What would Putin do if...

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Ghost of Cutten, Mar 3, 2014.

  1. because other peoples opinions matter also.

    and i was not surprised.
     
    #11     Mar 3, 2014
  2. Lucrum

    Lucrum

    I'm having a hard time imagining NATO doing anything in the first place.
    I hold NATO in higher esteem than the UN, but only by a little.

    I also can't think of any time off the top of my head Putin backed down from much of anything significant. Feel free to remind me if I've just forgotten.
     
    #12     Mar 3, 2014
  3. Lucrum

    Lucrum

    Other ADULT opinions yes, kids, no.
     
    #13     Mar 3, 2014
  4. He backed down when Obama told him to on the nuclear issue.
     
    #14     Mar 3, 2014
  5. Tsing Tao

    Tsing Tao

    What are you, the fairness fairy now? Piss off or add something constructive.
     
    #15     Mar 3, 2014
  6. Tsing Tao

    Tsing Tao

    What are you talking about?
     
    #16     Mar 3, 2014
  7. This is precisely correct...
     
    #17     Mar 3, 2014
  8. Lucrum

    Lucrum

    ...Mr. Obama and the West must act, rather than merely threaten, because it's clear Mr. Putin believes the American President's words can't be taken seriously. After the 2008 invasion of Georgia, President Obama pretended the problem was Dick Cheney and tried to "reset" relations with Moscow. Mr. Putin has defied the civilized world on Syria and Mr. Obama rewarded him by making Russia a partner in phony peace talks. Mr. Putin gave NSA leaker Edward Snowden asylum over U.S. objections, and he got away with that too.
    ***

    In the brutal world of global power politics, Ukraine is in particular a casualty of Mr. Obama's failure to enforce his "red line" on Syria. When the leader of the world's only superpower issues a military ultimatum and then blinks, others notice. Adversaries and allies in Asia and the Middle East will be watching President Obama's response now. China has its eyes on Japanese islands. Iran is counting on U.S. weakness in nuclear talks...

    http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304026804579413900968932702?mod=trending_now_1
     
    #18     Mar 3, 2014
  9. Which members of "NATO" would be contributing troops for this show of force? The French? The Italians? The Germans? Seriously?

    Putin can cut off gas to europe and destroy their economies. Putting carriers etc into the Black Sea woudl be madness. They would be within reach of Russian missle batteries, not to mention subs, and would be totally destroyed within the first 15 minutes of a real confrontation. What do you do then? Say "Nevermind?"

    This episode, like the one in Georgia before it, exposes the shallow thinking behind bringing these countries in Russia's backyard into NATO inthe first place. Or we really going to war over some tiny coucntyr most of us couldn't find on a map? thankfully, Ukraine is not in NATO, but that clearly is the intent here.

    How would we react if Mexico decided to enter a defense pact with china and gave them military bases, etc?

    Putin has all the cards here, plus his poosition is not at all unreasonable. The europhiles in Ukraine overthrew a democratically elected president, withour backing. How does that square with international norms?
     
    #19     Mar 3, 2014
  10. Lucrum

    Lucrum

    The WSJ article I posted was just for another perspective.
    At the moment at least I'm far more in agreement with you.
    Not that it matters what I think. My "representatives" in congress don't care what I think. And worse, Obama doesn't care what congress thinks. And even worse yet, Obama doesn't know how to think.
     
    #20     Mar 3, 2014