In Ukraine Election, Pro-Western Parties Win Big

Amazingly, the hashtag diplomacy has shown little results...

All of this happening while Russian backed separatists continue to battle the Ukraine military. And this, of course, coming after Obama's limp response to Putin's aggression against Ukraine. It seems Obama is perfectly happy at Ukraine being a Russian vassal state.

From The Washington Free Beacon article by Daniel Wiser:

Pro-Western parties prevailed in Ukraine’s parliamentary elections over the weekend, but the country’s armed forces continued to suffer casualties amid fighting with Russian-backed separatists in the east. 

President Petro Poroshenko’s political group began talks with Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk’s People’s Front party on Monday to form a majority coalition in the parliament that would push democratic reforms. The Opposition Bloc, a pro-Russian party with allies of former leader Viktor Yanukovich, received slightly less than 10 percent of the vote. 

The election results keep Ukraine on a path toward closer integration with the European Union following the ouster of Yanukovich, a Russian ally, in February. Russia responded aggressively to the toppling of Yanukovich earlier this year by invading and annexing the Crimean peninsula and funneling arms and troops into eastern Ukraine to support the rebels there. 

Ongoing fighting between Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east—despite a ceasefire agreement reached in early September—remains a serious obstacle to closer Ukrainian ties with Europe. Two Ukrainian troops were reportedly killed in the region on Sunday.  

[...]  

The White House press office released a statement from President Obama on Monday praising Ukrainians for holding the elections and pledging to “continue to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “stand with its people as they seek to build a more secure, prosperous, and democratic future.” Obama offered no indication that he would reverse his policy of not providing lethal aid to the Ukrainian military. 

Poroshenko bluntly told U.S. lawmakers in September that “one cannot win the war with blankets,” a reference to the limited supplies U.S. officials have contributed to the Ukrainian effort thus far. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow would recognize Ukraine’s elections in the hope that the country now has leaders who “do not drag Ukraine to the West or to the East” but “will deal with the real problems facing the country.” Last Friday, President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for the recent breakdown in the ceasefire.

The situation is getting very tense in Eastern Europe, as America continues to be weak and divided under Obama's incompetent and divisive lead. No European state really has much of a military to speak of-- aside from Russia-- and if the US signals that it will not protect its allies, Russian military action is not out of the question. Russia has been rehearsing an invasion of Poland for many years, and I do wonder if they might not seize the opportunity.

Obama's "the 1980s have called and they want their foreign policy back" quip is looking more and more stupid and naive by the day.

Russia Deploys Nukes in Crimea

Huh. This hashtag diplomacy thing from the State Department seems to have not worked. I guess Russia's not living in the 21st century or something.

I guess they plan to keep that piece of property. And this happens in spite of Obama's stern recrimination that Putin isn't behaving like a 21st Century man. I guess pissy little comments from Obama didn't have much effect on Russia. Go figure.

From The Washington Free Beacon:

 Russia is moving tactical nuclear weapons systems into recently-annexed Crimea while the Obama administration is backing informal talks aimed at cutting U.S. tactical nuclear deployments in Europe. 

Three senior House Republican leaders wrote to President Obama two weeks ago warning that Moscow will deploy nuclear missiles and bombers armed with long-range air launched cruise missiles into occupied Ukrainian territory.  

[...]  

Regarding the nuclear deployments to Crimea, Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member James Inhofe (R., Okla.) first disclosed last month that Putin had announced in August his approval of deploying nuclear-capable Iskander-M short-range missiles along with Tu-22 nuclear-capable bombers in Crimea, located on the Black Sea. [emphasis mine]

And as Obama continues to take both the teeth and the morale out of our military, Russia is amping up both its rhetoric, its military capabilities, and its aggression. What could go wrong for a president who promised a return of hope, lower seas, and peace in our time?

Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 Likely Shot Down by Russian Backed Ukranian Separatists Killing 295-- Obama Makes Jokes During Speech

A plastic reenactment of Obama's speech.

The king of tact and empathy has struck again...

Obama scarcely mentioned the loss of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 during a speech in Delaware. I guess he didn't have a fundraiser to go to.

From The Daily Mail:

President Barack Obama provoked fury in the U.S. on Thursday by casually devoting less than a minute to the deaths of 295 people aboard a Malaysian airliner, as he began an often jokey 16-minute speech about the need to expand America’s transportation infrastructure. 

There are no confirmed American dead and the White House issued a statement on Thursday evening which said they were still seeking any 'information to determine whether there were any American citizens on board'.

An earlier Reuters report claimed that it was feared that as many as 23 U.S. citizens had perished.

Obama declared in Wilmington, Delaware that 'it looks like it may be a terrible tragedy,' but not before enthusiastically declaring that 'it is wonderful to be back in Delaware.'  

'Before I begin, obviously the world is watching reports of a downed passenger jet near the Russia-Ukraine border. And it looks like it may be a terrible tragedy. Right now we’re working to determine whether there were American citizens on board. That is our first priority.' 

'And I've directed my national security team to stay in close contact with the Ukrainian governemnt. The United States will offer any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why. And as a country, our thoughts and prayers are with all the families and passengers, wherever they call home.  

Obama then jarringly quickly returned to his prepared remarks.   

'I want to thank Jeremie for that introduction' he said. 'Give Jeremie a big round of applause.' 

'It is great to be in the state that gave us Joe Biden. We’ve got actually some better-looking Bidens with us here today. We've got Beau and his wife, Hallie, are here. Give them a big round of applause. We love them.'

Obama also acknowledged the presence of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew with a joke. 

'Jack Lew’s signature is actually on your money,' he said, 'although it's kind of illegible. We teased him when he first became treasury secretary that he was going to have to fix his signature a little bit because it looked just like a caterpillar running along the bottom.'  

