by NoOneImportant » Tue Sep 02, 2014 1:18 pm
Guest wrote:
We need a President who will tell the Russians to go to Hell- not beg for a reset in relations. If Ronald Reagan were President, Putin's "soldiers" (and I'm using that word lightly), would be facing a Ukrainian military armed to the teeth with state of the art American weapons. The Russians would already be licking their wounds on the other side of the Russian border. Unfortunately, we have Obama.
Instead of Prime Minister Thatcher, we have David Cameron; who just a year ago justified deep cuts to the British military stating that the Russian hordes aren't going to be attacking across the central European plain anytime soon. Well, guess what? The Russian hordes are attacking across the European plain.
I feel like Churchill during the Wilderness Years shouting warnings to everyone about the coming storm and no one even bothering to listen.
It's time someone grew a backbone and reminded the Russians that NATO still has nukes. And then start arming every separatist group in the CIS we can find.
Putin is talking nukes because the sanctions are already starting to bite. He knows that if the sanctions target the oligarchs, they will kill him. The oligarchs only care about their own money and their personal power. It's time to hit Russia hard. Russia will collapse.
1) Seize the assets of the oligarchs.
2) Expel Russian citizens from the collective West (the EU, America, Australia and Canada).
3) Ban the sales of food and medicine to Russia. (no backdoor via Belarus)
4) Arm the Ukrainians, Georgians, and Chechens to the teeth.
5)Ban Western companies from doing business with Russia.
6) Forbid any Russian aircraft from entering EU airspace.
7) Set up forward American military bases in the Baltics and Poland. (Because the EU is toothless and unreliable)
Couple of observations.
Regarding feeling like Churchill in the out years. It's the Cassandra Syndrome - given the gift of prophecy, cursed never to be believed. It's just one of the curses of perspective. Just have to live with it, sometimes it get's discouraging, but occasional discouragement is alright, it's normal, but never give up, never surrender - stay on message, explain and elaborate and alter the message to adjust for changing circumstances.
Regarding your list, made a note or two, just MHO, but virtually all the items should have been invoked when the Russians went into Georgia. It's the problem of electing someone who sees deadly serious geopolitical events in the specious context of adolescent sporting events, someone who is without any of life's formative experiences. Here, there is guilt enough to go around; Bush was in office for six months after the Russians entered Georgia, and did nothing.
Comments regarding your list:
re: your #1 don't seize their assets - once seized the assets are perceived to be lost by the oligarchs. "Freeze" their assets, the Oligarchs have to "know" that once they "fix" their problem, i.e. Putin, they may expect to recapture their wealth.
#2 is good, but make the process take a while... they should be made to "stew". Give them hope, then take it away - expel them.
#3 is good also, ban the sale of food, and meds.
#4 should have been done in spades when the Russians entered Georgia - send the Russians home wholesale... in body bags, the "gift" that keeps on giving.
#5 baning Western companies from doing Russian business is also good, and should have been done when the Russians entered Georgia.
#6 Exclude Russian aircraft from EU airspace, also good.
#7 Set up forward American mil. bases in the Baltics and Poland - sorry Obama is just going to keep on hoping that Putin will find his compassion, and soul, and decide to "steal" no more - much like armed robbers decide to rob 7/11s no more. The real question is: Who in the EU/Nato is so delusional as to really believe that Putin is going to be contented with gobbling up only Eastern Europe. Who in Europe really believes that Putin will be contented to leave the EU alone, once his appetite in the East is satiated? Distorting an old Churchill quote, apparently, each EU member state is currently hoping to be eaten last.
Guest also wrote:
...Restart the Cold War. Russia will cave in.
Caution, each side in each of the World Wars started their participation by believing that the other side would cave. The great lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis was that direct confrontations between nuclear armed antagonists present great danger regarding the unintentional escalation into a general nuclear exchange. The alternative to direct confrontation led to the proxy wars of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. In short proxy wars are "good", they keep the world from getting blown up.
Like the comments, elaborate, tell me why.
