Putin has been In A Nuclear Arms Race for Years

Before Christmas, Donald Trump tweeted this:

Of course, it set off a firestorm of backlash by implying that a President Trump would re-establish a nuclear arms race with, primarily, Putin and Russia.  A horrible possibility for those who interpreted it as some kind of nuclear war stance.  Especially, when they believed that President Obama "worked so hard" to reduce nuclear proliferation.

But, is that statement actually true?  No.

For example, the Iran nuke deal doesn't stop Iran from getting "the bomb." It just ensures that it will take them 10 years to create one.  Many think that Iran will violate that agreement, and will become "nuclear" in less than 10 years.  Note this line of "bull" we got when President Obama announced the "deal."

 Iran is already violating their nuke deal, in the same way that the original North Korean deal, struck by President Clinton, never stopped that country from going "nuclear."  Listen to Bill Clinton's announcement of the failed North Korea deal:

Also understand, that countries that fear a "nuclear" Iran, such as Saudi Arabia, may have already started their own nuclear programs. That, in itself, is nuclear proliferation.

Then, there's Russia's own arms race under Obama.

In 2010, President Obama, and then-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, negotiated a "New START (Strategic Arm Reduction Treaty) Treaty" with Russia.  Listen to this press briefing by Barack Obama about that agreement:

Sounds a lot like the political B.S. we got from Clinton on the North Korean deal.

Here is the reality of that Russian deal.  The deal was supposed to limit the U.S. and Russia strategic nuclear weapons totals to just 1550 each.  When signed, Russia had 1,536 such weapons in it's arsenal.  Today, they have -- according to a Oct. 1, 2016 report from our State Department -- almost 1800.  Well above the 1550 limit set by the "Treaty", and a larger amount when it was signed.  At the same time, we reduced our arms from a level of 1800 down to 1367.  Well below the 1550 level of the "Treaty".

The fact is, that Democratic Presidents like Clinton and Obama love to call press conferences to tout their successes in striking non-proliferation deals, but they're always failures.  I think Trump, more than anyone, understands this.  Also, I think, the warning "tweet" will actually force countries to rethink their proliferation of weapons.  Of course, with the exception of crazy North Korea who has a brainless idiot in charge of a country that can't even feed themselves.

In my opinion, Trump's tweet may have the same effect of bringing Russia to its knees as did President Reagan's announcement of "Star Wars."

References:

Trump on nuclear weapons tweet: 'Let it be an arms race': MSNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/23/trump-to-putin-lets-have-a-nuclear-arms-race.html

The Russian Nuclear Weapons Buildup and the Future of the New START Treaty: http://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2016/11/02/the_russian_nuclear_weapons_buildup_110294.html

Dershowitz: The Case Against the Iran Deal: http://www.newsweek.com/dershowitz-case-against-iran-deal-360911

Iran violates limit established in nuclear deal, UN finds | Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/11/10/iran-violates-limit-established-in-nuclear-deal-un-finds.html

List of nuclear weapons tests of North Korea - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_weapons_tests_of_North_Korea

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No, Mr. Obama. Putin Doesn't Act Out of Weakness

In a recent press conference, President Obama called Putin's incursion into Syria "an act of weakness".

Unfortunately, that statement is as foolish as it is wrong.  Putin is in Syria because he saw an opening in which the free-Syrian rebels are being bogged down by fighting two wars:  one to overthrow Bashar Assad, and the other, fighting the ISIS insurgency.  This, then, was the perfect opening for Putin to step in and insure that Syria becomes another strong ally in the Middle East.  Also, he knows that Obama is weak as an anti-war foe, and that our President won't step in to take on Russia while Putin's forces decimate the free-Syrians.

This is exactly what he did in the Ukraine.  As soon as there was a Ukrainian revolution in early 2014, Putin took advantage of the chaos by first seizing and annexing Crimea.  Then, by fighting with the pro-Russia, Ukrainian separatists to annex all of the Ukraine once the dust settles.

To not recognize what Putin is up to and thinking he is weak is as ridiculous as calling ISIS a JayVee team.  Also, Obama shouldn't be surprised if the "weak" Putin takes back the Ukraine and creates another puppet-state by securing Assad's future as President in Syria.  Then he will just move on to another conquest whenever the time is right.  Mark my words.

References:

Opinion: Acting out of weakness? Why Obama's dangerously wrong about Putin's intentions in Syria: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/10/06/acting-out-weakness-why-obamas-dangerously-wrong-about-putins-intentions-in-syria.html

With a straight face, Obama asserts Putin is weak and no challenge: http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/101215-772941-60-minutes-interview-obama-putin-is-weak-clinton-mistake.htm

Three Reasons Why The Downing Of MH17 Will Go Unpunished

First of all, the Ukrainian government should be leading the charge against the separatists for the downing of the Malaysian airliner MH17.  However, their army is in no position to take any military action.  They can't even secure the crash site. While the separatists are receiving weapons and training from Russia, the Ukrainian army is receiving no such support from either NATO/Europe or the United States.  To date, the U.S. has only supplied peripheral support such as sleeping bags, some medical supplies, meals-ready-to-eat, and night vision goggles.  Obama will never supply weapons because he is, first and foremost, an anti-war President.  To supply the Ukraine, as silly as it seems, would be to promote war in that country.  This is the reason he hasn't provided the non-ISIS rebels with weapons in their fight against Bashar al-Assad.

Secondly, Europe and NATO won't act to assist the Ukrainian government because, to do so, might cause Putin to take economic action against Europe by cutting off oil and gas supplies.  Russia supplies nearly 40% of their natural gas and a third of its total oil requirements.