From there he launched into a 16-minute speech about transportation projects he wants Republicans to fund, complaining bitterly about their objections to his end-runs around the federal legislature.  

[...]  

National Review reporter Charles Cooke tweeted: 'Shorter Obama: 'Something awful has happened with a plane. It’s awful. Awful. Republicans are bastards for not funding new airports".'

I wish I could be surprised by Obama's behavior. I wish I could think to myself "Wow, this guy's a lot less astute and savvy than I thought." Alas, no. Shall we remember that Obama jetted off to a fundraiser after learning of the deaths in the attack of the American embassy in Benghazi, that he publicly blamed an innocent filmmaker for the attack-- even to the bereaved families of the those lost. There is nothing beneath this man.

I'm sure he'll find a way to blame Bush, a YouTube video, or the GOP for this, and then resume his full-time job of punishing his (American) enemies, and claiming that Americans are ungovernable and racist.

N. Korea Nukes Can Reach U.S. and Russia Flies Military Aircraft Along Coast... Hey, the 80s called and they said: Don't Worry. Be happy.

Could a president depicted in this manner-- by the press-- possibly let you down?

So let's see here...

North Korea has nuclear warheads for its ballistic missiles capable of reaching the western United States.

From The Washington Free Beacon article by Bill Gertz:

North Korea has developed nuclear weapons capable of being launched on its ballistic missile forces, according to a new report by a defense analyst. 

The Obama administration is seeking to hide the fact that North Korea possesses nuclear missile warheads, according to a report by Mark Schneider, a former Pentagon strategic analyst and director for forces policy at the office of the secretary of defense. Schneider’s statement came in a report published April 28 in the journal Comparative Strategy. 

According to the 16-page report, “The North Korean Nuclear Threat to the United States,” the Defense Intelligence Agency stated in an unclassified assessment made public a year ago that “DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North [Korean government] currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles.” 

“This is disturbing news,” the report says. “The North Korean regime is one of the most fanatic, paranoid, and militaristic dictatorships on the planet. … While North Korea has long made occasional nuclear attack threats, the scope, magnitude, and frequency of these threats have vastly increased in 2013.” 

North Korea has in the recent months issued provocative threats to carry out nuclear strikes on U.S. cities and against American allies.  

[...]
The report on the North’s nuclear warheads stated that the assessment of a missile-delivered nuclear strike capability is not new. 

Based on a declassified 2001 National Intelligence estimate, North Korea’s Taepodong-2 ICBM can deliver a payload of several hundred kilograms up to 6,200 miles, distance enough to hit Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of the western Untied States. 

“If the North uses a third stage similar to the one used on the Taepodong-1 in 1998 in a ballistic missile configuration, then the Taepodong-2 could deliver a several-hundred-kg payload up to 15,000 km—sufficient to strike all of North America,” the report said.
North Korea also has acquired Chinese-made transporter-erector launchers that are now deployed with a new road-mobile KN-08 ICBM.

Russia is flying strategic aircraft along California's coast.

From Breitbart:

The Associated Press reported Monday that Gen. Herbert Carlisle, Commander of United States Air Forces in the Pacific, acknowledged a significant increase in the activities by Russian long-range strategic aircraft flying along the California coast.  

 There was no comment about whether the aircraft were nuclear capable, but it has not been since the Cold War ended in the early 1990s that Russian patrols have skirted the West Coast and California.       

Gen. Herbert J. "Hawk" Carlisle is the Commander of Pacific Air Forces; Air Component Commander for U.S. Pacific Command; and Executive Director, Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. As the PACAF, he is responsible for Air Force activities spread over half the globe in a command that supports 45,000 Airmen serving principally in Japan, Korea, Hawaii, Alaska and Guam.  

Speaking Monday, May 5th at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan Washington DC think tank, General Carlisle said there had been long-range Russian air patrols to the coast of California and a circumnavigation of the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. He noted that a U.S. F-15 fighter jet intercepted a Russian strategic bomber that had flown to Guam. 

General Carlisle linked the increased activity and incursions to the situation in the Ukraine. He said Russia was demonstrating its capabilities and gathering intelligence on U.S. military exercises.   

He further admitted that there has been a sharp increase in Russian air patrols around Japanese islands and Korea. General Carlisle added that there was more Russian ship activity in the area, too.

Ok, now both of these might be a little alarming, but hey, remember Obama said that something like "The eighties called and they want their foreign policy back"?

I feel better already!

Well here's an '80s video Obama may be humming in head-- or perhaps he'll need to foist it upon us as our foreign policies fail miserably (betrayal of Ukraine, bad-mouthing our ally Israel, Saudi Arabia's recent snub, etc.), our foes threaten (North Korea threatening nuclear strikes, Iran practicing attacking American ships, including aircraft carriers, , and our economy falters:

Russia to Defend Missile Bases with Armed Robots

Why is it that when I first read that headline, I immediately saw the ED-209s?

From NewScientist (h/t Instapundit):

THE West has always been a little squeamish about the idea of arming robots. Despite decades of development, no systems have ever been deployed and a vocal human rights campaign means it's unlikely to happen in the near future. The Russians, on the other hand, appear to be rather less concerned. 

Last month, Dmitry Andreyev of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces announced that mobile robots would be standing guard over five ballistic missile installations. These robots can detect and destroy targets, without human involvement. Russia, it seems, is taking the lead in a new robotic arms race. 

