Russia-US relations

[lordtiberius]

As to Syria, this is yet another area where the minority Christian population (mainly but not exclusively Orthodox) has been protected, just as previously in Egypt. Now with Obama's Muslim Brotherhood types in a war, the non-Muslim minorities are being killed, not by the government that has protected them all these years, but by the Islamic rebels.

The USA has already committed to the rebels and the Benghazi cover-up was about arms movement from Libya to Syria. Thankfully CNN is finally beginning to cover the story because if only Sky/Fox did the story, some would dismiss it. Now with CNN it will not be dismissed as phony for much longer.

. . .
Just as Bill Clinton decisions resulted in the killing and displacement of many in the Christian minority in Bosnia/Serbia/Kosovo, we're doing the same in Syria...by proxy. Vladimir Putin understands Russia's historical role as the legitimate "Third Rome" replacing the old discredited Rome and the defeated Constantinople as the third centre of Christian Orthodoxy.

Much of US policy and media is controlled by Saudi money and Radical Islam has co-opted the American Left.  I am pleased to find Russia defending Christianity more ably than the West which is quick to abandon it.  Imperial Rome maybe alive in Russia where a modern Tsar rules in all but name.  But Republican Rome is in America and she is stronger.

Russia as the world's largest Orthodox country by far, has historically guaranteed the safety of Orthodox Christians in this part of the world. Vladimir Putin has too much to lose by rolling over and playing possum for Hussein Obama on the question of Syria. Mr. Obama is not intelligent enough to understand that this is a cogent part of Russia's foreign policy. Russia has tried to explain it over and over to any US official who will listen but Washington has way to much wax stuffed up her ears these days.

I don't dispute the intelligence or the compassion for Christian suffering of my president, but to be fair, Russia baffles even the most intelligent observers.  Russia has already won many concessions many of them at the expense of Poland, Ukraine and the EU ie. Missile Defense.  Does anyone else remember that these people tried to blow us up?  These are the same people that tried to kill the Pope because he was Polish.

I'm sorry that bad USA decisions have led to the deaths of US soldiers. I am more sorry however about innocent civilians who've been killed by radicals stuck in the dark ages all because our USA actions exposed the innocents to deadly harm. Soldiers are professionals and dying is a job hazard. Civilians are not trained soldiers and were you to ask me to chose between the blood of soldiers or the blood of innocent women and children....

1.  The World is a safer place now that Saddam Hussien is no longer in it.
2.  Both the US and Russia does business in the Middle East.  We both know these men are savages and that the Crusades was the most humane thing we could have done then and could do now. So this moral superiority that Russia is taking defending the Syriac Christians does not disguise that it is only there because of its Naval base in the Mediterranean.  And let's not forget the Rusky Smokinhotakovas that she is sending to Iran to develop nukes.

If Russia really cared about Christians, Russia would not have started a war in Georgia.  If Russia really cared about women and children, it would let Chechenya and other republics breakaway.

Putin is right on Syria and the USA is wrong in thinking that toppling governments and giving radicals a chance to run Africa and the Middle East is somehow a good idea.

The Reset was something I supported.  I wanted warmer relations with our erstwhile adversaries.  But it turns out that Mr. Bush managed US-Russo relations better than his Messianic successor.

On the Syria issue I genuinely wish that the Russian military was of the might that it could boldly challenge the USA and force Washington to back down.

As an American who has brothers, sisters and switching sissies in the service, I am glad Russia is not in a position to challenge the United States.  That is a mistake.

[mendeleyev]

LT, you are stuck in a outdated and misguided Cold War time warp.

Russia baffles even the most intelligent observers.

No, only the blind ones.

Russia has already won many concessions many of them at the expense of Poland, Ukraine and the EU ie. Missile Defense.

Concessions you say? The USA/UK promise was that NATO consolidated Germany and allowed Russia a natural sphere of influence just as the USA enjoyed in Latin America. Yet we see NATO in places like Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Baltic states.

Want to know why Putin deliberately came over and made cozy with Latin America's leftist regimes and expanded BRICS?

Look at the NATO expansion, then look at Latin America.

Then look at NATO expansion, now look at Latin America.

Then look at NATO expansion, now look at Latin America.

Let it sink in, LT. Let it sink in.

