Meanwhile, the Russkies are developing their nuclear capability and have been supporting communist movements and states across the world, as well as Islamic nations like Iran. They also possess tremendous influence with their media, with which they promote a virulent anti-Americanism that essentially tells the world "it's okay to kill Americans, they're the servants of the NWO."
Buchanan and these freaks are either useful idiots or else they are working for the Reds directly.
You will not be very popular with the war dogs here.
The Ukraine declared it's independence in August of 1991, how could there be a policy for Ukrainian independence in the US prior to that? Is Stockman smoking rope? Has he not seen the expansion of Russia by Putin since O'Zero took office?
Pat is always brilliant.
The reason we did not "threaten war" is because we didn't have the ability to intervene militarily. However, we provided other kinds of support to the opposition, much of it covert and also rhetorically. We provided the hope that kept the opposition alive. We had a containment policy, the Truman Doctrine, JFK's rhetorical defense of freedom throughout the world, and Reagan's evil empire along with a Polish Pope.
America used the VOA and other ways to communicate with the oppressed in these countries. In short, we had American leaders who could articulate the ideological struggle we were waging.
Looking at these problems from the point of view that Washington really wants to solve them is even more ludicrous than believing that Obama and his cabal have the best interests of the United States at heart.
The recent situation with Russia and Ukraine has seemed murky to me as soon as Russia moved on the Crimea. Whatever one might think would be the right thing to do, we have done little for the same reason that we did probably nothing to free Tibet from China: too far away and impossible to do without risking a major war.
The idea that there is anything we can do to dissuade Putin from acting in Russia’s historical sphere of influence seems pretty nonsensical. W did, or could have done nothing to keep him from moving on Georgia.
Buchanan is probably right; we should engage with Putin where possible and try diplomacy and strenghtening alliances to contain Russia if they become too ambitious. (Such as installing missile defense systems in places like Poland and the Czech Republic. And we all know what happened to those plans. And we should avoid stupid moves that reopen areas such as the Middle East to renewed Russian influence.)
Reagan wouldn’t be passive, Obama is.
Reagan would be opposing Russia recovering empire and undoing what he accomplished and becoming a threat to the world again.
Obama is more with our Russia supporters here, in fact it is quite a game they play, calling for weakness, yet pretending that Obama isn’t with them and weak himself.
Meanwhile the intent of the Budapest Memorandum is ignored.
I guess no one told Buchanan that the Soviet Union is supposed to have ended in 1991, not continued under pretense as a revived imperial Russian empire or a wannabee revived imperial Russian empire.
Therefore his point and his analogy comparing the two eras and the two Ukraine states, old and new, and the two states of old Soviet Union and modern Russia as representing equal conditions, respectively, does nothing less than throw the end of the Soviet Empire into the ash heap of history as a non-event.
Obviously that is Putin’s desire. What is not obvious is why Buchanan thinks the west ought to accede to it, in this era.
“These unfortunate episodes did not further endanger America’s national security.”
Yea, people seem to forget that, EVEN HERE. The president tells them to HATE PUTIN, and they follow along...never considering where it might lead.
Poor Pat. He didn’t get the memo that the Russians are no longer allies, now that Operation Barbarossa was a go. Obviously the relative who was supposed to tell him this must have been the one who died during the Holocaust (by falling out of a guard tower).
I can’t wait to read Pat telling us how wonderful HAMAS is in his next column...