putin_bush

As worrisome as it is that Russian President/Dictator Vladimir Putin has unreservedly and unhesitatingly invaded Ukraine to annex Crimea, it would be hard to say that his behavior is surprising. Putin has demonstrated his ex-KGB, cold-blooded and brutal mentality for many years now. Whether looking at his deadly and absolutist conflicts with uprisings in Georgia, Chechnya and elsewhere, his imprisoning of any Russian (including Pussy Riot) who dares to challenge or criticize him or his bigotry-into-law campaign to obliterate gays, this is someone who rules with an iron fist as a dictator, despite the charade of elections in the corrupt process ridiculously called Russian democracy.

Putin has made it very clear that he is seeking to return Russia to its previous standing as a rival power to the U.S. and the world community has for the most part, been acting like Igor to this Dr. Frankenstein, assisting him in bringing this monster back to life.

The very corrupt IOC threw their weight behind Putin by choosing Sochi for this year’s Winter Olympics. The G-8 threw their weight behind Putin by agreeing to his hosting this year’s summit. Even the GOP, Fox News and Right Wingers here in the U.S. threw their weight behind him when he pounded his chest with calculated demands for peace and negotiations in Syria instead of military action when President Obama was moving towards a strike in response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons against their own people (Republicans are so deep in their anti-Obama psychosis, they actually support a war mongering, lying, brutal dictator who represents an enemy to democratic values and an adversary to our nation’s President because they bond with anyone who opposes our black and not Republican President).

Let’s jump in the time machine, a distant 6 months ago, to once again bathe in the wisdom and philosophy of that world peace advocate, Vladimir Putin, from his New York Times editorial against Pres. Obama making a military strike in Syria:

The United Nations’ founders understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America’s consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades.

No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization.

The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.

[…]

From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression.

[…]

We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.

Boy, all that “respect international law” and “peaceful diologue” bullshit must have had Putin rolling on the floor and laughing at all the suckers out there who swallowed it (Republicans have no gag reflex and thus are able to easily swallow large amounts of BS).

Putin’s manipulative act of looking like a civilized seeker of peace just to thwart the U.S. attack fooled Republicans who are not very intellectually discriminating but hasn’t fooled those who know what Putin has really been up to.

His game plan has been clear. He has been using Russia’s renewed oil revenues and supplies to support and control those countries that undermine peace and stability for the rest of the world to create a space for Russia to wedge itself back into the global scene as the most powerful and threatening force among nations. As we’ve learned with the Tea Party, you don’t have to be as big as the biggest players to usurp power, you just have to be more single-minded, ruthless, threatening and unconcerned about causing destruction.

At this moment in time, Putin may believe that the plan is working, that this invasion of Ukraine demonstrates how powerful Russia is and how unafraid it is in using it’s military strength without being challenged. However, this does cut against the efforts he just made at enormous expense to portray himself and Russia through the Olympics as respectable. The recent cancellation of the rest of the G-8 members to attend the summit he was hosting this Summer is also a blow to Putin’s grand scheme of global respect. That may all seem like a bump in the road to Putin, things that can be managed in the future, as he basks in his new militaristic role but on the world stage, he is bombing big time.

It seems clear, Putin wants Crimea and he’s going to keep it no matter the international pressure or cost. He would like to annex the south and east of Ukraine and with the support of the local pro-Russian population there as well as his Russian army disguised as protestors and Ukranian militias, he may accomplish that as well. There will be a cost though and despite what may appear to be a path to Putin towards a USSR-type global power/threat, this may instead lead to limiting the rise of Russia.

Putin has had so much room to maneuver over many years because of the facade of democracy and political evolution in Russia. He has gotten away with supporting murderous regimes without global condemnation and sanctions because diplomacy pressured other nations to accept the charade.

But now, that facade has been shattered and the world is no longer handicapped by having to accept Russia’s self-representation of itself, Russia now is defining what kind of nation it is and what kind of leader it has. The scheme of wrapping himself in the Olympic flag to hide his dictator’s uniform has blown up. Through his invasion of Ukraine, Putin has slapped the world in the face like the scene from the old movie Moonstruck and yelled, “Snap out of it!”

No, Russia is not a respectable citizen of the world community. As a nation (not as a people since many Russians are trapped in this chokehold) Russia remains an enemy of democracy (even in their own country!) and a tyranny in now-shorn sheep’s clothing.

Putin has made a huge miscalculation. The last thing you want to do if you are a bad guy and want to keep operating as such without paying a price, is to announce you’re a bad guy. And with this invasion and the threat he represents right now to world peace and the sovereign nation of Ukraine, Putin is making a declaration to any nation that wants peace in the world that he is their enemy too.