As to missile defense, why didn't Bush and then Obama take Putin up on his offer?

Putin isn't an idiot. He told Bush and then Obama that if missile defense facing his borders was truly to protect America from rogue Islamic nations then he's be happy to go in as partners. Put up as many sites as we wanted, man them together (you do remember the Reagan slogan of "trust, but verify" right?) and we'd share responsibility and expenses. He'd supply the sites upon USA approval and in fact he suggested a couple.

Odd that somehow we didn't feel that arrangement would work.

Even odder, why would Poland be so anxious to get the missile defenses if they were truly to be aimed in the direction of rogue Islamic countries? Last time I checked Poland wasn't exactly a prime instigator of any anti-Muslim resentment.

1.  The World is a safer place now that Saddam Hussien is no longer in it.

That is the guy our soldiers pulled out of a hole in the ground, right? Looked very dangerous to me. Also looked as if he hadn't eaten or shaved in a week or more.

How about the deaths and/or displacement of minority Christians in Iraq. The Iraqi Christian population has shrunk by 87% from 1.5 million to just 200,000 since American soldiers arrived. Did you really make a statement about the world being safer without Saddam Hussein?

So this moral superiority that Russia is taking defending the Syriac Christians does not disguise that it is only there because of its Naval base in the Mediterranean.  And let's not forget the Rusky Smokinhotakovas that she is sending to Iran to develop nukes.

LT, I know that you are trying but you truly do not understand Russia yet.

With all due respect to Winston Churchill's famous saying on Russia, there is a line from the 1866 poem by Fyodor Tutchev that goes like this, ”Умом Россию не понять.” (Russia cannot be understood with the mind.)

I know that you don't understand because of your statement which I've put in bold. Brush up on the history of Russia's place as the Third Rome. What you don't seem to grasp, and perhaps it is because of your clinging a notion of what Rome used to mean, but Vladimir Putin understands the historical implications of the fall of the Roman Empire and its duplicity of Popes both false and real; he knows and understands the defeat of Constantinople as the centre of Christianity and Mr. Putin understands and feels that as the New Rome of Christianity, Russia has a responsibility to defend Orthodox Christians in Eastern lands.

On this issue you and Hussein Obama are on the same page, apparently not capable of grasping the Russian position.

Are there arms sales issues as well? Sure, they've been trading partners for years. Is there a naval base that adds value to the proposition? Absolutely.

Let me know when the USA stops arms sales and then we can have a party and point fingers at Russia together.

If Russia really cared about Christians, Russia would not have started a war in Georgia. 

You notice that I don't defend Russia on this issue, and not many seemed to notice when Putin took credit for starting the war on a Russian TV program earlier this year.

If Russia really cared about women and children, it would let Chechenya and other republics breakaway.

Boy that is a complicated issue. If we were able to go back in time, both of us would wish that Russia had never conquered the Caucasus in the first place. It was a mess then and is a mess now. Perhaps Moscow should have let them go as everyone else was leaving but there were and are legitimate reasons for trying to hold them on a tight leash.

Chechnya is a violent place--3 days a week there are flights from Moscow's Vnukovo airport but for a white Christian tourist, you're flirting with danger. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov will someday die just like his father, assassinated at some public event. The problem with Chechnya, Dagestan, etc, is that these republics are populated with Islamic extremists who are intent on killing and conquering non-Muslim infidels simply because it earns them more favour with Allah.

Chechens in general don't like, and many loathe, being a part of Russia, but don't make the mistake of thinking that granting them independent will stop the violence. President Kadyrov himself after the Boston bombers were identified as radicals trained in his little part of the world retorted, “Seek the roots of this evil in America.” It is a view of the world, not just a view of Russia, that foments this violence.

But it turns out that Mr. Bush managed US-Russo relations better than his Messianic successor.

The only reason, and I mean the only reason I might agree is that nothing could be worse than the current phony scandal masquerading as a leader. But I'm not a member of the other guy's fan club either.

As an American who has brothers, sisters and switching sissies in the service, I am glad Russia is not in a position to challenge the United States.  That is a mistake.

I like to think of it as a balance of power.

[lordtiberius]

LT, you are stuck in a outdated and misguided Cold War time warp.

No, only the blind ones.

