Putin the Humanitarian - He cares so much he wants all of Ukraine.

The American Spectator ^ | 10 Mar 14 | Jed Babbin

[elhombrelibre]

It’s not at all clear what Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk thinks he can accomplish during his visit with President Obama later this week. It’s a good bet that he’s not coming to urge on Obama the advice offered by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman.

I had to read Friedman’s March 4 column twice to be sure I hadn’t fallen for a parody from The Onion. Friedman has a prescription to weaken Vlad Putin that sounds like something written by Al Gore and edited by the folks who publish Mad Magazine.

According to Friedman, if Obama wanted to frighten Putin, we’d invest in (i.e., have the government pay for) facilities to liquefy and export natural gas, making Europe more dependent on us; (2) raise the tax on gasoline; (3) create a national carbon tax and a “national renewable energy standard” all of which, as Friedman admits, would increase the price Americans pay for energy.

Friedman concludes — but doesn’t explain -- that this plan threatens Putin. Not to put too fine a point on it, but he’s nuts. Raising taxes on Americans and increasing the price we pay for energy does precisely nothing to pressure Putin to liberate the Crimea or decline to conquer the rest of Ukraine. He’d get a good laugh out if it, though.

[elhombrelibre]

Like Hitler, Putin only invades his neighbors because he's there to enforce international law and to protect the people.

[blueunicorn6]

The only thing that Putin is afraid of, is that Friedman will stop writing.

[elhombrelibre]

True. Friedman is a clown.

[McGruff]

We should start military overflights, naval blockades and moving troops into the region.