Russia's Putin One-Ups Obama In Estonia
7 Comments Mon, Sep 08 2014 00:00:00 E A20_ISSUES
Posted 09/05/2014 07:04 PM ET
Less than 48 hours after President Obama vowed to "defend Estonia," Russian goons kidnapped an Estonian cop to demonstrate just what U.S. red lines are worth. Any questions as to the nature of the threat?
The abduction of Internal Security Service officer Eston Kohver from Estonia was no ordinary criminal act.
The Russians who took him jammed police radios, tossed a smoke grenade, seized Kohver and marched him into Russia at gunpoint. They then falsely claimed that he was caught spying on Russian soil.
It was nonsense. Estonia's leaders have said it was clearly a targeted attack and very serious, coming as it did two days after Obama made his strongest-worded speech ever on U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance.
"The defense of Tallinn and Riga and Vilnius is just as important as the defense of Berlin and Paris and London," Obama said. "Article Five is crystal clear. An attack on one is an attack on all.
"So if, in such a moment, you ever ask again, who will come to help, you'll know the answer: the NATO alliance, including the armed forces of the United States of America, right here, present, now."
Well, it's into the "right here, present, now" that Vladimir Putin has stuck his face.
His swift effort to nullify Obama's words is no different from his immediate neutralization of Obama's red line in Syria, a chess move that left Putin the dominant player in that country.
With this latest provocation, on the heels of his invasion of Ukraine, as well as new airspace incursions over the Baltics and even Finland, Putin has again made the promises of the leader of the Free World sound hollow.
The message here is that Russia can do whatever it likes in the region that it considers its near abroad, and no NATO alliance is going to be effective in stopping it.
The Kohver abduction will have a terrible effect on Eastern Europe, which has just seen a bullied Ukraine sign a "peace" treaty with Russia. Ukraine had no choice, since the U.S. and EU failed to do much to help it defend itself.
Putin picked on Estonia because it had the gall to host an American president and to forge an alliance with NATO. No doubt, he wants to see if NATO is a real mutual defense alliance — or a paper tiger.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/090514-716330-russian-aggression-in-estonia-the-result-of-obama-weakness.htm#ixzz3CXsWqqYd
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