The robot sentry, aka the "mobile robotic complex", was developed by Izhevsk Radio Plant, a company based 1200 kilometres east of Moscow. It weighs around 900 kilograms and has cameras, a laser rangefinder and radar sensors. For fire power it has a 12.7-millimetre heavy machine gun, with optional smaller weapons. It is quick too, hitting speeds of 45 kilometres per hour on a petrol engine. It can operate for 10 hours, or switch to sleep mode for a week. 

The makers put the sentry robot through its paces at an arms fair in Russia last year. Andreyev describes the robots as being able to engage targets in automatic as well as semi-automatic control mode. US policy, on the other hand, says a person has to authorise when weapons are fired. Drones don't fire missiles on their own, but act as remote launch platforms for human operators. Neither the makers of the Russian robot nor the Strategic Missile Forces responded to New Scientist's request for an interview at the time of going to press.

One commenter at Instapundit wrote: "With russian [sic] software to run it I would hate to be a soldier in any uniform anywhere near it." No kidding.

Well, I'm sure proper precautions will be taken, and that nothing can possibly go wrong.

Russians Won't Take Defense Secretary Hagel's Phone Calls

Obama stands with Ukraine-- or at least a plastic figure strikes a pose...

Probably because they see the Obama Administration as weak and irrelevant-- just how Obama has worked mightily to present himself and the U.S. for five plus years now.

From The Washington Times:

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been unable to get Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on the phone amid escalating tension near the country’s shared border with Ukraine. 

Mr. Shoigu announced Thursday that Russia planned to engage in a new series of military exercises near the Ukraine border. The military move, he said, is in response to ongoing NATO training exercises in Poland and the death of at least two pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine. 

Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Friday that Mr. Hagel has been trying to communicate with Russian officials but has yet to hear back from Mr. Shoigu or anyone else. Pentagon officials have reached out to Russia on Mr. Hagel’s behalf within the past 24 hours, according to Col. Warren.

Oh Mr. Shoigu, please accept the U.S.'s call so Hagel can whine about how Obama and the rest don't think what's happening is appropriate 21st Century behavior. Maybe he could add how Obama thinks that Russia is a fearful, regional power. That'll work. Is the State Department going to send more selfies to convince Russia to not invade the rest of Ukraine. And please note how serious talk about Russians pulling out of the Crimea has completely vanished.

At least the U.S. has put troops into Poland-- the Russians have been eyeing and training to invade Poland for years now.

Obama Makes Two Huge Foreign Policy Gaffes

"My facts are incontestable. I will them to be, and they are. So it is and so it shall ever be."

Smartest president evah...

From Raheem Kassam and Andre Walker at Breitbart:

President Obama has made two major gaffes so far during his Europe trip. After falsely claimed that Kosovo held a UN-assisted referendum on self-determination, he then wrongly said that Georgia was not being considered for NATO membership. 

Speaking on Kosovo yesterday, Obama said : "...Kosovo only left Serbia after a referendum was organised not outside the boundaries of international law, but in careful cooperation with the United Nations and with Kosovo’s neighbours. None of that even came close to happening in Crimea." 

But none of it came close to happening in Kosovo either, as Milos Subotic, the International Relations Officer of the University of Pristina, Kosovo told Breitbart London.  

"During his yesterday speech in Brussels, President Obama showed a lack of knowledge of the political situation in Kosovo. Kosovo never organised any kind of referendum, but the Assembly of Provisional Institutions of self-government of Kosovo made a unilateral declaration of independence on February 17th 2008. 

"The declaration of independence has been recognised by approximately one hundred states, however Serbia and many countries have also showed their opposition to declaration of independence, most notably China and Russia. What Kosovo did was not in line with United Nations and that’s confirmed by the fact that Kosovo is not member of UN."  [Duh. Oops.]

Dr. James Ker-Lindsay, a Senior Research Fellow on the Politics of South East Europe at the London School of Economics took to Twitter to correct the U.S. President before telling Breitbart London: "I think one must assume that this was indeed an error. However, it really does seem to be an incredible mistake to have made. Surely there must have been someone at hand who would have known that there was no UN organised referendum in Kosovo. It really was not that long ago.  

[...]  

If messing up on Kosovo wasn’t enough, Obama has now also potentially undermined Georgia’s application to join NATO. 

Speaking at the press conference after the EU-US summit yesterday the US President wrongly suggested that Georgia "is not currently on a path to NATO membership". In fact the country has been on the path to membership since 2008. 

At the North Atlantic Council in Bucharest that year the attending Heads of State and Government agreed the following statement: "NATO welcomes Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed today that they will become members of NATO." 

Former Georgian Ambassador to London Giorgi Badridze, told Breitbart London: "President Obama's remarks could hardly have come at a worse time – or have been formulated in a worse manner. 

"Firstly, it's wrong to link Georgia's aspirations for NATO membership with those of Ukraine. Georgia has been working hard to achieve more progress in that direction, while Ukraine formally withdrew from the process years ago. 

"The second – and most damaging - thing the President said is that Georgia and Ukraine are 'not currently on a path to NATO membership'. This ignores the fact NATO made a firm commitment to admitting Georgia at the Bucharest Summit back in 2008. 

"Thirdly, stating Russian opposition as a reason for halting Georgian progress towards NATO membership will only embolden Moscow and strengthen its view that it has a right to effectively veto enlargement – a dangerous precedent.  [The work of amatuer hour presidency. Obama's words are often his decisions are so ill-timed and so plain stupid that sometimes I wonder if he's not doing it on purpose. However, as someone( I can't remember who) once said when incompetence and a conspiracy are only two explanation, error on the side of incompetence.]

