Do Empty Threats Matter?

No one that I know of is blaming the President for a decade of war.

I don't know that Putin is a better leader but he is a strong leader. He knows that the EU and our Pres are weak and that he is free to do what he wants. Giving sanctions does nothing to stop him, it even enboldens him to do what he thinks is right for his country.

Mary Scott wrote:

otisptoadwater wrote: Just for the record, and to pre-empt any liberals thinking that I'm a fan of Hillary - I'm not. IMHO, four more years of Democrats "leading" our nation is a recipe for disaster.

You were probably in trouble for saying Putin was a better leader, too.

How about some alternatives?

Rick, you started this discussion. What do you think the president should, if anything, do about the situation in Crimea? I'm curious because I don't think it's any of our business. We can't afford to be the world's policeman. Beyond costs, we shouldn't be the world's policeman.

What's your idea about what should be done, Rick?

Cathy_Lee wrote: How about some alternatives?

Rick, you started this discussion. What do you think the president should, if anything, do about the situation in Crimea? I'm curious because I don't think it's any of our business. We can't afford to be the world's policeman. Beyond costs, we shouldn't be the world's policeman.

What's your idea about what should be done, Rick?

I don't think we should get involved in the Ukraine.
I don't think we should get involved in Latvia
I don't think we should get involved in Belarus
I don't think we should get involved in Estonia
I don't think we should get involved in Poland
I don't think we should get involved in the Czech Republic
I don't think we should get involved in Eastern Germany...

Where do you want me to stop?

Cathy_Lee wrote: How about some alternatives?

Rick, you started this discussion. What do you think the president should, if anything, do about the situation in Crimea? I'm curious because I don't think it's any of our business. We can't afford to be the world's policeman. Beyond costs, we shouldn't be the world's policeman.

What's your idea about what should be done, Rick?

Thanks for the question Cathy, and the answer has to do with the title of this thread. If Obama wants to be a good leader he has to be a smart one. IMO, if he has no intentions of getting involved, he should not be drawing red lines and talking about "consequences" if those consequences are the equivalent of a hand slap. Obama has already set the stage for the US to "lead from behind"... especially in his Cairo speech where he said that not country should be elevated above another (in so many words). Everything Obama has done since being in office has signaled that the US will no longer be the world police... that's all well and good, but you then can't threaten consequences over and over if those consequences are not extremely painful.

He said that "Assad must go"... so where is Assad a year later and how many moore people have been killed? What were the consequences for crossing Obama's red line?

Now we have Putin and another threat of consequences from Obama... so what could Putin possibly fear from the US knowing full well there is zero chance of military intervention?

So my answer is NOTHING, if you're going to do nothing, then you should say nothing. That doesn't mean he shouldn't be working behind the scene with EU and other allies to work on painful sanctions that would work, but FFS, don't act like you're gonna drop the hammer on Putin if the hammer is made out of Chinese plastic.

With each and every empty threat, we become weaker and less able to influence these dangerous leaders. Once the US loses it's influence, that power vacuum will be filled by countries like Russia and China. Not good.

Rick wrote: Do Empty Threats Matter?

Why don't you ask George Bush?


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... egins.html

Vice Lord wrote:

Rick wrote: Do Empty Threats Matter?

Why don't you ask George Bush?


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... egins.html

You remind me of LJ, only with smaller balls.

Rick wrote:

Vice Lord wrote:

Rick wrote: Do Empty Threats Matter?

Why don't you ask George Bush?


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... egins.html

You remind me of LJ, only with smaller balls.

Huh? I don't remember you rightwingnuts calling for WW3 with Russia back then?

And I wonder if ignorant rural russian message boarders were wanting to go to war with us when we invaded Iraq, and killed over a million human beings there.? Practically in their back yard..


Who do you think you are Richard?

Reverend Revelant wrote:

Cathy_Lee wrote: How about some alternatives?

Rick, you started this discussion. What do you think the president should, if anything, do about the situation in Crimea? I'm curious because I don't think it's any of our business. We can't afford to be the world's policeman. Beyond costs, we shouldn't be the world's policeman.

What's your idea about what should be done, Rick?

I don't think we should get involved in the Ukraine.
I don't think we should get involved in Latvia
I don't think we should get involved in Belarus
I don't think we should get involved in Estonia
I don't think we should get involved in Poland
I don't think we should get involved in the Czech Republic
I don't think we should get involved in Eastern Germany...

Where do you want me to stop?

Oops. I didn't think the list was in jeopardy so soon?

Moscow signals concern for Russians in Estonia

(Reuters) - Russia signaled concern on Wednesday at Estonia's treatment of its large ethnic Russian minority, comparing language policy in the Baltic state with what it said was a call in Ukraine to prevent the use of Russian.

Russia has defended its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula by arguing it has the right to protect Russian-speakers outside its borders, so the reference to linguistic tensions in another former Soviet republic comes at a highly sensitive moment.

Russia fully supported the protection of the rights of linguistic minorities, a Moscow diplomat told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, according to a summary of the session issued by the U.N.'s information department.

"Language should not be used to segregate and isolate groups," the diplomat was reported as saying. Russia was "concerned by steps taken in this regard in Estonia as well as in Ukraine," the Moscow envoy was said to have added.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/ ... J620140319

Obama and Kathy_lee may be able to check Estonia off the list sometime in the future. Go, go, go with Obama Smart Power.