I accept your characterization of my ignorance of Russia.  I disagree with your assessment of my relationship with the Cold War.  I will refrain for making characterizations about you and your opinions.

If you cannot accept that crimes and the threat of Saddam Hussein, I don't know that there is much we can say to each other.  I am not ashamed of my country's expansion into Latin America, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. 

Concessions you say? The USA/UK promise was that NATO consolidated Germany and allowed Russia a natural sphere of influence just as the USA enjoyed in Latin America. Yet we see NATO in places like Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Baltic states.

That is something I support and I think is well played both Presidents on both sides of the aisle.  If Russia wants a different relationship in the world, stop selling arms to those that oppose the United States and disarm its nuclear arsenal just as Ukraine has done so.

Want to know why Putin deliberately came over and made cozy with Latin America's leftist regimes and expanded BRICS?

Look at the NATO expansion, then look at Latin America.

Then look at NATO expansion, now look at Latin America.

Then look at NATO expansion, now look at Latin America.

Let it sink in, LT. Let it sink in.

Putin is a smart guy.  Other than the undemocratic way he treats his opponents, I respect him.  I cannot fault him for making decisions that he thinks will protect him or his country. 

Even odder, why would Poland be so anxious to get the missile defenses if they were truly to be aimed in the direction of rogue Islamic countries? Last time I checked Poland wasn't exactly a prime instigator of any anti-Muslim resentment.

I think that kind of dismissiveness to Poland given its history with Russia is offensive and obtuse. 

[/i]I know that you don't understand because of your statement which I've put in bold. Brush up on the history of Russia's place as the Third Rome. What you don't seem to grasp, and perhaps it is because of your clinging a notion of what Rome used to mean, but Vladimir Putin understands the historical implications of the fall of the Roman Empire and its duplicity of Popes both false and real; he knows and understands the defeat of Constantinople as the centre of Christianity and Mr. Putin understands and feels that as the New Rome of Christianity, Russia has a responsibility to defend Orthodox Christians in Eastern lands.

Russia is the Third Rome? Q:  Where is Marcus Tullius Cicero? A: in jail 

Boy that is a complicated issue. If we were able to go back in time, both of us would wish that Russia had never conquered the Caucasus in the first place. It was a mess then and is a mess now. Perhaps Moscow should have let them go as everyone else was leaving but there were and are legitimate reasons for trying to hold them on a tight leash.

Chechnya is a violent place--3 days a week there are flights from Moscow's Vnukovo airport but for a white Christian tourist, you're flirting with danger. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov will someday die just like his father, assassinated at some public event. The problem with Chechnya, Dagestan, etc, is that these republics are populated with Islamic extremists who are intent on killing and conquering non-Muslim infidels simply because it earns them more favour with Allah.

Chechens in general don't like, and many loathe, being a part of Russia, but don't make the mistake of thinking that granting them independent will stop the violence. President Kadyrov himself after the Boston bombers were identified as radicals trained in his little part of the world retorted, “Seek the roots of this evil in America.” It is a view of the world, not just a view of Russia, that foments this violence.

I actually support Russification in the Central Asia.  It stabilizes what would otherwise be an inherently unstable society. 

STRATFOR predicts that the Middle East will break up into smaller polities rather than states.  Such an event is not likely to happen in Central Asia because of Russia. 

I think people should be consistent.  You cannot oppose US interventions in the Middle East and give Russia a pass when it intervenes in Central Asia and the Middle East.  Quite frankly, if Russia keeps cuddling up to China and Iran, it will lose Siberia and need America to defend it from its nuclear neighbor.

The only reason, and I mean the only reason I might agree is that nothing could be worse than the current phony scandal masquerading as a leader. But I'm not a member of the other guy's fan club either.

I completely agree with you.  I think we agree on Islam.

I like to think of it as a balance of power.

If I had Russian blood in my veins, I would probably feel the same way. 

Like I said, I feel the issues between our two nations are too complicated much like the Jews and Arabs.  They have a lot in common - the main one is that they want to kill each other.  We don't want to kill each other but we both want to rule the world but really we can't not without opposing each other.  That is a rather perverted partnership especially in the event of nuclear misunderstandings.

