begun."
There's a nice irony here in that Obama has often said that he only learned about the failures of his administration -- corruption at the IRS, malfeasance at the VA, etc. -- from media reports. So perhaps Putin thought this was the way Obama liked to be informed of unfortunate events.
Regardless, Putin's planes started their bombing runs. Russia claimed they were targeting the Islamic State, but the bombs landed where intended: on U.S.-backed Syrian rebels. Russia's confidence was well-founded. Upon hearing the news that our allies on the ground were being slaughtered, Kerry met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the U.N. Lavrov, being the more important figure, spoke first at the press conference.
Then, Kerry issued this less-than-blistering denunciation: "I relayed and reiterated the concerns that I expressed in the course of the U.N. Security Council meeting which was led by Russia today: concerns that we have about the nature of the targets, the type of targets, and the need for clarity with respect to them. And it is one thing obviously to be targeting ISIL. We're concerned, obviously, if that is not what is happening."
No doubt our friends are reassured by the news that if Russia bombs them, America will immediately respond by expressing our "concerns."
At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter convened a press conference where he brought all the urgency of a faculty department chair assigning new parking spaces. He did say that he takes the Russians "at their word."
"My problem isn't that I don't understand what they're doing," Carter said. "I think my problem is that I think what they're doing is going to backfire and is counterproductive."
This is the Obama doctrine in a nutshell. The president's favorite rhetorical trope is to justify withdrawing from the world on the grounds that the "international community" will fill the vacuum created by our abdication. But the international community's troops always stay in their barracks. Meanwhile, bad actors -- Russia, China, Iran et al. -- seize the opening. Our president responds with mournful words that doing so is not in the villains' interests. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's bombing of his own people demonstrate, according to Obama, that they are on "the wrong side of history."
Having made his pronouncement, the ostrich buries his head back in the sand.
Russians,
doing the jobs that American leadership won’t do.
Sarah Palin, “I can see Putin’s heel print on Obama’s ass all the way from my house.”
Americans sell out their allies and express “concern” when they come under attack.
The Russians back their friends with force and they go after their enemies.
Who would you want as your reliable friend. Putin or Obama?
Its an easy call to make.
Obama’s next job will be Conflict Trouble Shooter for the United Nations ,hehe
Lest anyone misunderstand, by definition the 0bama debacles extend to Valerie Jarret, the Queen Puppeteer.
I never thought I would be actively cheering a Russian dictator as he verbally cuts down an American so-called ‘leader’. On the other hand, Zero is neither leader nor an American.
Obama started the Arab Spring. Putin is starting the Arab Fall.
Hmm ,lots of pictures of Obama trying to touch Putin. Obama thinks touching is a dominating move and Putin says , Buzzzzz
Not really. Keep in mind every time the House of Saud farts our state dept has orders to inhale deeply. It’s been that way since at least 1973. In the perpetual game of Shiites versus Sunnis playing out in the Middle East, Russia has joined the opposing side.
That is an interesting picture. 0bama seems to be looking at and reaching for Putin’s pecker!
There may be US-backed Syrian factions, but I have trouble believing there are US-allied Syrian factions. A friggin’ hellhole.
There is no size to cut down...empty chair,empty suit,empty soul
Flaps those wings, my little Hummingbird, just keep flapping! You think you can, you think you can.
You are delusional. The Russians are not our friends. They are seeking increased power and influence in the ME, a strategic area in the world that affects the global economy. At the same time, they have seized the Crimea and building up forces to aid the "rebels" in Ukraine with the end objective of taking Eastern Ukraine. And what happens when the Russians use the same tactics in the Baltics? Will NATO stand strong or collapse? Will Article 5 survive?
Anyone who takes pleasure in the humiliation of Obama by Putin is not a patriot. Obama will be gone, but the interests of this country remain. We are the losers.
I don't fear Russia at this point. I fear the annihilation of western culture while the US and allies play labdog for their Saudi masters.
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