"Putin's tanks are positioned along the border with Eastern Ukraine, Crimea is under occupation and Putin has long been looking for a reason to finish the job he never had the chance to finish in 2008: terminating Georgia’s independence. Against that backdrop, Obama'’s comments were not only unfortunate but, in the context of regional security, dangerous." [empahsis mine]

Well, I'm sure that Obama really, really wishes that Kosovo had left Serbia in careful cooperation with the United Nations and with Kosovo’s neighbors. But if wishes were fishes, etc.

It is disconcerting, to say the least, to watch this guy blunder through Europe encouraging aggressive nations, demoralizing friendly nations, and letting everyone know that Obama and sycophants are lost, out of their depth, and totally incompetent. It's not just that they're policies aren't based in the real world, their factual information isn't based in the real world. I mean, Obama's gaffes weren't just breaches of protocol, or silly mis-statements (people speaking "Austrian" etc.). Obama's showing everyone that he's basing his policies upon untrue information.

These are actions in line with that of a deluded fool. And do you think that everyone in the world, ally and enemy, isn't picking up on this?

I suppose we should just be happy that Obama's not saying that Atlanta is Georgia's capitol...

Obama Looks Petulant as He Lectures Russia on Appropriate 21st Century Behavior

(h/t Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit)

"Russia’s leadership is challenging truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident. That in the 21st century the borders of Europe cannot be redrawn with force. That international law matters."

President Pushover in action...

Gee, Mr. President but it seems like Mr. Putin disagrees. Now what are you going to do about it? I know, make yawn-filled speeches in a petulant tone. Well, I'm sure Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Israel, Taiwan, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, South Korea and Japan can all rest easy now.

Man, this amateur an utter embarrassment.

I see Obama as Err, the pink mooninite, in this clip. "Mr. Putin says he disagrees with you, Err. With his foot."

Am I wrong in this?

Obama: "Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out of strength but out of weakness"

"My mom says that bullies act the way that they do, because deep down inside they're scared-- and they're also only a regional power with oil. And now I'm taking my ball and going straight home."

That's the laughable quote of the year.

From the Mediaite piece by Noah Rothman:

During a joint press conference in the Netherlands alongside the Dutch prime minster, President Barack Obama fielded questions from the American press corps regarding Russia’s destabilizing invasion of neighboring Ukraine. With tens of thousands of Russian troops and hundreds of machines of war poised on the Ukrainian border ready at a moment’s notice to inflame the crisis further, ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl asked a series of probing and uncomfortable questions of the president regarding his approach to foreign affairs.  

After making an arguable case that the president’s approach to America’s foreign adversaries was naïve and that his chief rival, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, may have been correct in his clear-eyed assessment of the threat Moscow posed to the post-Cold War global order, President Obama did the only thing he could do — answer the question he wish he was asked.  

“In China, in Syria, in Egypt, and now in Russia, we’ve seen you make strong statements, issue warnings that have been ignored,” Karl began. “Are you concerned that America’s influence in the world, your influence in the world, is on the decline?” 

“In light of recent developments, do you think that Mitt Romney had a point when he said Russia is America’s biggest geopolitical foe?” Karl continued.  

Faced with this searing indictment in the form of a question, Obama proceeded to erect and slay a straw man of his choosing: American military interventionism.  

“If the premise of the question is whenever the United States objects to an action, and other countries don’t immediately do exactly what we want, that that’s been the norm, that would pretty much erase most of 20th Century history,” Obama replied.  

No matter how much anyone would like to “erase most of 20th Century history,” this supposed attempt at clarification could not even be described as occupying the same universe as “the premise of the question.”   

[...]  

“Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out of strength but out of weakness,” Obama asserted, as though he was talking about the psychological insecurities that plague the average playground bully.  

“The fact that Russia felt compelled to go in militarily and lay bare these violations of international law indicates less influence, not more,” Obama insisted. [WTF?] 

How convenient. Even when Russia directly threatens to topple the international order, of which America is the chief guarantor, they are not threatening the international order because the threat itself is an implicit admission of inadequacy.  

President Obama’s core supporters in the United States may still eat this nonsense up, but the actions of America’s geopolitical adversaries abroad suggest that they have long ago pegged the president as a pushover. [emphasis mine]

President Pushover... That's exactly the problem. And to make things even more destabilizing fun, is that America's allies-- aside from the ones that Obama's not simply betraying or ignoring-- are also facing that uncomfortable realization.

The only time Obama talks tough is when he believes that his enemies are in a position where they are wither unwilling or unable to fight back. Who's the playground bully in that situation?

Did the Kremlin Issue an Ultimatum to Ukrainian Forces?

"The Light-bringer shall handle this as He handles all of His crises... laying the blame on others, vaguely claim bullying or racism,  and acting put upon and miffed. Problem solved. And I'm pretty sure that an obscure YouTube video caused all this."

That seems to be the claim, at least according to The Telegraph.

From The Telegraph article by Damien McElroy and Bruno Waterfield:

Russia has issued a series of ultimatums for Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender and disarm by this morning or risk coming under attack, the new government in Kiev said last night. 

As Russian fighters buzzed Ukraine’s borders, the Kremlin defied international pressure to back off and instead turned the screw on its neighbour.  

President Vladimir Putin visited military units deployed near Russia’s frontier with Ukraine, where they are conducting “exercises”. The defence ministry in Kiev said the country had been on the receiving end of a series of hostile acts, including incursions by Russian jets flying along its northern border with Belarus. 

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels condemned Russia’s “act of aggression” in occupying Crimea and said that sanctions would be “considered” unless Russia took “de-escalating steps”.  

[...]  

A Russian ship broadcast appeals to surrender to Ukrainian vessels anchored off Sevastopol. The appeal, blasted through loudspeakers, urged the Ukrainian sailors to lay down their arms, but did not appear to set a deadline. 

