Posted on 07/20/2014 1:05:50 AM PDT by Squawk 8888
On Thursday, Russia’s expeditionary army in Eastern Ukraine shot a missile at what they thought was a Ukrainian jet, according to U.S. intelligence.
It wasn’t a Ukrainian jet. It was a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane, flying its normal commercial route that happened to take it over Ukraine. As per usual.
And it appears the Russians shot it down, killing 298 people. Vladimir Putin didn’t even bother denying it – he blamed the Ukrainians. “This tragedy would not have occurred if there were peace in that country, or in any case, if hostilities had not resumed in southeast Ukraine,” Putin said.
So his forces apparently shot down a Malaysian passenger plane because Ukraine didn’t surrender to Putin’s slow-motion invasion?
Like the abusive husband hitting his wife, he has an easy excuse: “You make me so mad, it’s your fault I hit you.”
This isn’t just a scandal. It’s a crisis. As Ukraine’s new president, Petro Poroshenko, said, Russia’s lawless military actions endanger the whole world. He accurately called it terrorism – and indeed its death toll eclipses that of most other terrorist attacks, such as the Libyan bombing of the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland. Poroshenko, already reeling from Russian attacks, called out to the world. In other words, he called out to Barack Obama.
But Obama was too busy to help.
Obama didn’t call an emergency meeting of his national security team. He didn’t assemble his joint chiefs of staff in the White House situation room.
No, he flew to Delaware to go to a photo-op at the Charcoal Pit diner. He gave a campaign speech. By this time, the cause of the plane crash was known. But Obama said merely, “it looks like it may be a terrible tragedy.”
May be? A tragedy? He didn’t know yet if it was a tragedy? And a tragedy – not an act of terrorism or a war crime? Just a tragedy – like a tragic accident?
And, after that bloodless, token comment, he continued his campaign speech, joking, laughing.
He didn’t even call Putin. Incredibly, Putin called him, before Obama left the White House. And Obama didn't bring up the jet – Putin brought up "early reports" of the downed plane at the end of their call.
In 1983, when the Soviets shot down a Korean Air Lines flight – with a lower death toll – Ronald Reagan called it an international crisis, a crime against humanity. He made a grave, televised presentation to the country, from the Oval Office. America made an emergency presentation to the UN showing intercepted communications from Soviet commanders ordering the murder. He continued the ban on the Soviet airline, Aeroflot, from landing in the United States. He didn’t declare war on the Soviets. But he did everything diplomatically and political possible, short of attacking.
America showed more determination. America's response strengthened the free west, and gave hope to everyone that even small countries like South Korea had a great friend in America.
But Obama went to the Charcoal Pit.
As more facts came in and more news came in, Obama still didn’t deviate from his campaign-style day. He flew to New York for two more big-ticket fundraising dinners. Priorities, you see.
And at 9:30 that night, hours after a vague tweet about the crash, the State Department’s spokesman, Jen Psaki, issued a Twitter statement. It had a link to a gossip column in the Washington Post. Here is the full text of it: “Great piece by former colleague Alyssa Mastromonaco who defines smart, savvy and fashionable.”
So the sorority girl in charge of U.S. foreign policy statements thought that a shout-out to her smart and sexy colleague – on the official State Department Twitter feed – sent the most important message to the world.
And indeed it did.
America is no longer a serious country. An invasion of Ukraine, a terrorist attack on a passenger plane – that’s not enough to cancel a visit to a barbecue photo-op.
It was a teachable moment, as Obama might say. For the world now knows they cannot count on America. Vladimir Putin already knew that. Petro Poroshenko probably did too. And now the rest of us do.
" I was thinking right along those same lines. Foreign press was collectively wetting their drawers over this guy."
It was the American media that took this shadow of man and built him into something extraordinary. Then for 6 years they have spun and covered up all of his malfeasance in office. Now they see their job as trying to build him a legacy out of a failed two terms in office and do all the can to fool history like they fooled a nation.
It's a circus, and they play us for the fools.
Lions to the arena anyone?
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