Re finding a hard answer, this post from slashdot seems appropriate:
--------
I thought we were through with all this by the turn of the century. And I mean you can say that he's bluffing but really, Putin's a psychopath. If you corner a genuine bona fide psycho they'll take you down with them if they can, and they don't need any 72 virgins as an excuse either. Even if he's not, he'll have to act like one - to lose face in his position would represent a fundamental weakening of power, he'd lose support overnight, be deposed and likely disposed of.
It would seem to me that western leaders have been caught with their pants well and truly around their ankles in this situation, I doubt they were expecting this kind of heavy handedness, er, ever again. So my guess is they'll back out and let him have his way.
--------
My read as follows:
Bush the first removed all the hardware from Europe that was in place to fight the Soviet Union, tanks, wart hogs, etc. to fight in Kuwait. Whatever was left was removed by "W" to fight his personal vendetta against Sadam.
Now there is little or nothing left to respond to Putin, which is why both Merkel and Obama say there is no military solution. If Putin is like Hitler without the anti semitism, he will keep pushing in the face of weakness... truce or not, by what ever means. Obviously, the truth means little here, and when someone is blatantly lying about the facts on the ground, in spite of pictures, hardware, captured troops, etc... how can an agreement be made or kept with same?
Meantime the media here (at least the tube, or what passes for news on CNN, Fox, etc.) are focused on ISIS... which must mean, the govmt is asking them to play down Putin and Ukraine... as there really is no effective solution except to re arm, strongly and without delay.
Unfortunately, the budget, the debt situation, and the future sovereign debt crisis will not be helped at all by this... although building arms can boost the economy (and inflation).
Barry and Merkel are being out classed on this one.
When Barry looked at what presidents do and said "I can do that" he was probably not thinking about handling strategic situations like this. Barry and his gang are spin masters, and Chicago polls. They can lie and cheat, but its not really brilliant stuff. If your a friend of Barry, watch out, you get your weapons withheld. If your an enemy (Russia, Iran), well, so far, it seems you get a pass (economics). Whats needed here is someone really brilliant like FDR (who was a master of misdirection, though done with humor) and with guts and tenacity and unwillingness to appease, like Churchill.
Those characters seem to be missing. |