The Russian defence ministry adamantly denied that any surrender ultimatums had been delivered, claiming that the reports were “complete nonsense”. 

Russia’s effective seizure of Crimea has proceeded without a shot being fired, partly because Ukrainian forces in the region have offered no resistance.  

On Sunday, Russian troops began blockading Ukrainian military units inside their bases, but demanding their surrender increases the risk of a violent clash. Last night, the US state department said that any such demands would be a “dangerous escalation”.

It seems that the Obama Administration's reaction of being alternatively snide, bemused and condescending is having little effect on Russia. Go figure.

Russia Now Controls Crimea; Obama Concedes and Asks Putin to Not Invade Rest of Ukraine

"Okay, here's the deal. I'll let you have have the Crimea. And if you stay out of the rest of Ukraine, then I won't have my assistant write any more strongly-worded catch-phrases for me to say during my 'outings.' What do you say?"

Smart diplomacy!

From The Wall Street Journal:

The American and Russian presidents spoke on the phone for 90 minutes on Saturday after Russia's parliament voted unanimously to deploy troops in Ukraine, defying warnings from Western leaders not to intervene.  

In his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin , U.S. President Barack Obama expressed "his deep concern over Russia's clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity." Mr. Obama urged Russia to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing its forces back to bases in Crimea and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine. 

Saturday's developments come as Russian troops and their local allies have already largely taken control of Crimea, a restive province of Ukraine that belonged to Russia until 1954 and remains predominantly pro-Russian.

In a statement after the call between Mr. Putin and Mr. Obama, the White House said the U.S. "condemns Russia's military intervention into Ukrainian territory."

Mr. Putin told Mr. Obama that Russia reserved the right to intervene in Ukraine to protect its interests and those of the Russian-speaking population there, according to a statement from the Kremlin.

Mr. Putin also spoke of "provocations, crimes by ultranationalist elements, essentially supported by the current authorities in Kiev." It wasn't clear what incidents Mr. Putin was referring to.

So Obama Asked Putin to please stop and in return Russia can keep the Crimea. Pathetic even by Obama's ocean bottom standards.

There's a lot of talk about the U.S. having a 1994 treaty with Ukraine, but that appears to not be the case. It seems people are actually talking about The Budapest Memorandum of 1994 which basically states that the US, UK, and Russian Federation agreed to keep the territory of Ukraine intact. Interestingly, this agreement seems to be nullified if Ukraine attempts to court the EU.

From Rick Moran at American Thinker:

According to the agreement, the US, UK and Russia all agreed to protect the sovereignty and “territorial agreement” of Ukraine, meaning any Russian support for an attempt to declare Crimean independence would be in violation of their international obligations.
The three powers committed to “respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine” and “refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine”. 

Significantly, the wording suggests Russia’s insistence that Ukraine forgo an EU trade deal may have already breached the terms of the agreement. 

The signatories agreed to “refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind”.

While it may be true that the US and UK do not have an obligation under this agreement to protect the Ukraine, it cannot be overlooked that Russia's invasion of Ukraine can be only be viewed as aggression against a Western ally. Certainly the West is looking for any way it can to weasel out of any idea of obligation toward Ukraine-- this is hardly a difficulty for the Obama Administration who can contort themselves in all sorts of ways to avoid reproach or blame for their repeated domestic and international failures, however the true message is clear enough to all.

The US and the West have proven themselves to be unwilling to protect its allies. This is especially bad news to countries like Taiwan, The Philippines, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Poland, perhaps even Singapore. Countries that had once relied on American willingness to protect democracies from the incursions of powerful repressive governments-- such as China, its psuedo-vassal North Korea, and Russia are now being left out in the cold. Obama and the West have given a clear message that they will labor mightily to find legal outs from any obligations (and using deconstructionist techniques to nullify obligation is hardly beyond these people's morals), and deliver only vagues and limp tongue lashings in the way of support.

As tensions increase in Asia and Europe, it is very likely that we'll see more of these invasions. Do you really think Obama will do anything about them?

Russian Troops in Crimea-- Patrol Airport; Obama Issues Worthless Warning

Image matters, you know

From The Telegraph:

Ukraine accused Russia of staging an "armed invasion" of Crimea on Friday as the ex-Soviet state's ousted leader prepared to emerge defiant from five days of hiding after winning protection from Moscow.  

Unidentified armed men were patrolling outside of Crimea's main airport early Friday while gunmen were also reported to have seized another airfield on the southwest of the peninsula where ethnic Russians are a majority and where pro-Moscow sentiment runs high.

The arrival of these unidentified men just happens to coincide with the Russian military buildup in the area.

In response to the entire Ukraine situation, Obama made a worthless warning to Russia.

From the AP:

Delivering a blunt warning to Moscow, President Barack Obama expressed deep concern Friday over reported military activity inside Ukraine by Russia and warned "there will be costs" for any intervention.  

He did not say what those costs might be. 

Obama called on Russia to respect the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine and not try to take advantage of its neighbor, which is undergoing political upheaval. 

"Any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply stabilizing," Obama said in a hastily arranged statement delivered from the White House. Such action by Russia would not serve the interests of the Ukrainian people, Russia or Europe, Obama said, and would represent a "profound interference" in matters he said must be decided by the Ukrainian people. 

"Just days after the world came to Russia for the Olympic Games, that would invite the condemnation of nations around the world," Obama said. "The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine."

Such talk from Obama is useless of course. Obama has repeatedly shown himself to be ineffectual when dealing with other countries belligerence. Despite the MSM's swooning over Obama's drone attacks, foreign governments are not particularly impressed with such displays.

