Belmont Club:... What just happened ... is that the United States unilaterally abrogated the security agreement with two close East European allies [Poland and the Czech Republic] — so close that they had troops in Iraq and Afghanistan that supported us — at the behest and because of the pressure of the Russians.
... Now, number one is the timing. Apart from the merits of all this, the idea that we should renounce, on the 70th anniversary of the Russian invasion of Poland, a security agreement that we had with Poland [because] of Russian objections is scandalously, indescribably amateurish.
Now, on the merits. If there is a secret agreement between us and the Russians ... in return for our capitulation on this issue… The problem is there is not a shred of evidence of a deal. And if not, what this is is a capitulation to Russia....
And imagine if the Poles and Czechs are upset about this, how the feeling is in Ukraine and Georgia. The Russians announced earlier in the week that if a Georgian ship is found in Abkhazian waters, which was a province of Georgia, it will be seized. So it has annexed part of Georgia and it has escalated the war of words on Ukraine.
This view from Europe seems just a little over-optimistic given Russia’s belligerent attitude. But the contribution from the American in the comments seems about right.... Eastern Europe has been Finlandized. But the withdrawals have not been reciprocal so far. Even as the US was exiting Russia’s former "near abroad",
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez continued to approach the Russians for nuclear power and weapons assistance....
... Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was to meet Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Friday after Russia risked Washington’s wrath by offering the fierce US foe help developing nuclear energy.... Putin made the nuclear offer after Russia this week delayed talks with the United States and other powers on fears Iran is developing nuclear weapons, concerns critics say have been exacerbated by civilian nuclear technology provided by Moscow....
Appeasing hostile adversaries and throwing friends under the bus? Wasn’t that Neville Chamberlain’s "strategy"?
We should get used to these tactics from "THE ONE", he is selling the western nations down the drain.
ReplyDeleteFirst - disclosure: while still a Physics student, I worked on Ronald Reagan's 'Starwars' defense system - in a technical capacity, specifically, on the satellites. So, while I no longer have any vested interest (except pride in an awesome system 'done right' - I know the specs and test data...) and stand to gain no money or other benefits (except the security of the World - with my kids living in it, that is) from this system, it is important that I do declare my past association with it....
ReplyDeleteHaving said the above: the FOOL does NOT KNOW what he is doing!
Completely aside from ANY technological pros or cons of the Starwars defense thingy: I may know it's good, but its quality is NOT the pertinent bit here....
The MOST important bit here is the PERCEPTION and the PSYCHOLOGY of the region!
We are talking Poland and the Czech Republic here! These are former Soviet (or, as THEY perceive it, former Russian) satellites. AND, they are BOTH at the forefront of the fight against the UN imposition of its collectivist, oppressive policies!
THAT is important to understanding the politics of the region.
In both Poland and Czech, the placement of these 'stations' was debated and turned into 'hot national issue'. And, in BOTH cases, it turned into a 'nation-defining' issue!
As in, the Poles and the Czechs (though there are dissenting voices - these ARE democracies, after all!) BOTH overwhelmingly chose to support the 'hosting' of these bases: it affirmed their sovereignity and proved their freedom to act democratically.
By CANCELING these bases, Obama is sending both the Czechs and the Poles an unmistakable message: 'You are not worthy! You are not as good as Germans, or any other country we have chosen to protect from usurpers by having had our bases in! You are lesser people - not worth our bother! We are ready to sell you out!'
'LONG LIVE CHAMBERLAIN'S LEGACY!'
The Czechs were probably the staunchest supporters of the USA in the EU...and the nation most paranoid of being 'sold out' by its allies - history is a bitch!
Telling them they are just 'slaves' - I mean 'Slavs' (the word 'slave' IS rooted in the word 'Slav'...and the Czechs are very 'sensitive' to this) will have very serious impact on European politics - in the long run...
Xanthippa, "worked on ... Starwars" - you have a very interesting background.
ReplyDeleteYou make excellent points! I can't disagree with a thing you've said and would be hard pressed to improve on it. Thanks for your comments.
Thank you!
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