Friday, September 5, 2014
Obama's Personal Debate - Russia vs ISIS
A ceasefire took hold at 6 p.m. Friday in eastern Ukraine after President Poroshenko's representative signed a deal with Russian-backed separatists to try to bring an end to nearly five months of fighting. President Poroshenko said he ordered government forces following a protocol signed by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at talks in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. The Donetsk separatists said on Twitter that they also have put into effect a ceasefire. Poroshenko said : "Human life is most valuable. And it is important to do all that is possible and impossible to stop the bloodshed and end people's suffering." After signing the ceasefire, the negotiators met for two more hours and developed a list and plan to exchange the more than 1,000 prisoners being held be each side, Heidi Tagliavini of the OSCE told reporters in Minsk. Mikhail Zurabov, the Russian ambassador to Ukraine, who also signed the deal, described the exchange of lists of more than 1,000 prisoners from each side as a "breakthrough." Poroshenko said a prisoner exchange could begin as early as Saturday and international monitors from the OSCE would keep watch over the ceasefire. US President Barack Obama said that he is skeptical that the ceasefire will hold and that new economic sanctions are being prepared to be used if Russia reneges. While Russia still denies that it is active in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that there are "several thousand" Russian military fighting in eastern Ukraine. ~~~~~ In addition, at the NATO summit in Wales, leaders approved plans Friday to create the Spearhead Reaction Force, a rapid response force, to counter Russian aggression that could quickly mobilize if an alliance country came under attack. Rasmussen said the high-readiness force, with a headquarters in Eastern Europe, would give NATO a "continuous presence" in Eastern Europe, with alliance countries contributing forces on a rotational basis. Britain will provide 3,500 military personnel but other NATO member contributions are not yet spelled out. There were no final decisions on where the forces would be based, but Rasmussen said Poland, Romania and the Baltics have all indicated a willingness to host the facilities. President Obama said the agreement demonstrates that NATO is "fully united" behind Ukraine's independence, territorial sovereignty and right to self-defense. He said all 28 NATO allies will now be providing security assistance to Ukraine, such as non-lethal equipment, fuel and medical care for troops. NATO will not be complacent," Obama said. Moscow responded by claiming that NATO was using the crisis in Ukraine as pretext to advance a longstanding goal to move its infrastructure closer to Russia's borders. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said it was studying the NATO announcements, but warned that the alliance's plans to conduct joint exercises in Ukraine later this year will "inevitably aggravate tensions, jeopardize the progress that has been made in the peace process in Ukraine and exacerbate the split in Ukrainian society." But, in a further indication of its willingness to protect its members in Eastern Europe, NATO announced that its next summit will be held in Warsaw, Poland, in 2016. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski praised the alliance's willingness to boost its presence in the region, calling it "a matter of key importance to Poland's security." Ukraine is not a NATO member, but the entire NATO alliance has been alarmed by Russia's actions in Ukraine, and Russia is under both US and EU economic sanctions because of its backing of the rebels. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said much must be tested concerning the ceasefire -- is it being applied, do Russian troops withdraw, so far as they're there? Are there buffer zones and things like that. "A lot of things will have to be sorted out, according to Merkel. ~~~~~ Perhaps an answer to the question about whether Russia will withdraw from eastern Ukraine can be found on Ukraine's eastern seashores. Associated Press reporters reported hearing heavy shelling Friday morning north and east of the key southeastern port of Mariupol. The city of 500,000 lies on the Sea of Azov, between Russia to the east and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in March, to the west. The shelling seemed to indicate that rebels had at least partially surrounded the area. They already have a strong foothold on the seacoast and taking Mariupol would make it possible for them to carve out a land corridor between Russia and Crimea. If that happened, Ukraine would lose another huge part of its coast and, with it, access to the rich hydrocarbon resources believed to lie beneath the Sea of Azov. Ukraine has already lost about half its coastline, several major ports and billions of dollars in Black Sea mineral rights because of Russia's annexation of Crimea. "If Mariupol falls, then we could lose the entire coastline, the whole south of Ukraine," said Tatyana Chronovil, a Ukrainian activist. Later on Friday, shelling stopped in Mariupol as the ceasefire took hold, but it is naive to think that Russia would willingly give up the Crimea or stop expanding until it has taken control of all the eastern Ukraine seacoast and the rich cache of resources that go with it. ~~~~~ On the sidelines of the NATO meeting, ISIS was the key topic. Addressing this international crisis, Rasmussen said NATO stands "ready to help" Iraq fight back against a violent militant group, but noted that the Iraqi government has not made any such request. Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have been encouraging their NATO counterparts to join a coalition of nations that could degrade ISIS militant groups. Rasmussen suggested that NATO was unlikely to take imminent military action against the militants in Iraq, but said he could foresee the alliance engaging in a "defense capacity-building mission" there. Britain has joined the US and France in supplying humanitarian aid in Iraq. Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama also asked NATO countries to follow through on commitments to spend 2% of their nations' gross domestic product on defense. Not surprisingly, only four NATO nations meet their commitment threshold : the US (4.4%), Britain (2.4%), Greece (2.3%) and Estonia (2%). We might ask how the rest of NATO can sit back while Greece, the member with the greatest economic trouble, meets its commitment. Polish President Komorowski said Poland would raise its defense budget to 2% of GDP in 2016 and would encourage other members to increase defense spending as well. ~~~~~ Dear readers, for Obama-watchers, and that includes most of the world, the NATO meeting provided further insights into his character. He was ready and, yes, eager to lash out at Russia : “An attack on one is an attack on all, and so if, in such a moment, you ever ask again, ‘Who’ll come to help?’ you’ll know the answer: the NATO alliance, including the armed forces of the United States of America,” he told a gathering of almost 2,000 Estonians. And his actions were equally positive. On Thursday, Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in a display of fraternity. Obama and Cameron published a joint editorial in the London Times Thursday making it clear to Russia that the NATO allies are determined to defend one another. Both leaders support a NATO rapid-response force “that could deploy anywhere in the world at very short notice,” something Obama confirmed at his news conference. We can think of several explanations fot Obama's behavior at the NATO meeting -- **he supports NATO more than any other US commitment, ** he feels safer when part of an already-established coalition because he is not good at building coalitions from scratch, ** he can rely on David Cameron to do the real work for NATO, **he feels secure confronting Russia from behind the NATO shield but would not do it alone. There is, to be sure, another explanation - because all Obama's actions and words at the NATO meeting must be compared to his mind-boggling indecision in the Middle East. That explanation is that his emotional attachment to Islam has paralyzed him, making any Middle East decision impossible. That is why we are the puzzled and angry witnesses to his debate with himself about how to proceed against ISIS, a personal debate being carried out in the presence of live microphones and TV cameras.
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Obams character shined through at the NATO meeting in many ways fir sure. He priced he cannot make a Coalition fir the Nirthern Iraq and Northern Syrua area happen. He us perceived as weak and beaten at home by other NATO countries ... He's 'damaged goods" as Arabs would say.
ReplyDeleteAnd secondly going home with no definitive agreement, let alone much formal discussion on the subject may point to Obama!s true desire to put together a Coalition Force to face a renegade force that with each passing day becomes clearer that Obama has an attachment for and/or with.
As the saying gies -You can run, but you cannot hide. Well Obama is running but hiding seems out of the question - he becomes more exposed with each passing day.
You've solved the puzzle...Obama's emotional attachment to Islam...by George you got it!
ReplyDeleteThe words of President Ronald Reagan: "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
DeleteTo Obama, old allies like Britain and Israel either did not need unflinching U.S. support or did not necessarily warrant it. The postwar world with the required vast investment of American time and money — resources that could be far better be spent at home addressing inequality and unfairness. A program of higher taxes, huge budget deficits, and enormous increases in entitlement spending did not have budgetary space for the sort of defense required to keep things calm abroad.
ReplyDeleteWe now are witnessing a world in transition — a world of regional powers that are filling the vacuum after the withdrawal of the United States. And we have no idea how it will eventually pan out. Barack Obama, for example, believes the chaos is only superficial. But old-fashioned television lets us know perfectly well that Russia now determines the course of events in the huge area of the former Soviet republics — and from time to time steps into the Middle East to remind the U.S. that it is clueless. Putin just reminded the West that his nuclear arsenal makes it unwise to “mess” with Russia.
Those regions that Putin has already bullied into compliance — Georgia, Crimea, and eastern Ukraine — serve as a warning to others of what might be their fate should they resist, and why it is thus wiser to make the necessary adjustments. Should Vladimir Putin suddenly discover persecuted Russian speakers in Estonia, we know the script. He will give speeches about the historical ties of Estonia to Russia; he will list his worries about the supposed maltreatment of Russian speakers; he will warn the world that his Russia is a nuclear, and sometimes unpredictable, power and therefore the world should butt out; and then he will snooze through a “You are on the wrong side of history” or “This behavior has no place in the 21st century” canned sermon from Barack Obama — before sending in paramilitary thugs and, if necessary, Russian troops. Soon the Russian Union could dwarf the European Union, as the former consolidates and the latter threatens to fragment.
And in this development stage of our world in transition where is our Commander-in-Chief, our President, our spokesperson … he is making disparaging remarks about everyone that is not equally blinded by the Russian-Ukraine & ISIS and personal connections.
Many of our so-called friends are acting instead like de facto enemies. Our special relationship with Recep Erdogan was always a fraud. Think of Turkey’s friends, and there you can find our enemies; think of its enemies and you will likely find our friends. CENTCOM is based in Qatar, but it would be hard to find a more anti-American host.