Indeed, Obama has given a loud and clear message to Putin and every other ambitious leader that Obama has no stomach for dealing with foreign incursions, invasions and such. He himself is far too busy golfing and giving domestic speeches that the press hardly even covers now, and his administration has been far to busy pushing an unpopular health insurance law and then scuttling for cover after its incompetent rollout-- that itself another indication to foreign powers of current U.S. inability.

By the way Obama, the 1980s called and said you haven't learned a thing from the past. No wonder his university records are sealed.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that after Obama's vague, worthless warning, Obama went out on a fund raiser. This guy is a gem of a president.

Hey Everyone! There Will Be Absolutely No Fishing in Sochi's Toilets! Thank You

Pic from Breitbart Post

Yeah. Okay.

And what exactly is that one next to the no fishing supposed to depict? Is it a "no partying with a roach in the toilet stall" sign?


From Elizabeth Sheld at Breitbart:

Canadian snowboarder Sebastien Toutant arrived in Russia before the Olympic Games to find a list of rules posted in the bathrooms. Among forbidden activities is fishing.  

While the list of dos and don’ts includes some reasonable tips in aid of promoting good hygiene - not standing up, being sick or squatting above the toilet being used - you might be forgiven for thinking the chart's designers had ran out of ideas when they got to the last two rules.

And to think I was little worried about these games. Clearly, the Russian authorities have thought of everything.

Russia Calls America and the West Godless

Americans are godless? Nonsense!

Yeah, it's come to this.

From The Washington Times:

At the height of the Cold War, it was common for American conservatives to label the officially atheist Soviet Union a “godless nation.” 

More than two decades on, history has come full circle, as the Kremlin and its allies in the Russian Orthodox Church hurl the same allegation at the West. 

Many Euro-Atlantic countries have moved away from their roots, including Christian values,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a recent keynote speech. “Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in God and a belief in Satan. This is the path to degradation.”  

[...]   

Mr. Putin’s views of the West were echoed this month by Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow, the leader of the Orthodox Church, who accused Western countries of engaging in the “spiritual disarmament” of their people.
In particular, Patriarch Kirill criticized laws in several European countries that prevent believers from displaying religious symbols, including crosses on necklaces, at work.  

“The general political direction of the [Western political] elite bears, without doubt, an anti-Christian and anti-religious character,” the patriarch said in comments aired on state-controlled television. 

“We have been through an epoch of atheism, and we know what it is to live without God,” Patriarch Kirill said. “We want to shout to the whole world, ‘Stop!’” 

Other figures within the Orthodox Church have gone further in criticizing the West. Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, a church spokesman, suggested that the modern-day West is no better for a Christian believer than the Soviet Union. 

Soviet authorities executed some 200,000 clergy and believers from 1917 to 1937, according to a 1995 presidential committee report. Thousands of churches were destroyed, and those that survived were turned into warehouses, garages or museums of atheism. 

“The separation of the secular and the religious is a fatal mistake by the West,” the Rev. Chaplin said. “It is a monstrous phenomenon that has occurred only in Western civilization and will kill the West, both politically and morally.”

I wish I could disagree with them about more of what they say, but...

I certainly don't agree with their idea that Russia holds the keys to spiritual enlightenment in the future. Plus, the free exercise clause in the Constitution, from which the concept of separation of church and state was derived, is meant to stop the state from controlling religious beliefs. Clearly, when the state runs the church (as is happening more and more in Russia), then the church becomes merely a figurehead to support the state. I firmly believe that the government derives moral authority from the people, and that people are not made more moral by government.

However, as the American Left has become increasingly Marxist (or socialist, or "progressive," or advocating for "social justice," or whatever water-down label you wish to assign), it is inevitable that attacks on religious belief and religious traditions increase. Marxism demands that only it's "truth" can exist and that all other beliefs must be wiped away. American and Western Lefties are gleefully doing utmost to do just that.

As with most of the Russian proclamations recently, this idea contains a kernel of truth that's then twisted into elevating Russia and denigrating its foes. Russia's been doing this for quite some time, of course. The problem now is that Russia's getting much better at it.

Both Russia and China Hold Large Scale War Games; The Cold War Part 2?

Okay, this looks a little bad as China and Russia begin to subtly saber rattle-- but President James Bond Obama is busy defending us from racists, the GOP, and anyone who doesn't think the feds shouldn't ration health care to the masses. I mean, he can't look outside the U.S. for enemies when there's plenty that need his vengeance right here.

Nothing to worry about. Russia isn't a rival to the U.S. or anything. And besides Obama had Hillary give them a "overcharge" "reset button" so it's all okay.

From The Free Beacon" article by Bill Gertz:

Pentagon intelligence agencies are closely watching Russian and Chinese war games now taking place in Europe and Asia involving tens of thousands of troops. 

Meanwhile, NATO military forces are set to conduct large-scale maneuvers in November that will be designed to counter growing concerns of a westward Russian military encroachment, according to U.S. officials. 

“The Russians are moving forces closer to Europe, and that is troubling,” said a military official. 

Russia’s Zapad-13 military exercises in Belarus are scheduled to end Thursday. They included practice attacks on a western state, said one official familiar with reports of the maneuvers. 

Some 13,000 Russian and Belarusian troops took part with over 60 aircraft and helicopters and up to 250 vehicles. 

The forces practiced “rapid reaction” drills. 

Russian officials recently denied Polish press reports that the Zapad-13 would include a notional nuclear attack on Warsaw. However, Russian officials have said the war games will involve practicing precision air and missile strikes.

The Russians have been practicing to invade Poland for about ten years that I can recall. It's one of the reasons why a strong U.S. ally is vital to Poland, and not the apologetic and schizophrenic frenemy that marks Obama's international policies and rhetoric.

