Obama Fetted in India White Ukraine Burns

by John M. Curtis
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Copyright January 26, 2015
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                Mesmerized by parading elephants in New Delhi, 53-year-old President Barack looked the other way while Russian President Vladimir Putin thumbed his nose at the U.S. and NATO in Ukraine.  Making a mockery of the Sept. 5 Minsk Protocol calling on Russia to call back its backing of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, Putin showed his contempt for Obama, continuing to build his bridge from Russia to the Crimean Peninsula.  Having seized Crimea March 1 and successfully split off Eastern Ukraine from Kiev, Putin has succeeded in expanding the Russian Federation.  His ongoing allocation of more Ukrainian territory has been met with zero resistance from the U.S. and NATO, unwilling to commit resources to stopping the Putin’s Russian juggernaut.  If there were any pretense left in Ukraine, Putin flashed his cards calling Ukraine’s army a “foreign legion.”

             Since Kremlin-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich was evicted from Kiev Feb. 22, Putin believed it was a CIA-sponsored coup.  Ending all pretense about his intent in Ukraine, Putin called Ukraine’s military a “NATO proxy” army, removing any cover to his intent of fighting the U.S.  Knowing Obama reluctance to use U.S. military force, Putin has seized the chance once to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a U.N. sovereign state.  When Putin ran the Russian army into Georgia seizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia Aug. 7, 2008, former President George W. Bush barely flinched, giving license to Putin to seize whatever land he wanted.  Despite three rounds of U.S. and European Union sanctions, Putin continues his unrelenting march to change the strategic landscape in the Black Sea region, giving the Russian Federation more leverage  over the West.

             Obama’s lack of resolve and coherent plan with NATO reflects the same isolationist posture that led the U.S. to lose clout in the Mideast and elsewhere around the globe.  Throwing the baby our with the bathwater, Obama ended the Iraq and Afghan wars, ignoring the overarching U.S. strategy in the Middle Eastern and Caucasus region once part of the Soviet Union.  Putin’s admission seeing Ukraine’s military as a “proxy NATO army” tells the whole story of Russian using unmarked troops to fight what he sees a proxy war against the U.S. and NATO.  With the U.S. no longer leading the way in global affairs, the 29-member EU showed reluctance to rock the boat with its No. 1 energy supplier.  While Russia needs the EU’s energy business to save its failing economy, even Germany, the EU’s most strongest state, can’t summon the political will to confront Putin.

              Putin mouthpiece Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continues to blame Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for continued violence in the Donbass region, with recent battles for the Donetsk airport and port city of Mariupol.  When Lavrov speaks of Kiev, he’s referring to the U.S. proxy war against Russia.  Putin doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the Kiev government.  As long as the Kremlin controlled Kiev through Yanukovich, it had no problem with Ukraine pretending to be an independent state.  Once the Feb. 22 coup took place, the Kremlin sees Ukraine’s pro-Western ruler as proxy government for the U.S. and EU.  Speaking of Ukrainian defectors fleeing into Russia, Putin said they didn’t want to become “cannon fodder” for the U.S. and EU Proxy war.  Showing a lack of resolve in foreign affairs, Obama gave Putin the green light in Ukraine.

             When the U.S. Senate changed hands Jan. 1, Obama’s foreign policy is under more scrutiny to deal with foreign policy messes around the globe.  Now in the hands of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), chairman of the Armed Services Committee and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, the GOP-controlled Congress will pressure Obama clean up the messes.  Obama’s foreign policy crises, including Ukraine and rise of Islamic terrorism, promise to play a central role in the 2016 presidential campaign.  “In essence, this is not an army, this a foreign legion—in this particular case NATO’s foreign legion, which of course does not pursue the obective of serving Ukraine’s national interests,” said Putin, putting the U.S. and NATO on notice that he has no intention, regardless of economic sanctions, of backing down in his control of Eastern Ukraine  

             Like a Gordian knot, the more the U.S. and EU pulls, the tighter knot gets when it comes to dealing with Putin.  Brainwashed by the Russian state media and known for its siege mentality, the Russian people will sacrifice whatever it takes to protect its fearless leader.  Seizing on weakness in the U.S. and NATO, Putin continues to build his land corridor connecting Crimea through the port of Mariupol to Mother Russia.  Unlike the U.S. and EU, Putin’s not debating how to proceed.  He’s laser-beam focused on consolidating his land grabs, no matter what the costs.  Only putting U.S. and NATO troops into Kiev will show Putin he can’t run roughshod over a sovereign country.  “The foreign forces in Ukraine are Russian,” said NATO head Jens Stoltenberg, repeating the same useless refrain, giving Putin a green light to do what he wants in Eastern Ukraine knowing there’s no one to stop him.

 About the Author    

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.


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