THE HOT JOINTS » Russia

Krauthammer Goes Nuclear On Obama

Chris Jones — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:19:02 +0000

Charles Krauthammer’s column in The Washington Post today is nothing short of a masterpiece. Trust me, it’s that good.

Liz Cheney Sets The Record Straight On Obama’s Phony Cold War History

Chris Jones — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:40:23 +0000

President Obama always panders to foreign audiences — that’s a given. Apologizing for America around the world has become standard operating procedure.

However, on his recent trip to Moscow his pandering went a step further. Obama attempted to rewrite cold war history by downplaying America’s role in it.

In today’s WSJ, Liz Cheney sets the record straight on the dishonest history lesson Obama gave to the Russians:

Speaking to a group of students, our president explained it this way: "The American and Soviet armies were still massed in Europe, trained and ready to fight. The ideological trenches of the last century were roughly in place. Competition in everything from astrophysics to athletics was treated as a zero-sum game. If one person won, then the other person had to lose. And then within a few short years, the world as it was ceased to be. Make no mistake: This change did not come from any one nation. The Cold War reached a conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years, and because the people of Russia and Eastern Europe stood up and decided that its end would be peaceful."

The truth, of course, is that the Soviets ran a brutal, authoritarian regime. The KGB killed their opponents or dragged them off to the Gulag. There was no free press, no freedom of speech, no freedom of worship, no freedom of any kind. The basis of the Cold War was not "competition in astrophysics and athletics." It was a global battle between tyranny and freedom. The Soviet "sphere of influence" was delineated by walls and barbed wire and tanks and secret police to prevent people from escaping. America was an unmatched force for good in the world during the Cold War. The Soviets were not. The Cold War ended not because the Soviets decided it should but because they were no match for the forces of freedom and the commitment of free nations to defend liberty and defeat Communism.

In other Liz Cheney news, she told the Washington Times that she’s open to running for office.

Obama Leaves Moscow, Russia Resumes Threats

Chris Jones — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:34:42 +0000

It was only a couple of days ago that President Obama was waxing poetic in Moscow about “resetting” relations with Russia, blah, blah, blah.

The U.S. and Russia must leave "behind the suspicion and the rivalry of the past so that we can advance the interests that we hold in common," Obama said.

"We must lead by example, and that’s what we are doing here today. We resolve to reset U.S.-Russian relations so that we can co-operate more effectively in areas of common interest," he said.

Obama assured Russian President Medvedev that he was willing to negotiate on the planned missile defense system in Poland.

As always, the president was heavy on the pandering:

The U.S. president repeated Washington’s position that the planned system is aimed at intercepting missiles from Iran and has nothing to do with countering "a mighty Russian arsenal."

The problem with Obama’s foreign policy approach is that after the flash bulbs die down, the hand pumping and back slapping finished, reality once again sets in:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned the United States on Friday that if it did not reach agreement with Russia on plans for missile defence systems, Moscow would deploy rockets in an enclave near Poland.

In sharp contrast to his positive words during President Barack Obama’s visit to Moscow earlier this week when the two reached broad agreement on nuclear arms cuts, Medvedev used a news conference at the G8 summit to return to Russia’s earlier tough rhetoric on arms control.

Referring to an order he gave earlier this year to prepare deployment of short-range Russian missiles in the western enclave of Kaliningrad to answer to any U.S. deployment of a missile shield in central Europe, Medvedev said:

"If we don’t manage to agree on the issues, you know the consequences. What I said during my state of the nation address has not been revoked."

…But in Italy on Friday, Medvedev returned to the Kremlin’s traditional posture on the system, describing it as "harmful" and "threatening to Russia".

Obama just doesn’t understand Russia. The Soviet Empire may be over, but the same Commie assholes that were in charge then are in charge now.

Vladimir Putin is an icy KGB boss completely immune to Obama’s charms. It’s true that America doesn’t look at Russia as much of a rival anymore, but that feeling is not mutual.

The Russians don’t view missile defense as a danger to Russia itself, but rather to its “sphere of influence.” In other words, if the USA has a missile defense system in Poland then Russia can no longer threaten its democratic neighbors with missiles.

Russia does everything it can to undermine the young democracies in former Soviet states like Georgia, Ukraine, and Poland. A missile shield protecting those countries would basically de-fang the Russians.

Putin has compared the U.S. missile defense plan in Poland to the Cuban Missile Crisis and vowed to take military action to prevent it.