There are those who might defend Putin by explaining that Crimea and that region of Ukraine has essentially been Russian all along and that he’s welcome by them to “protect” them.

But from what? The new leaders in Kiev weren’t taking any actions against these people, they weren’t being rounded up or attacked, there was no actual impact on Ukrainians living in those areas after President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted. So there is NO justification for Russia to have invaded Ukraine, no threat at all that needed to be defended against.

The U.S. hasn’t done itself any favors in holding higher moral ground by launching a series of wars and conflicts in sovereign nations. Afghanistan can be rationalized for at least the initial military campaign as a response to an attack on our country by terrorists who were supported and harbored there (though that is not justification to still be fighting there after 13 years). The action by the U.S. in Libya was part of an international force and was taken as an emergency action to stop the mass murdering of human beings that was underway.

The biggest problem the U.S. has now in trying to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine can be spelled out with four letters…Iraq.

Granted, this was a war that was created and dishonestly foisted upon Americans as well as Iraq and the rest of the world by a handful of Republican neocons who should be held for war crimes. The facts are though that the U.S., under then-President George Bush, trumped up a phony reason for invading a sovereign nation simply because the Bush Administration wanted “regime change”. In other words, Bush stated clearly that HE was going to rid Iraq of their leadership and replace it with leadership that HE wanted and found more “compatible” with his views.

Sad to say this but if Putin was to launch a full scale invasion of Ukraine under the contention that Ukraine is a threat to Russia and replace their government with leadership he wanted in place, is that so hugely different from the U.S. under Bush and the U.S. invasion of Iraq?

How can the U.S. have much credibility condemning Russia for invading foreign nations out of “self-defense” in an operation to put leaders in sympathetic to them and have greater control of that region?

If the U.S. stays out of such illegal wars in the future then as time passes, it can regain its moral high ground. President Obama has his opposition to the Iraq War to thank for contributing to his first election to become President so he is less impacted by the Iraq War but the U.S. is still ethically hobbled on the world scene by that.

At the same time, just because our last President did a horribly wrong thing, it doesn’t mean we have to remain silent when others do similar horrible things.

It would be surprising to see Putin back down and pull out his troops as opposed to staying entrenched and escalating this annexation of parts of Ukraine. If such an unlikely turnaround doesn’t happen, the U.S. and its allies have many levers to pull economically and diplomatically that can hobble Putin and Russia and it is their responsibility to the rest of the world to be prepared to use them swiftly if Putin won’t back down.

Putin must be confronted and Russia punished unless we want to see a much more dangerous world where nation after nation uses their military might to take what they want from neighboring countries or resource-rich nations.

With the power of precedent standing front and center, the strongest countries in the world have no choice but to step up and through their actions declare that there will indeed be a high price to pay for any nation if they invade and annex a neighboring country’s land.

And especially for the U.S., it is necessary for the rehabilitation of our international reputation and moral authority that our government stands steadfast against those who would prey upon nations weaker than they are.

One last question, could Ukraine turn out to be Putin’s Iraq? There are many differences when comparing the two but could what seems to Putin like an easy military overwhelming of Ukraine, turn out to be a long term disastrous occupation for him? It sure seems a distinct possibility but only if western nations stand united and strong against this aggression. Putin seems far too determined and stubborn to withdraw from Crimea and if economic sanctions against Russia are contingent upon Russia’s withdrawal from Crimea, the pain of sanctions won’t be immediate but could be long term and profound, hobbling the long term potential strength of Russia.

Internally, in Russia and even in southern and eastern Ukraine, Russia’s invasion may be very popular but does Putin really worry about public opinion in Russia (doesn’t he just imprison those who disapprove of his actions?). However, if the world stands against Putin because of this, if his and Russia’s reputations are cemented in as being brutal and not part of the civilized society of nations, his ultimate dream of ascending to the days of the USSR’s power over the rest of the world could be snuffed out and that could be the silver lining to this very dark cloud.