In response to Polish press reports on the simulated nuclear strike on Poland’s capital, state-run Interfax news agency in April denied the reports. “Claims that West 2013 will allegedly practice a preventive nuclear strike on Warsaw are nothing but imagination of Polish journalists,” a high-ranking officer was quoted as saying.  

[...]  

U.S. military officials said the war games are part of a larger Russian effort to use military power to bolster its position in the former Soviet republics with a larger military presence. 

Russia also has a ballistic missile warning radar at Baranovichi, Belarus, and a Navy communications facility used to communicate with Russian submarines. Moscow also supplied Belarus with advanced S-300 missile defenses and Tor-M2 surface-to-air missiles.  

[...]  

Meanwhile in China, Chinese military forces are engaged in large-scale exercises involving some 40,000 troops. 

The People’s Liberation Army announced its “Mission Action 2013” began Tuesday.
Troops from the Nanjing and Guangzhou military regions and air forces were set to take part. 

The PLA troops will conduct maneuvers over large areas using military ground vehicles, trains, ships, and aircraft to test forces for “real war” conditions. 

The exercises will include coordination between military and civilian assets, including civilian jets and trains to transport forces, according to state-run Chinese press reports.
Chinese aircraft taking part in the war games include jet fighters, bombers, and other aircraft. 

 Yeah, nothing to worry about...

Obama Does Best to Give Putin Withering Stare at G20 Summit

Either Obama believes that squinting is intimidating, or he needs glasses

After Putin called Kerry et al "liars" the previous day, Obama decided to get tough and give Putin a little bit of the ol' "stink-eye" at the G20 summit. The media, of course, switches into their Obama-the-foreign-relations-genius-gets-tough mode. But for the rest of us unsophisticated, moronic, uninformed, racist pee-ons, general hilarity and mocking ensues.

From Breitbart:

The intense moment was posted on Twitter by CNBC's Eamon Javers and described by Brett Logiurato of Business Insider as the president giving Putin "a significantly intense death stare upon their meeting at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia."

Hmm. Wasn't Putin with the KGB once upon a time? I don't know, it just seems to me that anybody that knows anything about Russia wouldn't think that the stink-eye technique would be too effective.

Yeah, but Obama's like from Hawaii and Columbia...

... and the "Choom Gang." He's like totally and massively intimidating.  

He'll back off that vicious KGB Russian guy. Fer sure.

Dude.

Putin Calls Kerry a Liar on Eve of G20 Summit

"Call my BFF a liar, eh? I shall intimidate Putin with my mom jeans and MY military!"

I'm sure the summit will still go swimmingly.

Do you think the Obama Administration wants that over charge reset button back?

From Reuters:

In remarks that could raise tension further before he hosts President Barack Obama and other G20 leaders on Thursday, Putin also said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lied to Congress about the militant group al Qaeda's role in the Syrian conflict. 

"They lie beautifully, of course. I saw debates in Congress. A congressman asks Mr Kerry: 'Is al Qaeda there?' He says: 'No, I am telling you responsibly that it is not'," Putin said at a meeting of his human rights council in the Kremlin. 

"Al Qaeda units are the main military echelon, and they know this," he said, referring to the United States. "It was unpleasant and surprising for me - we talk to them, we proceed from the assumption that they are decent people. But he is lying and knows he is lying. It's sad." 

Putin did not give any more details. 

In an exchange with a senator, Kerry was asked whether it was "basically true" that the Syrian opposition had "become more infiltrated by al Qaeda over time. Kerry said: "No, that is actually basically not true. It's basically incorrect".

It's kinda sad when the facts seem to back up Russia's sort-of dictator over America's Secretary of Defense and President. Oh well, Obama was voted in-- during an election where the IRS was targeting political adversaries. Own it.

Obama and US Betray Britain for New START Treaty

Take that Britain!

It seems that Obama is pulling out all the stops in his attempts to destroy US relations with Great Britain.

From The Telegraph article by Matthew Moore (h/t Anne Leary at Backyard Conservative):

"The US secretly agreed to give the Russians sensitive information on Britain’s nuclear deterrent to persuade them to sign a key treaty, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

"Information about every Trident missile the US supplies to Britain will be given to Russia as part of an arms control deal signed by President Barack Obama next week.

"Defence analysts claim the agreement risks undermining Britain’s policy of refusing to confirm the exact size of its nuclear arsenal.

"The fact that the Americans used British nuclear secrets as a bargaining chip also sheds new light on the so-called 'special relationship', which is shown often to be a one-sided affair by US diplomatic communications obtained by the WikiLeaks website.

[...]

"A series of classified messages sent to Washington by US negotiators show how information on Britain’s nuclear capability was crucial to securing Russia’s support for the 'New START' deal.

"Although the treaty was not supposed to have any impact on Britain, the leaked cables show that Russia used the talks to demand more information about the UK’s Trident missiles, which are manufactured and maintained in the US.

"Washington lobbied London in 2009 for permission to supply Moscow with detailed data about the performance of UK missiles. The UK refused, but the US agreed to hand over the serial numbers of Trident missiles it transfers to Britain."

Brilliant! Obama manages to betray Britain for absolutely no gain whatsoever. This is so absolutely idiotic and incompetent I have to wonder if it isn't on purpose...

As I noted before, the New START treaty basically puts limits on the US arsenal and nothing else. As Andrew Osborne reported, Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov has said that START doesn't effect their capabilities.

"The treaty, known as the 'New START', is the centrepiece of President Barack Obama's much-hyped 'reset' in relations with the Kremlin.

"It limits each country to 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200, and brings back a system of joint monitoring that ended when a previous nuclear arms treaty expired at the end of 2009.