That argument is laughable on its face. The Soviet’s tried to put nuclear cruise missiles 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

The U.S. missile defense system in Poland will be armed with missiles that contain no warhead or explosives of any kind.

The missile defense works by sending a high-speed projectile to impact the incoming warhead to destroy it.

It would be a disaster for Obama to fold on missile defense and give in to the Russians.

Our allies in the region depend on a strong America to keep the Russians at bay while they attempt to build their democracies and rid themselves of Communism once and for all.

Putin Sends Telegramme To Bush Hours Before Obama Meeting

Chris Jones — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:19:19 +0000

This from Reuters:

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin praised the hospitality and openness of U.S. former President George W. Bush in a telegramme sent hours before meeting his successor Barack Obama.

"During the last years we have been working on strengthening Russia-U.S. cooperation. Although there were differences between our countries, I always valued your openness and sincerity," Putin said, congratulating Bush on his 63rd birthday on July 6.

"With special warmth I recall your hospitality in the Crawford ranch and your family estate in Kennebunkport," Putin wrote, referring to their 2007 meeting at the Bush family vacation home when the two leaders went fishing and ate lobster.

Putin’s soul may be black as a charcoal briquette, but it was certainly classy of him to send a birthday greeting and thank you to president Bush. Bush really did go out of his way to reach out to Russia throughout his presidency.

Also, I didn’t even know you could send a telegramme anymore. What’s up with that?

Putin Treats Obama To Russian Breakfast

Chris Jones — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:06:28 +0000

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin invited President Obama for a “Russian-Style” breakfast during their meeting.

Putin treated Obama to black caviar with sour cream, smoked beluga with pancakes and tea made in the traditional Russian samovar, a big coal-fired kettle.

Does that not sound like the worst breakfast imaginable? Caviar, sour cream, and pancakes? It’s no wonder Putin never smiles.

Kasparov: America Should Support Iranian Protesters

Chris Jones — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:19:18 +0000

A man who certainly knows a thing or two about protesting for freedom is Russian chess champion Gary Kasparov.

Vladimir Putin has no greater foe in Russia than Kasparov. He’s been arrested too many times to count for leading marches in Russia against the authoritarian regime that Putin has created.

If Kasparov were not famous the world over, he would have been killed long ago. His fame is the only thing that has kept him alive under a regime that routinely murders journalists and jails people who speak out against the government.

Therefore, when Kasparov speaks out on issues like the protests in Iran he has a certain amount of credibility.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Kasparov has an excellent Op-Ed about the protests in Iran and offers an interesting perspective.

Mr. Putin has a great deal riding on the outcome in Iran. With the Russian economy teetering, he needs a steep increase in oil prices to stave off the collapse of his government. So he has been working to increase tension in the Middle East and now sees the Iranian crisis as potentially helpful — if Ahmadinejad comes out on top.

…For Mr. Putin, the unknown factor in all of this is how the West will respond to what’s happening in Iran. It could give him pause if Iran faces penalties of real significance for using lethal force against nonviolent protestors. Surprisingly, European leaders are showing unusual assertiveness in condemning the Iranian regime.

Kasparov goes on to say that president Obama is wrong to sit on the sidelines while everything plays out.

He says the president’s warning that “the world is watching” is meaningless, because the behavior of the Iranian regime over the last 30 years proves they don’t give a damn who’s watching.

Sen. Richard Lugar and CNN’s Fareed Zakaria are singled out by Kasparov as well for supporting president Obama’s timidity.

Kasparov concludes by saying there’s no reason for America to hold back if we can do something that would potentially tip the balance inside Iran.

There is no reason to withhold external pressure that can tip the balance inside Tehran. Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is not an ideal democrat. But should he and his supporters win power they will owe their authority to an abruptly empowered Iranian electorate. It is reasonable to expect that the people will hold a Mousavi government accountable for delivering the freedoms that they are now risking their lives to attain.

Millions of Iranians are fighting to join the Free World. The least we can do is let the valiant people of Iran know loud and clear that they will be welcomed with open arms.

Unlike many on the right, I actually thought president Obama’s statements at the beginning of this crisis were correct. I think his measured response in the beginning was appropriate.

However, as images and video of Iranian citizens being brutalized and killed by Iran’s Nazi brownshirts are being broadcast around the world, America has a moral responsibility to throw our support behind the protesters.

We should be condemning in the strongest possible language the treatment of protesters.

