I’m very very worried that during the upcoming meeting with Putin, Obama will hand over to him Ukraine in exchange for a promise to help combat ISIS in Syria.
Obviously, Putin will not keep that promise but it’s not like there are ever any consequences for him when he does that.
I’m afraid that, once again, Putin will dupe the simpleton Americans. Believe me, Putin is not that smart. It’s a real shame to keep losing to such a dumb fellow.
Have you seen today’s headline?
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Jeez. I’ve never seen a political leader who’s so painfully bored with foreign affairs. This is extreme parochialism that’s way too weird in the era of globalization.
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Obama doesn’t like foreign affairs because it means he has to deal with other people who have their own interests and goals and agendas and it’s harder to make it all about him (there’s something of a narcissist in there).
He likes domestic policy more because then he can be the main center of attention.
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Obama is used to dealing with people who don’t believe in Democracy or compromise, in this country we call them Republicans.
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And after a few years, he managed to stand up to Republicans beautifully. Why can’t he go the same with Putin?
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He has so far, this dates from July of his year:
<blockquoteThe Obama administration is imposing additional sanctions on more than two-dozen people or entities to strengthen existing restrictions in connection to Russian actions in Ukraine.
Under four separate executive orders, the Treasury Department on Wednesday designated and identified former officials and close associates of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s regime, people working in Russia’s defense sector and entities in Crimea, which the U.S. says Russia illegally annexed last year.
John E. Smith, the director of the Treasury office that issued the sanctions, said in a statement that these actions underscore the Obama administration’s effort to “maintain pressure on Russia for violating international law and fueling the conflict in eastern Ukraine.”
“Our message is clear: we will continue to act to ensure the effectiveness of our sanctions, which will not be rolled back until the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented,” Smith said.(Ed)
Fifteen people and entities that work in the arms or related sectors in Russia were sanctioned because they’ve circumvented existing sanctions and have been involved in undermining the democratic process in Ukraine, according to the Treasury Department.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/249828-us-issues-additional-russia-ukraine-sanctions
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I’m telling you, I’m seriously afraid he will remove the sanctions after meeting with Putin at the UN General Assembly. I passionately desire to be wrong about this and if it turns out I was mistaken, I promise to write a long laudatory post on Obama.
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The WH seems to be trolling Putin, or at least not giving anything up:
The decision to hold talks checks a US policy of punishing Putin for his invasion of Ukraine, a stance that also brought international sanctions that have crippled the Russian economy.
“The president did make a decision that it was worth it at this point to engage with President Putin in a face-to-face meeting to see if the interests of the United States could be advanced,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
A senior US official told AFP Obama decided it would be “irresponsible not to test” whether Russia is ready to play a more constructive role.
Russia is a protagonist in crises in Ukraine and Syria, where Moscow props up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
While saying Obama would not show “overt hostility,” Earnest went on to describe Russia as a regional power with an economy that was slightly smaller than Spain’s — in comments sure to rile Putin and the Kremlin.
Earnest also asked aloud whether Moscow’s quick announcement of the meeting showed they were “more desperate.”
“I think it is fair for you to say that based on the repeated requests we’ve seen from the Russians, that they are quite interested in having a conversation with President Obama,” he said.
Also:
The White House said the talks would be focused on Ukraine and Russia’s commitment to withdraw troops from the eastern part of the country.
“The president has made clear that he’s prepared to waive those sanctions as soon as Russia is prepared to demonstrate commitment to complying with the agreements that were reached in Minsk,” said Earnest, referring to a peace deal that has failed to have the intended effect.
Washington and its EU allies have also urged Moscow to explain its military buildup in its longtime ally Syria, which has been reported to include airport facilities and bases, as well as planes and tank-landing ships.
http://news.yahoo.com/rejecting-putins-offer-talks-obama-irresponsible-us-official-150828519.html
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The only real punishment is that which hurts. Sanctions don’t hurt Putin, he’s a billionaire. Obama’s refusal to meet with him did hurt, a lot.
Also, please note how the annexed Crimea is not even mentioned, like it never existed. This tells us that the US has accepted and tacitly allowed the annexation.
Thank you for following these news, though. Nobody else seems to care at all.
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The Minsk agreement(or, to be accurate, Minsk II) is all about withdrawing from the Crimea, Clarissa.
And according to the Wiki:
The plan was put forth in response to American proposals to send armaments to the Ukrainian government, something that Chancellor Merkel said would only result in a worsening of the crisis.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_II
If Obama has some pattern of being conciliatory or giving in to Putin, I sure as hell don’t see it, the more I learn about this subject. “No drama Obama” does not equal “No results Obama”.
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We need to see what happens at that meeting. As I said, I have very bad expectations. But I hope with everything I’ve got that I’m wrong.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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