Remember all those instances in the last month when Russian planes or helicopters buzzed American navy ships in international waters or American planes which were not in Russian air space? President Obama did nothing about those events, so today the Russians took things one step further. The Russian envoy to NATO today warned the USA against further provocations like the ones which supposedly led to the Russian actions.
Think about that. An American destroyer is sailing in the Baltic Sea in international waters off the coast of Poland in a joint operation with the Poles. There is no threat to the Russians or Russian territory. Two Russian fighter/bombers come straight at the ship on mock bombing runs, and they repeat that flight pattern more than ten times. And now the Russians blame the USA for what happened and warn us against a repetition. Are they kidding?
There are undoubtedly those in the USA who will accept the Russian warning as requiring the USA to keep its forces further away from Russia. Bernie Sanders comes to mind immediately as a likely candidate for such a position, so does Hillary Clinton. But let's take it out of the international arena. Imagine that you are driving along a public street in your town. Suddenly, two men come charging off of a nearby property and they are holding shotguns aimed at your car. They don't fire. The next day, however, they blame you for driving down their street. That's the rough equivalent to what happened with the Russians.
Vladimir Putin knows that nothing will happen as a result of this behavior. President Obama will just go play golf and talk about gun control or global warming. There will be no consequences for the improper acts by the Russians. So Putin will just keep going.
It would be easy to respond to the Russians. Imagine Obama were to announce that because of recent events in the Baltic, the USA is going to locate a missile defense location in Poland. That move would be one that Russia does not want to see. It brings NATO closer together. It demonstrates US resolve. It also provides some protection for the Poles and Europe against Russian missiles. Putin would get the message. Indeed, if Obama had half a brain, he could even announce the placement of such a missile defense system in Poland and repeat again and again that of course, this move had nothing to do with the aggressive moves by the Russians and that he was shocked, shocked that anyone would ask about such a link. Of course, if Obama had half a brain, that would be half more than he actually has.
Think about that. An American destroyer is sailing in the Baltic Sea in international waters off the coast of Poland in a joint operation with the Poles. There is no threat to the Russians or Russian territory. Two Russian fighter/bombers come straight at the ship on mock bombing runs, and they repeat that flight pattern more than ten times. And now the Russians blame the USA for what happened and warn us against a repetition. Are they kidding?
There are undoubtedly those in the USA who will accept the Russian warning as requiring the USA to keep its forces further away from Russia. Bernie Sanders comes to mind immediately as a likely candidate for such a position, so does Hillary Clinton. But let's take it out of the international arena. Imagine that you are driving along a public street in your town. Suddenly, two men come charging off of a nearby property and they are holding shotguns aimed at your car. They don't fire. The next day, however, they blame you for driving down their street. That's the rough equivalent to what happened with the Russians.
Vladimir Putin knows that nothing will happen as a result of this behavior. President Obama will just go play golf and talk about gun control or global warming. There will be no consequences for the improper acts by the Russians. So Putin will just keep going.
It would be easy to respond to the Russians. Imagine Obama were to announce that because of recent events in the Baltic, the USA is going to locate a missile defense location in Poland. That move would be one that Russia does not want to see. It brings NATO closer together. It demonstrates US resolve. It also provides some protection for the Poles and Europe against Russian missiles. Putin would get the message. Indeed, if Obama had half a brain, he could even announce the placement of such a missile defense system in Poland and repeat again and again that of course, this move had nothing to do with the aggressive moves by the Russians and that he was shocked, shocked that anyone would ask about such a link. Of course, if Obama had half a brain, that would be half more than he actually has.
No comments:
Post a Comment