This is a chance for president Obama to go on national television and ask the Ayatollahs of Iran to let their people have freedom.

Video: Putin Sings Along With Nervous School Girl

Chris Jones — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:31:43 +0000

Who wouldn’t get nervous sitting that close to an icy-cold KGB killer.

Putin’s New ‘Treason Bill’ Makes The Stalinization Of Russia All But Complete

Chris Jones — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:09:28 +0000

It looks like the Soviet Union isn’t dead after all. Vladimir Putin has spent years gutting every democratic institution in Russia. No more free media or free speech. No right to assembly, no independent judiciary, etc. Now, it appears that Putin is putting the icing on his totalitarian cake with a new “Treason bill” that is expected to become law.

New legislation backed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would allow Russian authorities to label any government critic a traitor—a move that rights activists said Wednesday was a chilling throwback to times of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

The bill, which is expected to become law, would expanded the definition of treason to include damaging Russia’s constitutional order, sovereignty or territorial integrity. That, rights activists said, would essentially let authorities interpret any act against state as treason—a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Activists said that would catapult Russia’s justice system back to the times of Stalin’s purges, calling it “legislation in the spirit of Stalin and Hitler.”

“It returns the Russian justice to the times of 1920-1950s,” the activists, which included Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alexeyeva and Civic Assistance director Svetlana Gannushkina, said in a joint statement.

This is the final death nail for any kind of free speech in Russia. Putin’s grip on the country is now complete. Russia is once again a Soviet dictatorship with a KGB man at its head. Up to this point, Russia hasn’t been able to declare open season on human rights, because victims of the regime could complain to the European Court of Human Rights. These complaints are made through NGO’s and the new law will effectively neuter all NGO’s in Russia.

Putin will be free to re-open the gullogs and be the KGB strongman he’s always wanted to be. America haters love to call president Bush a ‘war criminal’ but somehow miss the fact that Vladimir Putin actually is a war criminal. The atrocities committed in Chechnya by the Russian military make Iraq look like Disneyland.

Ancient Russian Warship Crossing The Panama Canal

Chris Jones — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:31:46 +0000

Russia is once again pretending to scare the U.S. by sailing one of its broken down cold war relics or “warship” as they call it across the Panama Canal.

A Russian warship will sail through the Panama Canal this week for the first time since World War II, the navy announced Wednesday, pushing ahead with a symbolic projection of Moscow’s power in a traditional U.S. zone of influence.

The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko will arrive Friday at a former U.S. naval base in Panama’s Pacific port of Balboa for a six-day visit after carrying out joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan navy in the Caribbean Sea, navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said in a telephone interview.

The Panama Canal has long been a symbol of U.S. clout in Latin America, and Dygalo said no Soviet or Russian military ship has sailed through it since World War II. The wartime alliance between the U.S. and the Soviet Union swiftly gave way to the mistrust, military buildups and proxy conflicts of the Cold War.

In a throwback to those times, the Russian navy statement announcing the plans referred to the base the Admiral Chabanenko will visit as Rodman naval base—its name when it was a U.S. base many years ago.

The fact that Putin really believes the U.S. is going to feel threatened by Russia’s laughable, broke down navy shows how out of touch he really is. The only thing that makes Russia a military player in the world at all is its nuclear arsenal. Beyond that, Russia’s military is a joke. The once mighty navy of the Soviet Union has been reduced to nothing in modern day Russia.

The same thing goes for Russia’s flyovers. Russia thinks they’re scaring us by flying their old cold war bombers into Alaskan territory and elsewhere. Those bombers belong in a damn museum not buzzing the U.S.

Putin Plots His Return

Chris Jones — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:45:48 +0000

It looks like Vladmir Putin is tired of pretending he’s still not running the country:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev could resign from his post in 2009 to pave the way for Vladimir PutinVedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday, citing an unidentified source close to the Kremlin. to return to the Kremlin,

Medvedev Wednesday proposed increasing the presidential term to six years from four years, a step the newspaper said was part of a plan drawn up by Vladislav Surkov, who serves as Medvedev’s first deputy chief of staff.

Under the plan, Medvedev could implement changes to the constitution and unpopular social reforms “so that Putin could return to the Kremlin for a longer period,” the newspaper said.

“Under this scenario Medvedev could resign early citing changes to the constitution and then presidential elections could take place in 2009,” the newspaper said, citing the unidentified source close to the Kremlinl.

Only in Russia would such a ridiculous scheme even be possible.

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