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Mojave Green
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Mojave Green

Are all these people serious? Are they blocking that Newland witch’s tapped phone call? And the EU ‘diplomat’s admitted conversations…….or hell, George Soros is bragging about it in public! As one myself, wherever I go in the world I get the same question. “what’s wrong with gringos?” (or ‘North Americans’ if I happen to be in Europe and actually got the answer from readeing the newspapers from those places, and a general consensus is this. Gringos are 4% of the population of Earth and take almost 60% of all manufactured drugs, (and a good chunk of the ‘illegal’ ones), then sit in front of the aptly named ‘boob tube’ more than any other people on Planet Earth, and therefor don’t seem to spend any time on said planet. The story is, and the evidence is mountainous, the whole thing is the work of Obomber, Brzezinski and the third stooge is George Soros. Go visit any of the big German papers and read about the 400 Blackwater murderers that got there last month, to help with death squads and sniper work for the non-elected, publicly stated and proud of it, neo-Nazis all. Or check Israeli newspapers, they’re freaked and trying to get the Jews of the Ukraine out (Nazis have this ‘problem’ with Jews) That is VERY public knowledge. Wake up you fools. Read any of Brzezinski’s books (if you can handle a book, I know lot’s of gringos haven’t read since they were in school) See if you don’t conclude that he’s a psychopath who’s been dreaming of war with Russia his whole sick life. Just reading a biography of him (no, Wikipedia doesn’t count as information). Cause every comment I read has every thing bass ackwards!

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

You’re welcome, Kalima, and thanks for the new link.

If Putin gets any more paranoid, he’s likely to think
people are out to get him. ;-(

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Good afternoon, Kalima. No
apology is needed. I knew
you would answer me. I’ll
be glad to read the articles
you make reference to, but
even though I’m literally
from Missouri, the former
“Show-me State” (and now
the “Shame-on-me State” as
the reactionary Republicans
who control the state legis-
lature are running the state
into the ground in a race to
the bottom), I trust your
account and don’t need to
see the evidence.

While I’m pretty familiar
with Putin’s history, I was
very interested to see the
article you linked as it’s
an excellent encapsulation
of his rise to power.
Especially telling is the
brief description of his
elementary school days,
which shows his already
antisocial personality
traits and arrogance.
Nothing could show more
clearly how the insolent
child became the father
of the evil man.

Thanks for sending it my
way!

Kalima
Admin

Thanks for reading it, and yes he was always an arrogant sob. The photo of him during his KGB days shows the face of a thug. The rumours of him being behind the bombing of that apartment building also rang true at the time. He uses the Russian mafia for his long list of politically motivated assassinations of journalists and others who get too close to the truth, then has the judges and crooked police in his pocket so nothing goes further than the rumours. Getting rid of him would be good for Russia and the Russian people but many live in fear of repercussions. Still, who knows what will happen when enough people get angry enough.

This was also interesting.

—-

It brings a tear to the eye

http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2012/03/russias-presidential-election

If you are interested in international news and opinions, you can always visit me here where I do updates as often as the paywalls allow me to do. Pop in any time. Good night to you.

http://planetpov.com/2013/11/20/morning-blog-11-20-13/

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

You’re welcome, and I must say this is probably the first time I’ve been thanked on the internet for reading an article — you are muy simpática!

And thank you for the link to the “Economist” article and your morning blog. I’ve read the morning blog before and found it very interesting and informative but didn’t get to give you my take on it, but I will try to get back to you about the “Economist” piece by the time you get up tomorrow — which is nigh where you are now. It’s just past 9 A.M. in the Midwest where I am.

So good night to you, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Kalima
Admin

😆 Your first sentence made me laugh, and my grandmother taught me to always be polite.

No worries about leaving a comment on MB. As long as you find something of interest there, that’s enough for me.

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

I’m glad I could make you laugh — that’s quite an accomplishment for me at a time when Putin appears to be trying to make the Cuban Missile Crisis look like a walk in the park compared to his seizure of Crimea and threats to invade Ukraine and any other country where two people may be speaking Russian on a street corner.

And your grandmother did an excellent job of teaching you to be polite.

I read “It brings a tear to the eye” with great interest. I wasn’t at all surprised at its revela-tions but in retrospect was very disappointed that so many western reporters failed at the time to see what a sham Putin made of the voting and to let the world know he was just as much a vote-stealer as a corrupt politician — not to be redundant.

I made a mistake in trusting the words of writers I thought to be credible and who represented, I thought,responsible newsgathering organi-
zations. I must stay true to my native Missouri skepticism and follow more closely my guiding
principle of life:
“Discretion is the better part of velour!” 😉

I really appreciate your sending me the link to
the absolutely damning article about Putin, and
it’s an absolute pleasure talking with you and
reading your incisive comments.

Kalima
Admin

That is very kind of you and thank you.

I won’t be posting any updates until your Sunday morning, but had to share this prime example of the dictator’s paranoia about criticism. He’s taking Russia back to the good old days of the U.S.S.R.

—-

Moscow blocks four anti-Putin sites

Moscow has blocked access to four websites run by opponents and critics of President Vladimir Putin

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26578264

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

AdLib, it’s clear Putin controls all the levers of power; but
even in a best case scenario where his plans go awry and Russia
comes near to total economic collapse, unless he’s abandoned by
the oligarchs and the military, a revolt against his tyranny might
be easily quashed, though many would likely die in the attempt.