Finally, The United Nations and its Security Council are impotent in their ability to take action against either Russia or the Ukrainian separatists because Russia (Putin) has veto power and that power would effectively kill any resolutions or military actions that may be proposed by other members of the Council.

The bottom line is that Putin is in the catbird seat when it comes to the Ukraine.  He knows that Obama and the Europeans won't act against him and his goal of reconstituting the U.S.S.R.  Ultimately, he will annex the Ukraine; just as he was able to annex Crimea.  Unless, the world wakes up and takes decisive actions, his ambitions of a stronger and larger Russian superpower will resurface.
Reference:

Russia in the European energy sector: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia_in_the_European_energy_sector

Did Clinton Just Give Obama A Wake-up Call In Dealing With Putin?

One of the observations -- and certainly a criticism -- regarding President Obama's handling of difficult situations is that he doesn't seem to see things the way they really are.  Many times he takes actions that aren't in proportion to the seriousness of the event.  Certainly, his "baby steps" handling of Putin's takeover of Crimea has given his critics a perfect example of this weakness.

Recently, just a day before Crimea successfully voted to secede from the Ukraine, Bill Clinton was asked to comment.  Interestingly, he said this about Putin:

“The one thing I will say about him is he was always pretty transparent. He never pretended to be what he wasn’t..."

Well, one thing I can say about Clinton is that he is a very skilled wordsmith; never wasting words and always making sure that, what he says sends a clear political message.  Rarely does he ever gaffe when talking unscripted.  Therefore, I think that the quote, above, is something that he has thought about and clearly wanted to say.  For this reason, I believe the former President was trying to send a wake-up call to Obama by telling him that he needs to take Putin's words and actions seriously.  Otherwise, he would never have wasted a single word in mentioning something that, to too many people, was clearly obvious.

Source: Clinton On Putin: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/03/17/bill-clinton-putin-highly-intelligent-but-has-flawed-view-of-greatness/

Ukraine/Crimea: Obama Resorts to His 'Pen' Again

It's been more than a week since Putin moved against Crimea.  Yet, there still is no international coalition willing to take Russia to task.  Not the U.N.  Not NATO.  Not even a smattering of European allies. Instead, Obama has resorted to going it alone by inking an executive order that might restrict the approval of certain Russian visas into the U.S; and, too, he may also use his 'pen' to draft executive orders which would tie up Russian assets.

If this sounds all too familiar, it is.  Instead of a Congress that won't work with him, he now has an international community that won't work with him either.  In both cases, our President is being publicly exposed as a feckless leader who lacks the negotiation skills necessary to take on any real challenges and make things happen.

So, he must, once again, resort to his only avenues of leadership: His "pen and a phone".  En garde!

Oh, yes, I forgot one other thing he uses to bring his foes to their knees: Speeches!  And, lot's of 'em!


Back Story: Obama’s 7 State of the Union talking points. No. 6: ‘The Pen and Phone’ strategy: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/01/27/obamas-7-state-of-the-union-talking-points-no-6-the-pen-and-phone-strategy/

A Comedy On The World Stage: Barney Fife Versus Vladimir Putin

I think most people are well aware of the Barney Fife character from the Andy Griffith show, with his shaky gun hand, empty weapon, and a single bullet in his buttoned shirt pocket.  I suspect that Vladamir Putin has looked into Obama's eyes and all he sees is Barney  Fife.  Maybe, even, Barney Fife "light".  Sadly, Obama doesn't have "Andy" around to pull his behind out of the fire when things really get rough.

Just a few years ago -- six to be exact -- moving U.S. warships into an adversary's backyard meant something; especially when it was a guy like George Bush, a known war hawk, who was directing the movement.  Putin understood this and respected such power.  But, when Obama challenged Putin by moving U.S. warships into the Black Sea, it was like Barney drawing his unloaded gun.  Putin knew quite well it was just an idle threat.  After all, he observed our President's weak behavior in response to Syria's use of chemical weapons. Then, when Obama said there would be "costs" if Russia went any further on his movement into Crimea and the Ukraine, Putin responded by moving fresh troops into the area.  Are you getting the picture?

Obama told Russia that the United States will "stand" with the Europeans and the rest of the world (not lead) and that there will be "costs".  But, will the rest of the world really stand with us and will there truly be costs?

First of all, Russia, as a member of the United Nation's Security Council, has veto power and nothing that condemns them or that would impose sanctions on them would ever come out of the U.N.  So, then, that leaves NATO to act against Russia's aggression.  Except for the United States, all the other member nations are out of Europe.  Russia supplies Europe with 20% of its natural gas and 38% of all its imported oil.  If threatened by sanctions, Russia need only respond by turning off the gas and oil supplies and the "costs" would be much greater than what Obama and NATO could inflict on Putin.  We know this can be done for a fact because, in 2006, Russia, in a dispute over natural gas pricing, cut pipeline deliveries of gas to the Ukraine and "Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia all reported drops of around 30%."

Once again, Putin has put Obama in check and is now just waiting to declare checkmate.  The only thing our Fife-like President can do is give speeches of condemnation and watch Putin take what he wants.  While it is possible that Obama might go it alone and place some limited sanctions on Russia, Putin still might punish Europe in retaliation.  For sure, Putin absolutely knows that Obama will never unbutton that shirt pocket of his and actually load that bullet.


References:

Obama warns Russia of 'costs' for intervention in Ukraine: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-ukraine-crisis-obama-costs-idUSBREA1R21M20140228

Ukraine/Russia gas dispute: The European Impact: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4569846.stm