Posted on 03/08/2014 12:25:04 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The U.S. government and the Russian government have both been forced into positions where neither one of them can afford to back down. If Barack Obama backs down, he will be greatly criticized for being "weak" and for having been beaten by Vladimir Putin once again. If Putin backs down, he will be greatly criticized for being "weak" and for abandoning the Russians that live in Crimea. In essence, Obama and Putin find themselves trapped in a macho game of "chicken" and critics on both sides stand ready to pounce on the one who backs down. But this is not just an innocent game of "chicken" from a fifties movie. This is the real deal, and if nobody backs down the entire world will pay the price.
Leaving aside who is to blame for a moment, it is really frightening to think that we may be approaching the tensest moment in U.S.-Russian relations since the Cuban missile crisis.
There has been much talk about Obama's "red lines", but the truth is that Crimea (and in particular the naval base at Sevastopol) is a "red line" for Russia.
There is nothing that Obama could ever do that could force the Russians out of Sevastopol. They will never, ever willingly give up that naval base.
So what in the world does Obama expect to accomplish by imposing sanctions on Russia? By treaty, Russia is allowed to have 25,000 troops in Crimea and Russia has not sent troops into the rest of Ukraine.
Economic sanctions are not going to cause Putin to back down. Instead, they will just cause the Russians to retaliate.
(Excerpt) Read more at freedomoutpost.com ...
After being told he can’t sign an Executive Order telling Putin he has to withdraw his troops , Obama replied: “Well then, I’m outta ideas!”
Obama and macho? in the same thought?
Shea right!
And monkeys will fly out of my keester
Yes. A macho game would require two males. This one pits a man against a little girl.
What scares me is with all the talk of Zer0 being impotent he may do something really stupid to prove to the world what a he-man he is.
Think he can bluff Putin with some sort of military threat.
He’s sent jets to Poland, etc.
Watch out Zer0.
Obama in a macho game . . .
Obama in a battle of wits . . .
Some statements just don’t need to be finished.
Years later we finally learned that JFK gave up a lot to get Kruschev to turn those ships around. Obama doesn’t have anything to give up. He’s already given everything away.
A question for everyone. Will the “button pushers” follow obama’s order if he was to tell them to nuke Russia?
Stupid moral equivalency argument: on Crimea, FR is beginning to sound like The Nation during the Cold War.
This isn’t half time it’s game over Obummer is already in the showers!
It takes 2 to play fight (this is not a game) and the puppet isn't 'macho'; he's dangerously inexperienced & emotional, reliant on others.
It's those advising him that will get us into a war nobody wants, either purposefully to distract from domestic problems (sound familiar?) or an unintended effect of sabre rattling.
If it were between just the 2 'men' (I have a hard time using that term on more than just Putin), there's no question who would back down...and as it is, imho, no question who has thought out all their moves...
Putin felt he had to do something to save face after the humiliating overthrow of his puppet in Ukraine. So he managed to hold on to one small part of Ukraine where he already had a military base. He still lost the whole rest of the country. He is a failure and a loser.
I have no idea what you are talking about
You don’t know that anti-Russian forces have taken over Ukraine? This is a major loss and setback for Putin and a great gain for the west. Putin has attempted to look strong by sending more troops to Crimea but in fact this is a pointless act of impotent desperation. Putin has gained nothing because he already had thousands of troops in Crimea. Putin only “invaded” Crimea because he knew they wouldn’t fight back! Stupid bullies like Putin only want to fight those who won’t fight back.
To have a macho man stand off you have to have a man on either side. Don’t think President Mommy Jeans meets the crotria.
I’d say there’s only one chicken in that game.
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