What other thugs in the region would that be, FJV? The democratically-elected governments of Poland, Czech Republic, and Ukraine, or the Baltic Republics? 

 

To quote our Fearless Leader, let me be perfectly clear: Putin's ambitions do not end in Georgia or Ukraine.  And to quote a smart man: we're rapidly proving that to be an enemy of the United States is bad, but to be a friend of the United States is lethal.

 

 

www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hFiG0Gvn3aFy2-7ALcal4pV6DtQA

 

(AFP) ? 15 hours ago

MOSCOW — A top Israeli politician confirmed that the Jewish state's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited Russia last week, in a newspaper interview published on Thursday.

Israeli lawmaker Zeev Elkin, head of the Likud party's parliamentary group in the Knesset, declined to explain the reasons for the visit but insisted secrecy was necessary.

 

This isn't about kicking Europe in the nuts. This is because we have reached the Sept deadline for Iran to make a decision on how to proceed with it's nuclear program. In order for the US deadline to be effective, the threat of real painful sanctions has to be there. Nothing meaningful will come from sanctions if Russia isn't on board. The Polish and Czech missile defense systems were critical issues to the Russians for the reasons I explained some months ago. Russia does not want U.S. garrisons or logistics hubs in Poland for obvious geographical reasons. So by doing this, the Russians must now decide if they will reciprocate the gesture and support any action against Iran and refrain from exporting any significant military hardware to Iran.

 

With regard to capability, the GBI system will be obsolete soon and the USA still has many options in this area that will be coming soon should we decide it's necessary to base missile defenses there. We take a minor hit with the Eastern European block but thats about all we are losing in the long run. Focus on the 23rd to get an idea of the Russian response.

 

-DA

Just two of our best allies in Eastern Europe, Darth, who have sent and lost troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We just, as YelliChink said, kicked them in the nuts.  The Poles are so mad, they didn't even bother taking a "we're sorry we screwed you" call from Hillary this morning.  The Czechs are saying they'll never trust us again.  Why should they?  We've just shown loyalty only goes as far as the next election.

 

And what did we get in return? Diddly point zilch.  You honestly think Putin is going to give us anything in return? Russia's foreign office said today that they don't consider the missile defense shield anything special, so there's no quid pro quo.  In other words, your dear leader just sold two of our allies down the river, Chamberlain-style, for NOTHING.  Even Democrats are asking why he did it. 

 

Hurry up and get a job with the administration, Darth.  At least then you'll be getting paid for parroting Obama's bullshit.  Great Mother Gaia, if Obama decided to nuke Israel, you'd be on here five seconds later talking about how it was such a presidential moment and how it all makes sense.

I was actually starting to see reasonable conversations about the Rafale and other topics on French matters until he reappeared.

Of course Russia doesn't want American logistical hubs, garrisons, or a missile defense system in Eastern Europe for "obvious logistical reasons".  A missile defense shield would greatly impair Russian defenses should Poland and the Ukraine launch a full scale invasion of Mother Russia.  Ok, no wait, um.....it would prevent the Russians from launching a preemptive missile attack on Czech airfields where hundreds of long range bombers could be poised to bomb Russian cities.   Hmm......not that either?  Maybe the Russians object to Europeans being able to protect themselves from missiles launched by rogue nations like Iran.  Not quite, but I think I'm getting warmer on that one. 

The truth of the matter is that the Russians want to be able continue to intimidate and blackmail its Eastern European neighbors, much as it has for hundreds of years.  The big difference now is that instead of the threat of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers pouring over the border, countries like the Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic (not to mention Germany) have to be concerned with thousands of Russian missiles flying their way should Russian decide to once again expand her boundaries or punish a neighbor for an imagined (or real) grievance.  A missile defense shield blunts this Russian threat somewhat, so it's not surprising that the Russians aren't so crazy about it.  But at the risk of sounding crass.......screw them.  The Russians have been regional bullies for centuries, and had Hitler not have stupidly invaded Russia in WWII they would have been on the wrong side in that war too. 

 

So we killed the missile defense system and gave the Russians the farm, and now we have to hope that the Russkies will be gracious and give us something good (like convincing the Iranians to abandoning their nuclear weapons program) out of the goodness of their hearts.  That's like the movies where the good guy drops his gun and then tells the hostage taker, "I've dropped my gun.  Now let the girl go!"  We all know how that would turn out in real life........  This isn't a carrot and stick tactic, this is delivering a basketfull of carrots and tossing the stick in the woods and hoping for the best.  Why the hell should the Russians put pressure on the Iranians now?  What do we do if they don't?  Is Obama that naive?  Why not wait til after the 23rd to make this decision if that what's going to determine what happens next? 

 

Taking a hit with the Eastern European block may not seem like a big deal to the Obama Administration, but that shows a basic lack of understanding of world politics.  People in this part of the world have long memories, and they will not forget this betrayal soon.  They now know that they cannot count on the Americans to help protect them from the Russian horde.  The Poles and Czechs sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan probably hoping that their sacrifice would pay dividends with them with the United States.  How's that working out for them? 

 

Polish/Czech Missile Shields Officially Dead?

 
We saw it coming.

He hemmed and hawed and hinted for months. He cut missile defense by $1.4 billion. He was more concerned with appeasing Russia than honoring our agreements and protecting weaker nations. Today?s news isn?t news to people who?ve been following events.

We blogged last month that a Polish newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza, reported that sources in the U.S. confirmed the Obama administration would abandon missile defense shields in Central Europe. Today the decision is all but re-confirmed. Without hearing it directly from the horse?s mouth, we can say with 90 percent certainty that the president indeed has abandoned missile defense plans in Poland and the Czech Republic. (Associated Press)

According to the AP, Czech Premier Jan Fischer said he spoke with Obama on the telephone, who said the U.S. will not go through with the deal.

Last August, Poland and the U.S. came to an agreement. The U.S would deploy 10 missile interceptors to the country. The U.S. and the Czech Republic reached a radar installation agreement in July. Part of President George Bush?s ?third site? effort to boost Central Europe?s defenses against rogue states like Iran, the missile shield agreements were a source of contention between the U.S. and Russia. The former Soviet Union claimed, rather disingenuously, that both bases would pose a threat to its national security.

Bush stood firm against Russia?s accusations and tried to assure leaders that nothing could be further from the truth. The shields would strengthen transatlantic security against the evolving Middle Eastern ballistic missile threat, allowing us to extend our own security umbrella to our European allies.

After Barack Obama was elected, those who supported the shields knew it was only a matter of time that the new president would not only scale back defense, but likely renege on our agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic. Months ago, he offered Russia a ?secret? deal: We?d cancel our plans in exchange for Russia?s help with Iran. Russia refused to issue tougher sanctions against Iran, but oddly enough, Obama abandoned the bases anyway.