I think there is more in the way of trade that could ease these misunderstandings but Russia does not want to trade with us.  That's fine until oil goes under $ 90 a barrel.

[mendeleyev]

LT, the greatest president of our time, Ronald Reagan, would roll over in his grave to learn how far NATO has expanded after the CCCP was dismantled under the promise that it wouldn't. That is called lying on our part. We have no business setting up shop on Russia's borders any more than we'd appreciate Russia moving into parts of Mexico and Canada.

Yes, you are blinded with an American bias that doesn't allow you to think otherwise.

I appreciate that you served our military. Thank you.

We Americans used to proudly do what is right around the world. We could have easily let Germany and Japan limp along for years but instead we beat the snot out of them and then helped them rebuild.

These days however we don't know how to fight wars and we wage them for the wrong reasons.


 

Russia does not want to trade with us

That's news. Since when has Russia been the one stopping trade with the USA?

If case you didn't know, we're the ones who had to change Cold War era legislation to open trade.

But here are some key factors to know when it comes to trade:

- They don't have much of what we want. One of Putin's failures after all these years in power is that there is still no viable goods manufacturing base in Russia to send "stuff" to other parts of the world.

- Oil and natural resources are Russia's biggest exports...still.

- India, China and others do import Russian railroad technology. Russia is the largest builder of railroads in her region of the world. However the USA doesn't seem to need them any longer.

- Ditto the above on electrical power plants which Russia builds for other countries in Asia and Africa. Most are powered by building water projects.

- Alas, the wooden clothesline hangers used in places like Mexico and Asia are not made in Russia. In fact, the plastic varieties are made next door in China and shipped all over the world, including to Russia.

- Things like condoms to school pencils are made in China too. We buy them and the Russians buy them, but if you ask the average Russian on the street, they seem convinced that China reserves the best crap for America and that whatever is sent of such items to Russia consists of leftovers not fit for American use. Remember that the next time you're looking at some pretty plastic flowers down at the 99 Cents Store.

If Russia wants a different relationship in the world, stop selling arms to those that oppose the United States and disarm its nuclear arsenal just as Ukraine has done so.

Those bad boys! Selling things to people we don't like. Damn them to hell! Twice!

How would you react if someone said: If the USA wants a different relationship in the world, stop selling arms to those that oppose Russia and disarm its nuclear arsenal just as Belarus has done so.

Do you see the arrogance in your statement and then in the alternative?

Who is the USA to ask Russia to disarm?

Now, in the real world neither should ask the other to disarm. It would be foolish for either to do so with countries like Pakistan, North Korea and soon Iran having them. Nuclear weapons are here to stay because they are the great deterrent. As long as the big boys have them, nobody else is going to do anything stupid.


I do have some suggestions for the USA to have better relations with Russia. But it would be wasting my breath at this point.

We had a US Ambassador in Moscow, and others like Henry Kissinger, who told former Secretary Clinton and American president Obama over and over what it would take. But they have blinders on. So the Ambassador was eventually removed, although a year later than planned and yours truly had a hand in frustrating the hell out of a certain incompetent chief executive in making it hard for him to make that very unwise change. That is a period I'll cherish in my memories for as long as I live.

Today when Mr. Putin makes Secretary Kerry wait three hours for an appointment, or when Mr. Obama sticks out his hand at the G8 and Mr. Putin not only refuses to shake it but picks up the pace so that he won't be seen walking near the American CIC, I realize that this president won't be the one to do another "reset" with Russia.

There are a few simple things the current administration could do to reverse this ugly mess. It would take a few months and the USA wouldn't have to lower any of her legitimate foreign policy initiatives. But a certain executive in DC will first have to learn than the can't dismiss as unimportant other world leaders the way he treats his opposition in Congress. He'll have to be like Bill Clinton who knew how to share and play with other children in the sandbox. Sadly, this man is no Bill Clinton so the foreign policy blunders will only compound until the end of his term.

Russia will be one of those sad blunders.

[lordtiberius]

It's hard to defend America when we know who is leading it.



Russia's greatest national resources is its citizens.

[jone]

LT, the greatest president of our time, Ronald Reagan, would roll over in his grave to learn how far NATO has expanded after the CCCP was dismantled under the promise that it wouldn't. That is called lying on our part. We have no business setting up shop on Russia's borders any more than we'd appreciate Russia moving into parts of Mexico and Canada.