Guest wrote:
[quote]We need a President who will tell the Russians to go to Hell- not beg for a reset in relations. If Ronald Reagan were President, Putin's "soldiers" (and I'm using that word lightly), would be facing a Ukrainian military armed to the teeth with state of the art American weapons. The Russians would already be licking their wounds on the other side of the Russian border. Unfortunately, we have Obama.
Instead of Prime Minister Thatcher, we have David Cameron; who just a year ago justified deep cuts to the British military stating that the Russian hordes aren't going to be attacking across the central European plain anytime soon. Well, guess what? The Russian hordes are attacking across the European plain.
I feel like Churchill during the Wilderness Years shouting warnings to everyone about the coming storm and no one even bothering to listen.
It's time someone grew a backbone and reminded the Russians that NATO still has nukes. And then start arming every separatist group in the CIS we can find.
Putin is talking nukes because the sanctions are already starting to bite. He knows that if the sanctions target the oligarchs, they will kill him. The oligarchs only care about their own money and their personal power. It's time to hit Russia hard. Russia will collapse.
1) Seize the assets of the oligarchs.
2) Expel Russian citizens from the collective West (the EU, America, Australia and Canada).
3) Ban the sales of food and medicine to Russia. (no backdoor via Belarus)
4) Arm the Ukrainians, Georgians, and Chechens to the teeth.
5)Ban Western companies from doing business with Russia.
6) Forbid any Russian aircraft from entering EU airspace.
7) Set up forward American military bases in the Baltics and Poland. (Because the EU is toothless and unreliable)
[/quote]
Couple of observations.
Regarding feeling like Churchill in the out years. It's the Cassandra Syndrome - given the gift of prophecy, cursed never to be believed. It's just one of the curses of perspective. Just have to live with it, sometimes it get's discouraging, but occasional discouragement is alright, it's normal, but never give up, never surrender - stay on message, explain and elaborate and alter the message to adjust for changing circumstances.
Regarding your list, made a note or two, just MHO, but virtually all the items should have been invoked when the Russians went into Georgia. It's the problem of electing someone who sees deadly serious geopolitical events in the specious context of adolescent sporting events, someone who is without any of life's formative experiences. Here, there is guilt enough to go around; Bush was in office for six months after the Russians entered Georgia, and did nothing.
Comments regarding your list:
re: your #1 don't seize their assets - once seized the assets are perceived to be lost by the oligarchs. "Freeze" their assets, the Oligarchs have to "know" that once they "fix" their problem, i.e. Putin, they may expect to recapture their wealth.
#2 is good, but make the process take a while... they should be made to "stew". Give them hope, then take it away - expel them.
#3 is good also, ban the sale of food, and meds.
#4 should have been done in spades when the Russians entered Georgia - send the Russians home wholesale... in body bags, the "gift" that keeps on giving.
#5 baning Western companies from doing Russian business is also good, and should have been done when the Russians entered Georgia.
#6 Exclude Russian aircraft from EU airspace, also good.
#7 Set up forward American mil. bases in the Baltics and Poland - sorry Obama is just going to keep on hoping that Putin will find his compassion, and soul, and decide to "steal" no more - much like armed robbers decide to rob 7/11s no more. The real question is: Who in the EU/Nato is so delusional as to really believe that Putin is going to be contented with gobbling up only Eastern Europe. Who in Europe really believes that Putin will be contented to leave the EU alone, once his appetite in the East is satiated? Distorting an old Churchill quote, apparently, each EU member state is currently hoping to be eaten last.
Guest also wrote:
[quote]
...Restart the Cold War. Russia will cave in.
[/quote]
Caution, each side in each of the World Wars started their participation by believing that the other side would cave. The great lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis was that direct confrontations between nuclear armed antagonists present great danger regarding the unintentional escalation into a general nuclear exchange. The alternative to direct confrontation led to the proxy wars of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. In short proxy wars are "good", they keep the world from getting blown up.
Like the comments, elaborate, tell me why.