Russia's Threat in the Americas

By Joseph Klein

President Obama dismissed Russia as no more than a "regional power" in remarks he made to the press in The Hague on March 25th, where he was attending a summit meeting on nuclear security. "Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors - not out of strength, but out of weakness," he said.

True, the Russian Federation is a shadow of the Soviet empire in its heyday. And Russia is not driven by a global Communist ideology that it seeks to spread to every part of the world in opposition to the capitalist democratic model, as the Soviet Union tried to do. But that does not make Russia a weak neighborhood bully posing little threat beyond its "immediate neighbors," as President Obama seems to think. Mitt Romney was right when he said during the 2012 presidential campaign that Russia is "our number one geopolitical foe."  [more...]

Putin Throws Down the Gauntlet and Obama Shrinks Away

By Joseph Klein

Russian President Vladimir Putin minced no words when on March 18th he signed a treaty with Crimea to signify the absorption of that territory into Russia. Defending the referendum held Sunday in Crimea in which those voting approved the absorption overwhelmingly, Putin declared in a televised address in front of both houses of the Russian parliament and Crimea's purported leaders: "In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia." [more...]

Vindicated for Removing Saddam

By Ryan Mauro

President Bush's top political advisor, Karl Rove, said on July 15 that his biggest mistake was not fighting back against Democrats trying to score cheap political points by accusing the President of lying to get the country to support an invasion of Iraq. Rove is right, but another mistake was made: not trying to vindicate the removal of Saddam Hussein using evidence, including Iraqi government documents, that was obtained after the regime's overthrow. Compelling evidence exists to show that Saddam's regime was sponsoring terrorists (e.g., Al-Qaeda), had the ability to quickly produce weapons of mass destruction, and the will to use both against its enemies. [more...]

Russia Steamrolls Over the United Nations

By Joseph Klein

In the phony Crimean referendum held on Sunday March 16th, 95.5% of voters in Crimea have supported joining Russia, Russian officials say. The vote was boycotted by many Crimeans loyal to the Ukraine central government in Kiev, including Tartars who make up about 12% of the Crimean population. Sergei Aksyonov, Crimea's leader installed last month after the Russians effectively occupied Crimea, announced that his government will formally apply on Monday to join the Russian Federation. Shortly after the polls closed, the Obama administration issued a statement rejecting the referendum. [more...]

Obama's Cold War Denial

By Joseph Klein

President Obama was AWOL on Saturday when his national security team met to discuss the rapidly unfolding events in Ukraine, including Russia's expanded military presence in the Crimea portion of Ukraine. Only a day before, President Obama had warned Russia that there would be "costs" if it violated Ukraine's sovereignty. Saturday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his answer: He thumbed his nose at Obama. Once again, the Obama administration's vaunted button to "re-set" relations with Russia in a more positive direction has blown up in its face, as Putin continues to play by the rules of realpolitik while Obama flounders. This detached president did not even attend a key national security meeting called to figure out how to best deal with Putin's latest maneuvers. [more...]