Yes, you are blinded with an American bias that doesn't allow you to think otherwise.

I appreciate that you served our military. Thank you.

We Americans used to proudly do what is right around the world. We could have easily let Germany and Japan limp along for years but instead we beat the snot out of them and then helped them rebuild.

These days however we don't know how to fight wars and we wage them for the wrong reasons.


 
That's news. Since when has Russia been the one stopping trade with the USA?

If case you didn't know, we're the ones who had to change Cold War era legislation to open trade.

But here are some key factors to know when it comes to trade:

- They don't have much of what we want. One of Putin's failures after all these years in power is that there is still no viable goods manufacturing base in Russia to send "stuff" to other parts of the world.

- Oil and natural resources are Russia's biggest exports...still.

- India, China and others do import Russian railroad technology. Russia is the largest builder of railroads in her region of the world. However the USA doesn't seem to need them any longer.

- Ditto the above on electrical power plants which Russia builds for other countries in Asia and Africa. Most are powered by building water projects.

- Alas, the wooden clothesline hangers used in places like Mexico and Asia are not made in Russia. In fact, the plastic varieties are made next door in China and shipped all over the world, including to Russia.

- Things like condoms to school pencils are made in China too. We buy them and the Russians buy them, but if you ask the average Russian on the street, they seem convinced that China reserves the best crap for America and that whatever is sent of such items to Russia consists of leftovers not fit for American use. Remember that the next time you're looking at some pretty plastic flowers down at the 99 Cents Store.


Those bad boys! Selling things to people we don't like. Damn them to hell! Twice!

How would you react if someone said: If the USA wants a different relationship in the world, stop selling arms to those that oppose Russia and disarm its nuclear arsenal just as Belarus has done so.

Do you see the arrogance in your statement and then in the alternative?

Who is the USA to ask Russia to disarm?

Now, in the real world neither should ask the other to disarm. It would be foolish for either to do so with countries like Pakistan, North Korea and soon Iran having them. Nuclear weapons are here to stay because they are the great deterrent. As long as the big boys have them, nobody else is going to do anything stupid.


I do have some suggestions for the USA to have better relations with Russia. But it would be wasting my breath at this point.

We had a US Ambassador in Moscow, and others like Henry Kissinger, who told former Secretary Clinton and American president Obama over and over what it would take. But they have blinders on. So the Ambassador was eventually removed, although a year later than planned and yours truly had a hand in frustrating the hell out of a certain incompetent chief executive in making it hard for him to make that very unwise change. That is a period I'll cherish in my memories for as long as I live.

Today when Mr. Putin makes Secretary Kerry wait three hours for an appointment, or when Mr. Obama sticks out his hand at the G8 and Mr. Putin not only refuses to shake it but picks up the pace so that he won't be seen walking near the American CIC, I realize that this president won't be the one to do another "reset" with Russia.

There are a few simple things the current administration could do to reverse this ugly mess. It would take a few months and the USA wouldn't have to lower any of her legitimate foreign policy initiatives. But a certain executive in DC will first have to learn than the can't dismiss as unimportant other world leaders the way he treats his opposition in Congress. He'll have to be like Bill Clinton who knew how to share and play with other children in the sandbox. Sadly, this man is no Bill Clinton so the foreign policy blunders will only compound until the end of his term.

Russia will be one of those sad blunders.

Great post Mendy.  Glad you have LT to set you up.

[mendeleyev]

Great post Mendy.

Thank you, jone.

[mendeleyev]

This article first appeared in Russia Beyond The Headlines. Originally published in Russian in Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

The famous hot line connecting Washington and Moscow celebrates and important milestone this month. The line, which was launched in 1963, turns 50 this month. It was established in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, when the need for a direct link between the United States and the Soviet Union became clear. The line was used as an emergency link between the leaders of the two superpowers at the height of the Cold War.

There are many myths surrounding the line, beginning with its name. To begin with, it was not direct. The connection was by cable under the Atlantic and then via London, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki; a backup system ran through Tangier, Morocco. In 1978, international satellite systems began to be used. Additionally, it was not initially a telephone – the heads of state exchanged text messages transmitted by teletype. It was only in the early 1970s under Leonid Brezhnev that a telephone was installed.