ReplyDeleteNATO is dying on the vine, without American leadership and with the European Union desperately afraid that Putin might bully his way across the border of a NATO member requiring some definitive action on NATO’s part. China is patiently demonstrating to its neighbors — Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand — that it wiser to join the new Chinese co-prosperity sphere than to oppose it.
Can the old, pre-Obama postwar order be rebuilt? Of course, but it will require budgetary discipline, a visionary president, experienced national-security advisers, skillful diplomats, and a public that is informed and cares. But that will have to wait until January 20, 2017.
The other day President Obama said he was going to shrink ISIS and manage the terrorist group. Now did you ever hear of a leader of our country telling us we are going to manage such an evil group when the only solution for such a low life group of people is to destroy them? Obama has put America in a corner and refuses to come out. He has started a cold war with Russia. His pull out all of the troops allowing ISIS to come to Iraq.
ReplyDeleteBarrack Obama doesn’t understand the first thing about presidential leadership. The one-time constitutional lawyer fails to grasp the fact that the president of the United States does not obtain results single handily. But his job is to govern, to lead, to find common ground, to persuade. Unfortunately, Barack Obama is not wired to do that, ever!
ReplyDeleteObama enters into the Middle East by “drawing lines in the sand”, he bullies Russia, he doesn’t know the players in the Middle East region, he relies on his enemies to be his friend because the US friends won’t work with him, his inner staff is a bunch of no experience academics. Why are we expecting anything other than the disjointed failures he has produced?
The presidency is a place for men of politics. But by no means is it a place for every politician.” It is no place for Barack Obama.
To think that Obama is having a personal debate about where to act … Russia or against ISIS is in my thoughts wrong. He is aiming for them both and his ego tells him he can have both. He’s a 5 Ft, 2 inch center on a basketball team that thinks he’ll one day play in the NBA.
ReplyDeleteObama's foreign policy, as with his domestic strategy, is to bring America down to a powerless and impotent level. He is succeeding to his own delight but to the ruination of the United States of America. His gleeful policy of allying himself with America's natural enemies, at the expense of the few remaining loyal allies the U.S. still has, is at full tilt.
We are fast approaching the situation that prevailed in the Soviet Union where one heard the cynical humor: "We are all equal, but some are more equal than others."
North Korea has paraded 3 American prisoners before the press! By letting CNN interview three Americans it’s holding for various reasons, North Korea is almost certainly trying to obtain something from Washington. The question is: What is it and how soon will Obama give in to their demands in the name of global harmony or some Progressive Socialist garble.
DeleteThe wheels are certainly coming off this vehicle that Obama is driving. His ability to juggle 2 balls in the air at the same time is ineffective.
Black caliphate flags flap in the open air. Islamic head-choppers wreak bloody havoc around the world. Nearly a dozen commercial airliners disappear in Libya. And America’s immigration and entrance systems remain in shambles.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Obama not filling one of his Constitutional duties ‘”to protect our borders”. He (Obama) is in a great rush to teach Russia a few lessons, he wants to absolve the world of ISIS/ISIL (whichever he can and he can’t do either). But our borders, our borders are a whole other subject.
If Obama would for one moment stop and realize the far reaching arm that his weak, ineffective, racially contrived Immigration Plan (yes he has that plan – “Open the Borders and let them in).
Everything in today's world is interconnected with other countries, societies, welfare, and failure.
Responsibility starts at home – and Obama is as irresponsible at home as he is in Foreign Policy and its execution.
From Fox News a few minutes ago … “President Obama decides to hold off on any executive action on immigration after concluding that circumventing Congress during campaigns would politicize the issue and hurt future attempts at passing a broad overhaul, two White House officials tell the Associated Press.”
DeleteSo the ISIS/ISIL maze has another nearly 2 months to smuggle in to the US via the Mexican border some of their trained terrorists/assassins.
All the while this delay is not to be fair it is Obama’s move to try and diminish what is forecast as a “slaughter” for his democratic party at the polls in November.
Obama’s code that he lives by : “POLITICS BEFORE ALL ELSE”
WHERE IS THE UNITED STATES HEADED IN THE PURSUIT OF TERRORISTS AND ROUGE STATES WORLDWIDE?
ReplyDeleteThe world is concerned presently about Obama’s Middle East Policy to combat ISIS. But what about the rest of the planet? We have some very deepening problems forming with China regarding other Asian nations, North/South Korea is a perennial tomorrow hot spot, Southern Europe from 2 sides is a factor to be considered down the road, Northern Africa, Middle East outside of their jihad problems, Israel which we are tied to each others hip (and rightfully so), South America –watch this place closely, and our nearest neighbor Mexico.
What is Obama’s plan for all these place when or (a small if) if they erupt?
Folks there is a question that needs answered by every central government on this planet … “why are so many governments failing at their duties at the same time --- WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS FAILING THEIR CITIZENS?”