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Eloquently written, AdLib. Even if Putin goes no further than his
illegal seizure of Crimea, it must turn out to be a very Pyrrhic
victory for him. And it will, if the world’s democracies stand
together and impose sanctions which will force the oligarchs and
others among his enablers and supporters to pressure him to change
his course.

Putin will then be forced to retreat or be consigned to the ash bin
of history sooner than he would have been otherwise. And no matter
what, he won’t end up there soon enough.

jjgravitas
Member
jjgravitas

Well done, Adlib. I certainly we are not stupid enough to decide to take part in whatever this Ukraine conflict turns into. It would be another Iraq for us, and probably much worse. The TeaPubs are urging the president to get involved not only because they profit from the military machine. They also desperately want to see Pres Obama do something stupid so they can reverse their opinions and then criticize them for it, and for the first time they’d be correct.
[img]http://global3.memecdn.com/new-putin-meme-inc_c_1899939.jpg[/img]

Kalima
Admin

Good Lord! 😯

WorldViews: A brief rundown of Vladimir Putin’s rambling press conference

“They sit there across the pond as if in a lab running all kinds of experiments on the rats.“.

http://wapo.st/1fF50hA

—-

Ukraine is Putin’s, not Russia’s, war

http://m.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ukraine-is-putins-not-russias-war/2014/03/04/f587b698-a337-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html

—-

Ukraine crisis: Russia to hold talks with Nato in bid to avert war

US secretary of state John Kerry to meet Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov as Europe discusses possible sanctions

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/ukraine-crisis-russia-talks-nato-john-kerry-sergei-lavrov

escribacat
Member

That Washington Post article is encouraging. I was under the impression that Putin was very popular in Russia but maybe that’s not so true after all.

Kalima
Admin

Hi e’cat. No, Putin’s popularity took a nosedive way before the last stolen election, and many of those who took to the streets to support him were either his private mercenary thugs or payed supporters. That’s why you saw the opposition leaders and ordinary anti-Putin protestors violently beaten in the streets before being carted off to jail. This supposed great demigod can’t handle criticism, so he deals with it just like any dictator has in the past. The people who back him must know he’s crazy unless they are crazy too. I think the author is spot on when he points out that this is Putin ‘s war and not Russia’s.

choicelady
Member

Kalima – the story about this being Putin’s war, not Russia’s gives weight to my observation about the bemedaled General sitting behind Putin. I read on his face, “Just wait, Comrade. Your time is coming, you weak, self-indulgent little man sucking up to this spoiled Western imperialist.”

I think Putin has many enemies in Russia. He should NOT take his own power for granted.

Kalima
Admin

Hello choicelady. When the noise started about a possible second run for the presidency, I remember posting many stories about interviews with ordinary Russians about the prospect. They asked a cross section from street cleaners, rural farmers to office workers, and the majority consensus was “no thank you” and “anyone but Putin”. So although he might have some fanatical supporters left, for the stolen election it was many paid for by the Putin PR machine. You know how these dictators are, they think everybody loves them even if they were throwing explosives or kicking down his “palace” door.

I so agree about the general standing behind him, he looks like a leftover from the U.S.S.R. and would frighten the life out of me day or night.

Putin bit off more than he can chew with his power grab and the lame, lying excuse for it, and I hope to witness the melting of his waxworks face in the near future.

NoManIsAnIsland
Member
NoManIsAnIsland

Spot on, choicelady. Of course the old saw is “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Putin isn’t very big physically or morally, but as a very big dictator, he should fall very hard indeed!

Fergie1
Member
Fergie1

I was astounded to hear CBS News senior security contributor and former Deputy CIA Director Mike Morell discusses options for the U.S. and EU allies to stop further aggression. To me he was talking out of both sides of his mouth saying that President Obama was weak. On the one hand Morell says that military intervention is clearly not an option and then on the other hand he says that economic sanctions are not enough. I like Charlie Rose but to me he dropped the ball by not challenging Morell as to what other options does the President have? And then Morell had the temerity to say that it was a slap in the face to Obama that Putin basically did not heed Obama’s warning. Not a word castigating Putin for wanting to reunite the Soviet Union by invading now Nation States by armed agression. Pathetic! Is this the kind of supposed experts that we are now giving a pass to? Not good enough to put it mildly.

