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?

LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
Obama is used to dealing with people who don’t believe in Democracy or compromise, in this country we call them Republicans.
LikeLike
And after a few years, he managed to stand up to Republicans beautifully. Why can’t he go the same with Putin?
LikeLike
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
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
The WH seems to be trolling Putin, or at least not giving anything up:
Also:
http://news.yahoo.com/rejecting-putins-offer-talks-obama-irresponsible-us-official-150828519.html
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
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”.
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike