He makes great points.
Many US observers of China correctly point to their bellicose position in the South and East China Seas as reflective of problems internal to China, that the reef issues there serve as distractions to their own citizens.
And so it is with the US, too, vis-a-vis Russia.
“Scaaaaaaary Russian hackers..!!!”
It’s sad I can trust a Russian KGB guy more than the politicians of my own country.
But that is where I am.
Let me put out my tinfoil scenario:
1) Trump wins
2) Obama claims election “manipulated by the Russians”
3) Hillary says, “Of course it was - they stole my emails!” (off Hillary’s illegal server)
4) Obama starts World War IV with the Russians, starting in Syria
5) Obama, of course, must stay in office, since “the Russians hacked the election”
Silly? Sure -— But Obama and Hillary have been blaring about this “hack” for some time now. And seem to be provoking Russia.
Good gosh.
OK /tinfoil off
Granted that was some serious tinfoil. But I’ll be honest, Obama and Hillary are really making me nervous with all their talk against Russia. Since it’s obvious they want to wreck the U.S.A. and are actively doing so.
Very interesting.
Bump!
He comes at his points through logic. Of course being a former KGB guy and you can’t believe anything he says. But at least his public statements make sense. They make more sense than anything Hillary Clinton is saying. It is quite a contrast listening to Putin vs listening to Hillary and the junior varsity league people we have in the WH.
Putin is a KGB thug but he also loves his country.
This is far more than I can say about the POS Obama and all the scum in his regime, including the evil corrupt Pig In A Pant Suit.
What’s sad is that Putin can be trusted more than our current rats in charge of America.
The quality of leadership in our country is simply embarrassing in comparison to someone like Putin. When he deals with U.S. political leaders he must feel like an adult in a room full of kindergarten children.
He’s speaking basic common sense from his relatively objective POV. Campaign blather should be taken with a grain of salt and either candidate could go in a completely different direction once in office.
Putin is clearly not thrilled with Hillary and her sycophants using Russia as their red herring existential enemy. He gave a very gentle warning that it could go too far and do real damage but for the most part he’s not worried and can’t take any of it seriously at this time.
It’s politics and Putin is clearly very well versed in politics.
I will have to admit, he makes more sense and bases his remarks on reality, something that Hillary is not able to do. Hillary is comfortable only in answering question with boilerplate — words that sound high and mighty and mean absolutely nothing.
The interetation was pretty elegant.
At best he was not complimentary to Hillary, but willing to suggest that such rhetoric as hers could recede if she gains the presidency. He seems used to this as an American election routine. (Recall Romney.)
On Trump, he ventured only as far as Trump ventured, on international cooperation, against ISIS.
Interesting that he references at the end, the remark that Hussein made during his second election campaign to tell Putin he would have more flexibility after the election.
Hey, great post.
Very interesting.
I think he is right about hildabest and her crew will “create an enemy and unite the nation against it”. Russia is their choice at the moment. IOW vote for the diseased, corrupt, old skank so she can ‘protect’ us.
Bttt.
5.56mm
One of the times I can remember them warning us was around the 2008 or 2012 elections, when they said that we were starting to go down a direction towards communism that they had escaped from, and they didn't want us to go down that path. Of course, we did, and the Russians have started to consider themselves, not us, as the beacon of freedom in the world.
This may be one of those sincere warnings.
Gotta say it again: That was the most childish gesture I've ever seen come from the US State Department. I was actually flabbergasted when I saw that photo-op. Really? A plastic button to show how Obama/Hillary is friends with Russia?
Through yours and Obama's policies, the Middle East is a bigger mess than ever. Yeah, the "Arab Spring" has worked so well. Sheesh.
And what do we have now, Madamn (as in whorehouse madamn) Secretary? We have an ex-KGB agent taking over Crimea and parts of Ukraine and now has designs on a port off Syria. Great job.
In 66 years I've never witnessed such naive actions by our top leadership. But then as many say, it was all by design of you socialist/marxist/muslim sympathizers. Gee, Alinsky was so brilliant. Not.
The O admin, not only handed Putin everything that he wanted on all-important missile defense and nukes, including the Iran nuke deal, which Putin loves and claims to have played a major role in, he (Obama) practically took apart our military. So don't fall for the smoke and mirrors BS coming from the Russians, or this administration. The facts speak for themselves...
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From the campaign trail, 2008...
A video has surfaced of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talking on his plans for strategic issues such as nuclear weapons and missile defense.
The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:
Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.
First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.[i.e. not win it]
Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.
I will not weaponize space.
I will slow our development of future combat systems.
And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.
Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert, and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.
You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.
Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
http://web.archive.org/web/20090412030633/http://missilethreat.com/archives/id.7086/detail.asp
"MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States."
__________________________________________________________
From Investor's Business Daily, Jan 2012:
Appeasement: From ObamaCare to recess appointments, honoring the Constitution has not been an administration hallmark. But when it comes to betraying secrets to mollify the Russians, it becomes a document the president hides behind.
It was bad enough that the 2012 defense authorization bill signed by President Obama set America on a downward spiral of military mediocrity.
He also issued a signing statement, something he once opposed, saying that language in the bill aimed at protecting top-secret technical data on the U.S. Standard Missile-3 - linchpin of our missile defense - might impinge on his constitutional foreign-policy authority.
Section 1227 of the defense law prohibits spending any funds that would be used to give Russian officials access to sensitive missile-defense technology as part of a cooperation agreement without first sending Congress a report identifying the specific secrets, how they'd be used and steps to protect the data from compromise.