The line has long been out of use – today the presidents prefer to speak by telephone, but it remains in excellent shape. The Washington Post recently published reminiscences by former White House situation room chief Michael Bohn, who worked under Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, and explained how the leaders used the system when tensions arose. Bohn also stated that the system is still tested every hour.

The hot line opened with trial letter sent by the Americans in August 1963.  It was the phrase “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog,” which contains all the letters in the English alphabet. The line was first actually used in the early days of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, when about 20 messages were transmitted. Bohn recalls that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara woke up President Johnson at 7 am to tell him that a message from Soviet premier Kosygin had been received.

Kosygin asked the U.S. to bring pressure to bear on Israel to put an end to the conflict in the Middle East. The Americans set about writing a reply and even sent a preliminary question to the Soviet side, asking what the proper way was to address the recipient. Moscow explained: “Comrade Kosygin.”

The U.S. and Soviet presidents exchanged messages in 1971 over conflicts between India-Pakistan incident and again in 1979, when the Americans protested against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. At that time, the U.S. president threatened the Soviet Union with “serious consequences” but signed his letter to Brezhnev diplomatically: “with best wishes, Jimmy Carter.”

The red line was also used in peacetime. For example, President Johnson ordered a message to be sent to the Soviet Union informing it of the American Apollo spaceship missions.

A fax line was added to the hot line in 1985. It was used in 1985 to transmit a long, hand-written message from Gorbachev, and the American translators were hard put to make out his handwriting. Gorbachev and Reagan were the last leaders to use the line. In 1991, a direct telephone link was installed. It was used by Boris Yeltsin and George Bush Sr.

This article first appeared in Russia Beyond The Headlines. Originally published in Russian in Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

[lordtiberius]

[mendeleyev]

First came the announcement today that President Obama has cancelled the summit in Moscow. No big deal.

But Obama does plan to be in Saint Petersburg for the upcoming G20 meetings and the transcript from last night's "Tonight Show" featuring softball questions by Jay Leno was posted today on the Moscow Embassy website:

http://moscow.usembassy.gov/obama-leno-080613.html

[mendeleyev]

Excellent article on the reasons Mr. Putin granted asylum when he did in order to goad Mr. Obama in cancelling a summit that Putin didn't want in the first place.


http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/why-putin-is-glad-that-obama-isnt-coming/484316.html

[mendeleyev]

Russia Today TV article on Washington's proxy war in Syria:

http://rt.com/op-edge/us-kurds-massacre-syria-289/

[mendeleyev]

Washington Times:

(Putin moves to restore old relations with Egypt)

Yesterday, President Obama was doing the two things he does best: playing golf and helping America’s enemies.

Obama briefly interrupted his golf game and vacation to record a short audio statement in which he announced that America will cancel bilateral military exercises with Egypt because of the Egyptian military’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt’s leaders breathed a sigh of relief; at least he wasn’t sending them Joe Biden.

Obama announced, “We don’t take sides with any particular party or political figure.” His policies have been consistent since he went on his apology tour to Cairo in June 2009. If a group is anti-American and is working against America, western interests, freedom or liberty, Obama supports it.

When Obama says we are not siding with any particular party or political figure, there would be howls of laughter in Cairo if not for the fact the Nile is running red with blood.

The Obama Administration has blatantly supported the Muslim Brotherhood as they have lurched towards establishing an Islamic Republic in Egypt. When the Egyptian military wisely removed Mohammad Morsi from power, Obama demanded through his ambassador that the military release all Muslim Brotherhood prisoners.

Perhaps remembering what Obama did to then President Hosni Mubarak, they wisely declined.  Perhaps they also realized that listening to Obama was the fastest way to get them lined up against a wall and shot.

Egypt needs to dump America as an ally.

That may be tough for most Americans to hear, but it is the truth. Russia has been trying to expand its influence in the Middle East, and Egypt should run with open arms to Russia.

While Obama has remained silent on the subject of the ethnic cleansing of Christians going on throughout the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been.

On August 1, 2013, Putin said world leaders must come together to stop the violent persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Something is wrong when Putin is a greater champion for freedom and liberty than the President of the United States is. While Putin has called for protections for the Middle East’s Christians, Obama has been playing golf.

Egypt’s leaders should learn the lesson that Mubarak learned, as the Shah of Iran did a generation earlier. When the President of the United States hates America, he also hates our allies and will not help them. In fact, when he can, he will harm them. The Iranians learned that in 1979, and again in 2009, when Obama would not help them in their Green Revolution.

America is stuck with Obama for another three and a half years. Egypt does not have to tolerate him. Nor should they; the Muslim Brotherhood will be back in charge and Egypt will follow Iran into the darkness of a 7th century theocratic savagery.

Read at the Washington Times.

[jone]

Good post Mendy.

This, of course, is the true tragedy of the Obama administration. 

[Gator]

Good post Mendy.

This, of course, is the true tragedy of the Obama administration.

Why do we think Egypt's path to democracy will be fast track and on a straight line?  In America after instituting the strong foundation for democracy, we fought a bloody civil war 80 years later.
 
I fault the Muslim Brotherhood.   They had 51% of the vote and then governed as if the 49% had no rights, even violating their new Constitution.  Somewhat similar to what Obama is doing here in America. 
 
Egypt is the true tragedy of the Obama administration?  Save for the loss of human life, there is worse in America.
 
Here in America he has fomented multiple scandals.  Obama's administration is inept, derisive, divisive and dishonest, plus there is a matter called violation of our Constitution.   Many highly educated people who voted for Obama must be disappointed. 

[jone]

Egypt is not the only part of that tragedy.  The true tragedy of the Obama administration is the handling of our foreign policy in the eyes of the rest of the world.  While I will not argue the issues pointed out on other fronts, I believe that the US has debased itself with other countries.  In a global society, that is evidence of a great step downward.

[Gator]

While I will not argue the issues pointed out on other fronts, I believe that the US has debased itself with other countries.  In a global society, that is evidence of a great step downward.

For sure.
 
Voters knew that Obama had no international experience other than applying for foreign student assistance.  That is why he selected Joe Biden as VP.  What a joke.  Obama is smart, as Biden is the best impeachment insurance.

[TS]

Regarding Egypt - where will Russians vacation from October and later as Turkey is best to visit June to September.  Many Belgiums when I lived there used to go to Egypt as well in April/May and October/November.  Tourist business in Egypt will never recover from this. 
 

[lordtiberius]

We have seen what Putin has done in Syria.  What real aid can he give Egypt?

[mendeleyev]

I'd venture that he moves in to fill the vacuum left by the USA. So long as US foreign policy ignores the killing of Christian minorities in Muslim lands, I'd welcome the change.

[Voyager36]

For sure.
 
Voters knew that Obama had no international experience other than applying for foreign student assistance.  That is why he selected Joe Biden as VP.  What a joke.  Obama is smart, as Biden is the best impeachment insurance.

Why, because he made a few gaffes?    Biden is nowhere near as scary as Obamas agenda

[lordtiberius]

Putin cant fill that vacuum.  The Saudis can.

[Muzh]

Putin cant fill that vacuum.  The Saudis can.

That's the most ignorant comment so far on this thread.

[mendeleyev]

Some have difficulty understanding why Vladimir Putin seems to believe that the USA is plotting to overthrow his regime. While I share some doubts, one really can't blame the other side for being suspicious.

Just released yesterday, declassified documents describe in detail how US – with British help – engineered a coup against Mohammad Mosaddeq. The CIA released documents detailing their role in the 1953 coup in Iran, something done jointly with the UK and denied by London and Washington for years.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/19/cia-admits-role-1953-iranian-coup

[lordtiberius]

Talk about old news and not seeing the world in a Cold War mentality, if these crisises have born anything out, it is how weak Russia and China are at projecting power geopolitically.  Sure Putin can invade and occuph regions along his border, but sustained expeditionary force vis a vis Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya seems a bridge too far for this Third Rome.  A Russian made submarine purchased by India sunk in the harbor.  If a regional actor were to challenge Russian power, we would not see a repeat of the Soviet Afghan war but one of the Russo Japanese War.  Putin and the world's oil producers cannot sustain high oil prices indefinitely.  If their regimes are weak now in global economic uncertainty, how secure will they be in global economic prosperity - not very.