"Anatoly Serdyukov, the Russian defence minister, told Russian senators that the treaty would not damage Russia's interests and would have little impact on its nuclear arsenal however.
"'The limits on delivery vehicles and nuclear warheads outlined are substantially more than our current possibilities,' he said. 'We do not possess so many (warheads and delivery vehicles) [emphasis mine].'"

Absolutely brilliant! Obama managed to compromise and sell out Britain, reduce the US nuclear arsenal, and for absolutely no gain. Maybe Obama can lecture the British about how he knows what's best for them, and how they're just scared and that makes them not conform to logic and reason as exemplified by his political stances, etc.

Way to go. No wonder the Russians were laughing about the "Overcharge button." It was a clear indication of things to come.

Is it really the Obama Doctrine to repeatedly betray your allies to your enemies for no gain? Ask Jordan next. Obama is proving to be the best friend to our enemies and the worst ally to our friends.

UPDATE: There has been some speculation that we're only seeing one side of the story. Since the Telegraph's only real source of this is WikiLeaks, there could be undisclosed documents in which the UK gave the go ahead to the US to reveal this information to the Russians.

So far this has been only speculation, and there is no indication that this is actually the case. More to come, I'm sure...

So How's the New START Treaty Working Out?

Obama's amateur politics in action...

From the Telegraph article by Andrew Osborn (h/t Jacobson at Legal Insurrection):

"The treaty, known as the 'New START', is the centrepiece of President Barack Obama's much-hyped 'reset' in relations with the Kremlin.

"It limits each country to 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200, and brings back a system of joint monitoring that ended when a previous nuclear arms treaty expired at the end of 2009.

"Anatoly Serdyukov, the Russian defence minister, told Russian senators that the treaty would not damage Russia's interests and would have little impact on its nuclear arsenal however.

"'The limits on delivery vehicles and nuclear warheads outlined are substantially more than our current possibilities,' he said. 'We do not possess so many (warheads and delivery vehicles).' The treaty's future hung in the balance towards the end of last year when Republicans, who are sceptical about the agreement, won more seats in the US Senate.

"But Mr Obama managed to get the senate to approve it in December in the face of strong resistance. Republican sceptics argued that it gave too much to Russia and was not in America's national interest.

"Mr Serdyukov has appeared to bolster that suspicion in the past, telling Russian MPs that the Kremlin would not have to actually make any real cuts in its arsenal.

"On the contrary, he told them it allowed Russia to beef up its nuclear deterrent substantially whereas Washington would have to make cuts in its own stocks.

"Russia is in the midst of a massive £450 billion rearmament programme that will also upgrade its nuclear strike capabilities. Mr Serdyukov said on Wednesday that Russia was working on its own nuclear defence shield but gave no details."

Huh... Obama said that "American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists."

I guess what he meant was fewer American nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. I mean, the Russian defense minister is saying it won't effect them. I'm sure Obama just misspoke. Blame it on the teleprompter...

35 Killed by Suicide Bomber in Moscow Airport

From the Reuters article by Alexei Anishchuk:

"A suicide bomber killed at least 35 people at Russia's busiest airport on Monday, state TV said, in an attack on the capital that bore the hallmarks of militants fighting for an Islamist state in the North Caucasus region.

"President Dmitry Medvedev vowed to track down and punish those behind the bombing, which also injured over 150 people, during the busy late afternoon at Moscow's Domodedovo airport. The dead included some foreigners.

"Islamist rebels have vowed to take their bombing campaign from the North Caucasus to the Russian heartland in the year before presidential elections, hitting transport and economic targets. They have also leveled threats at the 2014 Winter Olympics, scheduled for the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, a region some militants consider 'occupied.'

[...]

"The prosecutor's office said the bomb had been classified as a terrorist attack -- the largest since twin suicide bombings on the Moscow metro rocked the Russian heartland in March.

"'The blast was most likely carried out by a suicide bomber.'

"State television said the blast was the work of a 'smertnik,' or suicide bomber. State-run RIA, quoting Markin, said the bomber most likely had a belt laden with explosives.

[...]

"A decade after federal forces drove separatists from power in Chechnya in the second of two wars, the mainly Muslim North Caucasus is wracked by violence.

"Medvedev, who has called the Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus the biggest threat to Russian security, wrote on Twitter: 'Security will be strengthened at large transport hubs.'

[...]

"No group has yet taken responsibility for the attack, but dozens of Internet surfers, writing in Russian, praised the suicide bomber on unofficial Islamist site kavkazcenter.com.

[...]

"Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who shares power in a 'tandem' arrangement with the less influential Medvedev, has staked his political reputation on quelling rebellion in the North Caucasus.

"He launched a war in late 1999 in Chechnya to topple a secessionist government. That campaign achieved its immediate aim and helped him to the presidency months later; but since then insurgency has spread to neighboring Ingushetia and Dagestan.

"'It does not ... bode well for Russian ties to the North Caucasus and is yet another sign that what Putin started in 1999 by invading the rebellious republic of Chechnya has come home to roost again in the Russian capital,' said Glen Howard, president of the U.S. Jamestown Foundation research institution.

"Tensions between ethnic Russians and Muslims -- at 20 million they make up one seventh of Russia's population -- flared dramatically last month in a string of clashes, which involved thousands of Russian nationalists who attacked passersby of non-Slavic appearance, many of whom were from the North Caucasus.

"Analysts say rebels are planning to increase violence in the run up to 2012 presidential elections, that may well see Putin returning to the presidency.

"'It is a clear jab at the FSB (Federal Security Services) and at the elections,' said Adil Mukashev, an independent expert on terrorism issues."

Quite a problem Russia has had for the past ten years or so. No clear end, and no real solution in sight.