Fergie1
Member
Fergie1

Absolutely brilliant article Ad. I wouldn’t deign to add anything that could make the case more clear. But I would like to specifically second your comments that Putin will regret this as “a massive miscalculation by an ambitious dictator.”

pinkpantheroz
Member

I was chatting to the missus last night and casually mentioned that the easiest way for this to be solved, maybe, is for the Ukraine to SELL Crimea to the Russians for quintillions of dollars. Any Russians not happy in Ukraine could move there, the Black Sea Fleet would then be on Russian Soil. Don’t laugh just yet. How did Alaska become part of the USA? America bought it from Russia! The money Ukraine would get would clear their huge debts, help resettle Ukrainians who want to move towards Kiev and would be a feather in Ukraines cap, who could then throw the finger to Putin and welcome talks about Europe! BLoodless. Now, NSA, get this post to the President, stat!

choicelady
Member

You’re one smart cookie, PPO. That’s a smashing idea.

Only fly in the ointment is the madman in the Kremlin. He may care far less about ‘reunification’ for Russians than in imperialistic restoration of a Russian state over which he could then become Tsar. No predicting the outcome when a loonie is at the helm.

pinkpantheroz
Member

You never know, choice. The poor nutter might grab the idea to back off from his more insane moves. I want to see the look on his face when the President doesn’t play to the script he wants.

One way or another, let us pray that sanity and/or common sense prevails, especially in those ‘advisors’ within Vlad the Mad’s orbit.

Nirek
Member

PPO, that would solve the problem for both Russia and Ukraine. You should be a diplomat, my friend.

pinkpantheroz
Member

Thanks, Nirek, out of the mouths ………. maybe. I’d love a job where the description is “to lie for your country”!

KillgoreTrout
Member
Beatlex
Member
Beatlex

You have a knack AdLib of distilling an issue with true, accurate instincts.Out of the park buddy!

funksands
Member

[img]https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQKYuKtTygDjgK_XqeT3AENg5X6Iei19EteNhCLQuHcN31ujN-R[/img]

KillgoreTrout
Member

LOL! Putin on the Ritz!

kesmarn
Admin

Awesome, funk!

Fergie1
Member
Fergie1

Simply hilarious funk! The oligarchs won’t be ‘putin’ on the ritz when their assets are frozen in various corners of the globe!

choicelady
Member

Too funny, funk!! That’s amazing as a visual pun. WELL DONE!

Kalima
Admin

A brilliant article AdLib, it fits the situation like a glove.

Putin’s path to glory and fame on the world stage of power has been planned for many years, and culminated with his second run for president and the violent stolen elections.

During his brief time as PM he was already building castles for himself with dreams of grandeur rivalling a modern day Czar. For those who watched him closely, the telltail signs of image building with the shirtless horse riding, motorcycle rides with leather clad motorcycle gangs, the bizarre deep sea dive and finding a faux treasure, the sudden divorce preceded by the very obvious plastic surgery and Botox injections were all part of this one man illusion.

Together with this man’s murky KGB past, his use of the mafia and mercenaries in “trouble spots” and political assassinations throughout the years, makes him a very dangerous time bomb, and maybe a calculating madman because very few share his ego driven dream of a United Russia.

The fact that Russia has a seat on the UN Security Council must be causing many dire regrets as Syria stalls in it’s promise to deliver those chemical weapons that Putin “promised” they would. 🙄

President Obama’s Economic Assault approach is again the best way, and any American who cares about their country and her image abroad will understand this without question. Who cares what the Republicans think anyway, their aggressive stance after more than 10 years of endless war will seal their fate in time.

The rumour mill noise before the Olympic Games even started, was that Putim was already planning to invade Ukraine using the games as a distraction.

I have just finished reading this article about an interview with the former President of Georgia who was in power when Russia invaded his country in 2008. It gives some insight into how Putin rolls and what might come next.

There are also two interesting articles from MB on Sunday about the home protests and if this will be the undoing of him. The other about how Russia can’t afford open conflict with the West due to the miserable state of its economy.

—-

Russia is Looking for a Hot War,’ Says Georgia’s Former President

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili knows a thing or two about Russian invasions. He warns that Ukraine may not be able to stop an all-out war with Russia.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/03/russia-is-looking-for-a-hot-war-says-georgia-s-former-president.html

—-

Russia: Could these protests topple Putin?

Russia’s anti-government movement has been inspired by last week’s extraordinary events in Ukraine – but it still has much work to do

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/10669786/Russia-Could-these-protests-topple-Putin.html

—-

Ukraine crisis: Russia cannot risk open conflict with the West

Any precipitate action on the part of the Russians in Ukraine would put Moscow on a collision course with the West, one which, given the current poor state of the Russian economy, it can ill afford

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10670557/Ukraine-crisis-Russia-cannot-risk-open-conflict-with-the-West.html