Posted on 03/18/2014 9:42:28 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
LONDON - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden began a reassurance tour of east European allies Tuesday, promising that the current diplomatic crisis over Russia would leave NATO “stronger and more unified than ever.”
But some experts say the showdown over Ukraine has exposed the organization as toothless in the face of Vladimir Putin’s triumphant annexation of Crimea.
While Biden was in Warsaw promising to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with Poland, Putin was making a defiant, barnstorming speech at the Kremlin that placed new pressure on the United States to act.
Ukraine is not a member of NATO, despite many years of speculation that it is poised to join, and therefore it is not automatically protected under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty – the clause which regards any attack on one member state as an attack on all.
“That’s going to make it very difficult for NATO to do anything of significance,” said Andrew C. Kuchins, a senior fellow and director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. “It’s more likely that any action will be taken by a coalition of the willing.”
Does that mean NATO is essentially toothless? “Yes, I think it does,” said Kuchins.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Well, we should expect the good Lord to humiliate us if we’ve shamefully dropped the ball.
Something worse than a mistake.It was maliciously perverse.
Who wins a feud like that one was, anyhow.
Muslims and (nominal) Christians, with grudges that went further back than Columbus’ voyage.
Sixteen of twenty of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens, proving conclusively that Mossad did it.
Indeed...Just doing the bidding for our Wahabbist Saudi Masters, to provide a future base for Jihad in Europe.
And it was calculated.
“NATO gave up all credibility when it invaded the sovereign nation of Serbia
and forced it to give up part of itself to narco-terrorist Muslim criminals.”
Without the approval of the UN Security Council - exit “the respect of international law”.
“It reinforced that lack of credibility by doing much the same to Libya.”
Without the approval of the UN Security Council, which only approved the montoring of a no-fly zone over Libya - exit “ the respect of international law”.
“Joe Biden began a reassurance tour of east European allies Tuesday, promising that the current diplomatic crisis over Russia would leave NATO “stronger and more unified than ever.”~~~
Well, we know the truth is the opposite of what the pathological liars Biden and his boss are, so......”
The last thing NATO European members want is to engage in a military showdown with Russia. So how NATO will be “stronger and more unified than ever”, it remains to be seen.
“Obama needs a big distraction from all sorts of things.”
For a man who thinks “Austrian” is a language and that people in Afganistan speak Arabic, and even doesn’t know Europe is a continent, not a country, his sudden interest in a speck of the world map called Crimea, that he couldn’t locate on a map by himself, seems more than suspect.
Doesn’t he some work to do as president in his own country, than worry what’s happening somewhere 7,000 miles away from home?
LOL, yeah, most civilized nations seek not to have war. Except Russia.
Trust me. Nato would make quick work of Russian forces.
Russian conscripts are no match for the West’s professional military and technology.
Napoleon Bonaparte would disagree.
USNATO is only good at bombing from above. And with Russia this won’t work.
Once USNATO put troops on the ground, they are f...d.
See Iraq and Afghanistan.
Everyone has their Waterloo.
Napoleon's downfall was caused by the same stupidity as our Waterloos...... A stupid, impatient public driven by a media with all sorts of think tanks or intellectuals with crap for brains. Or so it appears...
It starts with..."We have to go and intervene", and then becomes. "Please make it stop" If you stop the public stupidity, you stop the Waterloos...
“Napoleon Bonaparte would disagree.”
Unfortunately, for Russia, carriages and horses are no longer used in battle.
Russia in impotent in modern battle.
The West doesn’t need to fight the weak Russians. This Putin charade will fail over time. It will implode just like the Soviet Union did.
Not to mention force structure, unless we want to see another Task Force Smith speedbump fiasco.
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