Article

2014-03-03 Europe

Gates: Obama must carefully calibrate Russia response, rhetoric

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Posted by gorb 2014-03-03 02:02|| || Front Page|| [10 views ] Top

#1 "From Putin's standpoint, he's in the catbird seat. He's put himself in a position where we need him in terms of the Syrian chemical (weapons) deal. We need him in terms of the Iranian nuclear program," Gates, who served as defense secretary from 2006 to 2011, said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

"We need the Russians in terms of getting our (military) equipment out of Afghanistan."

Not to mention Euro natural gas. The Russian has no 'foreign aid' program per se. Everything comes with a price. Pay now, or pay later.

Posted by Besoeker 2014-03-03 03:28|| 2014-03-03 03:28|| Front Page Top

#2 My advice to Obama
Anything can be fixed with a hammer.
Requires fewer moves.

Posted by jefe101 2014-03-03 03:30|| 2014-03-03 03:30|| Front Page Top

#3 My advice to Obama.... have someone on your staff do a little primer [1000 words or less, owing to your attention span] on what Russians actually think of swart people. No need to go into Russian KGB training frustrations of visiting African Nationalists in the 1970's and 80's, just keep it simple, very basic, and racially honest.

Posted by Besoeker 2014-03-03 03:40|| 2014-03-03 03:40|| Front Page Top

#4 In his world view the Brit's are the bad guys. Can't....quite ...process.... Russian evil. Smoke eminates from ears. (worked hard on the dots)

Posted by jefe101 2014-03-03 03:47|| 2014-03-03 03:47|| Front Page Top

#5 He's philosophically conflicted over the Russian, Jefe. He cannot understand how a fellow communist would betray him.

Posted by Besoeker 2014-03-03 03:52|| 2014-03-03 03:52|| Front Page Top

#6 Whoa big daddy. Betrayal is a bit of a strong word. I rather consider the President is embarassed at this turn of events. I would venture that a series of arrangements was made which encompassed a global idea of Ukraine's future linked with other outcomes. The details were simply left out.

Posted by jefe101 2014-03-03 04:05|| 2014-03-03 04:05|| Front Page Top

#7 Spot on, reference the lack of "details!" [If you like your Ukraine, you can keep your Ukraine.] He's always been a... broad brush type, and embarrassment can easily follow betrayal. I suspect Vlad has him by the knaters over Benghazi and a few other incidents, but it's only my guess.

Posted by Besoeker 2014-03-03 06:35|| 2014-03-03 06:35|| Front Page Top

#8 BTY, which files from Snowden's laptops would the Champ rather not have Vlad leak to the NYT or Fox News? Forget Snowden, Vlad could always release the Tsarnaev Bros. cable traffic and warnings to US Intelligence, or a few salient facts regarding Benghazi. You pick the poison, he's compromised and he'll do nothing but bitch and moan.

Posted by Besoeker 2014-03-03 06:51|| 2014-03-03 06:51|| Front Page Top

#9 Foreign Policy Scholar: Obama Gets 'Played at the Diplomatic Table'

Enuff said.

Posted by Clyde and Company8091 2014-03-03 08:19|| 2014-03-03 08:19|| Front Page Top

#10 I'm sure Tyrant Obama, Enlightened and Wisest of All will come up with the perfect position, you know, licking Putin's feet.

Posted by Silentbrick 2014-03-03 08:44|| 2014-03-03 08:44|| Front Page Top

#11 He cannot understand how a fellow communist would betray him.

He missed the footnotes - see rift Moscow-Beijing. 'Internationialism' is preached by those in power and their useful idiots to keep the gullible in step. However in the end 'nationalism' wills out in the socialists model in application. That's not usually covered in the syllabus in the 'victim studies' programs in academia.

Posted by Procopius2k 2014-03-03 08:58|| 2014-03-03 08:58|| Front Page Top

#12 It's foreign policy. Most Americans start with the premise "What's it matter to me?"

They then continue on to the next Lady GaGa concert.

Posted by Fred 2014-03-03 10:56|| 2014-03-03 10:56|| Front Page Top

#13 I don't know Fred, at the next concert they may get both.

Posted by Solomon Spusosh9006 2014-03-03 11:41|| 2014-03-03 11:41|| Front Page Top

#14 He talked to Puti for 90 minutes. I wonder if the word flexible was used.

I also heard Baraq was asking for Raymond Tusk's phone number.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2014-03-03 11:43|| 2014-03-03 11:43|| Front Page Top

#15 Two or three moves out? Putin's looking at least half dozen moves out but Champ is still trying to figure out checkers. I think this little event in history is all over. Honestly, I'm not all that worked up about it either. The Crimea has changed hands what...about a hundred times in the past few centuries? And really, what do we care? Wake me up when Vlad moves on Poland. I'm guessing he won't but Crimea is clearly a part of what most Russians would consider their sphere of influence. It's certainly not ours.

What's disturbing to me is Gates saying we "need" Putin for Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. How did such a state of affairs ever come to be? Somebody is attempting to play a game in which they are way in the heck out of their league. IMHO, Obama is the most dangerous man in the world simply because he doesn't have the first frickin' clue.

Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2014-03-03 12:08|| 2014-03-03 12:08|| Front Page Top

#16 The basis for this was set in motion over a year ago. The Obama administration was warned about this in 2009, proof is in the wiki leaks cables, look online to find them, can't post here because it's classified date (I did but it was deleted)

Posted by OldSpook 2014-03-03 12:57|| 2014-03-03 12:57|| Front Page Top

#17 Every time Obama opens his mouth a foreign leader chuckles.

Posted by Iblis 2014-03-03 14:26|| 2014-03-03 14:26|| Front Page Top

#18 I remember a different time, a different President of the United States.

Posted by Besoeker 2014-03-03 14:33|| 2014-03-03 14:33|| Front Page Top

#19 I remember a different time, a different President of the United States.

Teddy Roosevelt?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2014-03-03 14:41|| 2014-03-03 14:41|| Front Page Top

#20 I was thinking John Adams.

Posted by Pappy 2014-03-03 15:17|| 2014-03-03 15:17|| Front Page Top

#21 I was thinking Jimmy Carter.

Posted by Nero 2014-03-03 15:46|| 2014-03-03 15:46|| Front Page Top

#22 I was thinking Millard Filmore, the 13th President of the United States, the last Whig President, and the last President not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties.

He is consistently included in the bottom 10 of historical rankings of Presidents of the United States.

Posted by Crarong Hatrack8773 2014-03-03 16:02|| 2014-03-03 16:02|| Front Page Top

#23 Crimea isn't the issue. It should never have been left with Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The issue is what happens to Russian majority areas of Ukraine, and I don't see this ending until this issue is resolved, and everyone is setting it up to be resolved by force.

Posted by phil_b 2014-03-03 16:23|| 2014-03-03 16:23|| Front Page Top

#24 He should call Putin a tea bagging racist mongrol, its how he calms things down domestically.

Posted by swksvolFF 2014-03-03 16:23|| 2014-03-03 16:23|| Front Page Top

#25 "Crimea isn't the issue. It should never have been left with Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union."

I keep seeing this comment in various forms, and I keep wondering what on earth it has to do with one sovereign nation invading another. Are you trying to suggest that the Crimea was Russia's all along, so Putin is justified in taking it back by force? Do you really want to open that can of worms?

Posted by Iblis 2014-03-03 16:49|| 2014-03-03 16:49|| Front Page Top

#26 I keep seeing this comment in various forms, and I keep wondering what on earth it has to do with one sovereign nation invading another.

Don't think of it as an invasion, think of it as a kinetic action---and pray it won't turn into a hyperkinetic one.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2014-03-03 18:05|| 2014-03-03 18:05|| Front Page Top

#27 I'm going to start calling this:

"Crimea isn't the issue. It should never have been left with Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union."

The Blame Canada Cop Out -- It's not even a real country anyway...

Posted by Iblis 2014-03-03 18:12|| 2014-03-03 18:12|| Front Page Top

#28 D *** NG, I KNEW IT - CANADA IS RESPONSIBLE!

No one ever suspects the Canadians.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2014-03-03 18:58|| 2014-03-03 18:58|| Front Page Top

#29 The Crimea was historically Russian after it was taken from the Ottomans. It only became part of the Ukraine province after Stalin put it there and when the Soviet Union broke up it just followed the province.

So it can be argued the Russians are just taking it and their people back... but invading a sovereign nation isn't exactly how the west sees things as being done.

The Ukraine was pretty much destined for a partition anyway, but it could have been handled diplomatically. Or it would have been if Putin didn't see Obumbmle as the completely spineless whimp he is and knows he can get a better deal by taking what he wants by force.

Posted by DarthVader 2014-03-03 19:12|| 2014-03-03 19:12|| Front Page Top

#30 So why wasn't this Crimea problem settled back in the USSR breakup as negotiations for leaving the Union?

Posted by swksvolFF 2014-03-03 20:46|| 2014-03-03 20:46|| Front Page Top

#31 The USSR breakup was pretty chaotic. Took 10 years for Russia and the Ukraine to agree who got which navy ships.

Posted by phil_b 2014-03-03 21:54|| 2014-03-03 21:54|| Front Page Top

#32 I wonder who got the ones that were rusting at anchor at the mouth of the ~~Gulf of Rumsfeld~~ Persian Gulf?

Posted by Pappy 2014-03-03 22:56|| 2014-03-03 22:56|| Front Page Top

23:02 Pappy
22:56 Pappy
22:09 Rob Crawford
22:04 JosephMendiola
21:54 phil_b
21:48 JosephMendiola
21:02 Kojo Spinelet6673
20:46 swksvolFF
20:35 Hannibal Barca
20:27 Procopius2k
20:15 Richard Aubrey
19:49 Besoeker
19:45 Secret Master
19:37 Richard Aubrey
19:25 Florida Al
19:15 Charles
19:12 DarthVader
19:08 DarthVader
19:03 JosephMendiola
18:58 JosephMendiola
18:56 JosephMendiola
18:47 JosephMendiola
18:13 Airandee
18:12 Iblis