The president is required to certify that any technology shared will not be passed on to third parties such as China, North Korea or Iran, that the Russians will not use transferred secrets to develop countermeasures and that the Russians are reciprocating in sharing missile-defense technology. ..."
"In his signing statement, Obama said he would treat these legal restrictions as 'non-binding' and that 'my administration will also interpret and implement section 1244 (sic) in a manner that does not interfere with the president's constitutional authority to conduct foreign affairs and avoids the undue disclosure of sensitive diplomatic communications.'
Betraying our secrets is easy for a president who betrayed allies Poland and the Czech Republic to placate Moscow.
Poland was to host ground-based interceptors such as those we've deployed in California and Alaska, with missile-tracking radar deployed in the Czech Republic.
Obama pulled the plug when Moscow objected. Never mind, he said, we have a better approach: a four-phase plan that calls for using three versions of the Navy's Standard SM-3 interceptor missile that forms the backbone of its Aegis missile-defense system.
The fourth phase consists of a missile still on the drawing board scheduled for deployment by 2020, a version of the SM-3 called the Block IIB. It would intercept hostile missiles in the "early intercept" phase before an enemy missile could release its warheads and decoys. The Russians want the SM-3's secrets, and Obama appears to be willing to turn them over.
The president wants to save the New Start Treaty, which the Russians have threatened to abandon if we try to fully implement President Reagan's dream of defeating a nuclear missile attack.
Russia has unilaterally asserted that any qualitative or quantitative improvement in U.S. missile defenses would be grounds for withdrawal from the treaty.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/010912-597158-obama-gives-russia-missile-defense-secrets.htm#ixzz3jXmMbVwY
___________________________________________________
March 2012...
"Obama was talking with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when neither of them realized that their conversation was being picked up by microphones. Here is what they said:
Obama: "On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it's important for him to give me space."
Medvedev: "Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you ..."
Obama: "This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility."
Medvedev: "I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir."
"This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility." That statement tells us much about the president's mindset.
The specific mention of missile defense is worrisome enough. Mr. Obama has retreated from the missile defense plan that was negotiated with European allies during the George W. Bush administration.
Apparently, he is signaling Moscow that he intends to retreat further. The clear implication from the president's comments is that he cannot tell the American people before the election what he plans to do after the election.
In addition, there is the phrase "on all these issues," implying more is at stake than just missile defense."
Article: Obama plans double cross on missile defense
When it comes to keeping America safe, we shouldn't be too flexible:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/29/obama-plans-double-cross-on-missile-defense/print/
__________________________________________________________
When Donald Trump and I observe that, as Ive said, in Syria, in Iran, in Ukraine, that the small and bullying leader of Russia has been stronger on the world stage than this administration, thats stating painful facts. Thats not an endorsement of Vladimir Putin thats an indictment of the weak and feckless leadership of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
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Also from the Oct 5, 2016 first VP debate...
QUIJANO (Moderator): I want to turn now to Syria. Two hundred fifty thousand people, 100,000 of them children, are under siege in Aleppo, Syria. Bunker buster bombs, cluster munitions, and incendiary weapons are being dropped on them by Russian and Syrian militaries. Does the U.S. have a responsibility to protect civilians and prevent mass casualties on this scale, Governor Pence?
PENCE: The United States of America needs to begin to exercise strong leadership to protect the vulnerable citizens and over 100,000 children in Aleppo. Hillary Clintons top priority when she became secretary of state was the Russian reset, the Russians reset.
After the Russian reset, the Russians invaded Ukraine and took over Crimea.
And the small and bullying leader of Russia is now dictating terms to the United States to the point where all the United States of America the greatest nation on Earth just withdraws from talks about a cease-fire while Vladimir Putin puts a missile defense system in Syria while he marshals the forces and begins look, we have got to begin to lean into this with strong, broad-shouldered American leadership.
It begins by rebuilding our military. And the Russians and the Chinese have been making enormous investments in the military. We have the smallest Navy since 1916. We have the lowest number of troops since the end of the Second World War. Weve got to work with Congress, and Donald Trump will, to rebuild our military and project American strength in the world.
But about Aleppo and about Syria, I truly do believe that what America ought to do right now is immediately establish safe zones, so that families and vulnerable families with children can move out of those areas, work with our Arab partners, real time, right now, to make that happen.
And secondly, I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength.
And if Russia chooses to be involved and continue, I should say, to be involved in this barbaric attack on civilians in Aleppo, the United States of America should be prepared to use military force to strike military targets of the Assad regime to prevent them from this humanitarian crisis that is taking place in Aleppo.
Theres a broad range of other things that we ought to do, as well. We ought to deploy a missile defense shield to the Czech Republic and Poland which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama pulled back on out of not wanting to offend the Russians back in 2009.
QUIJANO: Governor, your two minutes are up.
PENCE: Weve just got to have American strength on the world stage. When Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, the Russians and other countries in the world will know theyre dealing with a strong American president.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/us/politics/vice-president-transcript.html
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And....
PENCE: What were dealing with is the you know, theres an old proverb that says the Russian bear never dies, it just hibernates.
And the truth of the matter is, the weak and feckless foreign policy of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has awakened an aggression in Russia that first appeared a few years ago with their move in Georgia, now their move into Crimea, now their move into the wider Middle East.
And all the while, all we do is fold our arms and say were not having talks anymore.
To answer your question, we just need American strength. We need to we need to marshal the resources of our allies in the region, and in the immediate, we need to act and act now to get people out of harms way.