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Putin — Saruman Come Alive [Victor Davis Hanson]
National Review Online ^ | September 12, 2013 | Victor Davis Hanson

Posted on 09/13/2013 10:53:01 AM PDT by 1rudeboy

[]

He the egoist sparingly uses “I”; our president the supposed consensus builder does so promiscuously. He reminded us of the demonstrably true fact that there are Islamists in the Syrian opposition and of the probably false fact that the Assad government is not using WMD. In general, Putin has conveyed a tougher military stance that has the president of the far more powerful U.S., a more humanitarian image than our smart- and soft-power leadership (do we still remember Hillary’s public chortle over Qaddafi — “We came, we saw, he died”?), and a more internationalist pose than our Nobel-laureate internationalist.

Putin lecturing Obama on the sacred value of the U.N. — who’da thunk it?

If a Russian dissident wrote and published a cry of the heart to the Russian people, begging Vladimir Putin to stop his harassment of opposition groups, journalists, gays, and ethnic activists and to moderate his behavior toward the former Soviet republics, he would either be jailed or disappear. That we not merely forget that fact, but are now increasing unaware of it, is testament to Putin’s political genius, which has capitalized on each embarrassing American misstep.

That we now receive sermons from Putin not just about morality, but even about U.S. self-interest, and that such advice is only two-thirds fantasy is testament to our own recent ineptitude and confusion — and, yes, to this administration’s bad habit of engaging in its own fantasies and obfuscations.

Sadly, Putin is now an impressive creature — but one in part of our own making.

Mr. Putin, the fact that you are a more adroit Machiavellian than our own president is a Wilsonian proves only that you are the superior strategist — not the moralist you imagine yourself, and surely not more moral than the president whom you seem so easily to embarrass.


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; Russia
KEYWORDS: putin; russia; sodomhusseinobama; vdh; victordavishanson
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To: Kennard
The secular Assad government would not be a bad U.S. ally, if we could ever arrange that after the mess that Obama has created.


21 posted on 09/13/2013 12:29:05 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy
 photo purtuman_zps21c1e2a4.png

Putin — Saruman Come Alive
22 posted on 09/13/2013 12:45:59 PM PDT by BigEdLB (Now there ARE 1,000,000 regrets - but it may be too late.)
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To: 1rudeboy
The secular Assad government would not be a bad U.S. ally

Anwar Sadat

23 posted on 09/13/2013 12:54:57 PM PDT by Praxeologue
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To: Kennard

Compare and contrast.


24 posted on 09/13/2013 12:55:33 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy
 photo hobbits2a_zpsd4298bed.jpg
25 posted on 09/13/2013 12:59:24 PM PDT by BigEdLB (Now there ARE 1,000,000 regrets - but it may be too late.)
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To: BenLurkin

26 posted on 09/13/2013 1:27:12 PM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: mojito

A hobbit for president? She is available if we have the courage to draft her.


27 posted on 09/13/2013 2:31:43 PM PDT by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: 1rudeboy

And on our side, we have Baracka Wormtongue.


28 posted on 09/13/2013 3:03:02 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (You can't have Ingsoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: 1rudeboy

... the probably false fact that the Assad government is not using WMD ...
***********
Where is the unclassified proof that Assad used the gas rather than his Islamic opponents? Obama has the burden of proof. Are we going to go to war based on a “probably false fact”?


29 posted on 09/13/2013 3:57:05 PM PDT by Socon-Econ
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To: Zhang Fei

How old was Vladimir Putin in WW2 ???


30 posted on 09/13/2013 4:32:43 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood ("Arjuna, why have you have dropped your bow???")
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To: TBP

The Eye of Soros...


31 posted on 09/13/2013 4:33:23 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood ("Arjuna, why have you have dropped your bow???")
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To: massgopguy
Obama is less than useless, but beware of Putin. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Putin's influence in the middle east scares me to death.

32 posted on 09/13/2013 4:38:29 PM PDT by mware
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To: Kennard

Victor Davis Hanson has a screw loose... he is still living in the 1960s during the Cold War...

Russia has a flat tax.

Russia does not have gay pride marches in their army.

National Review is a disgrace anymore, as far as I am concerned, they are a bunch of gay boys.


33 posted on 09/13/2013 4:40:46 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood ("Arjuna, why have you have dropped your bow???")
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To: mware

The Democrats controlling the US military scares me more than Putin.

I really don’t care about the Middle East... We have bigger fish to fry in the Western hemisphere...

Russia does not have gay pride marches with their army.


34 posted on 09/13/2013 4:43:21 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood ("Arjuna, why have you have dropped your bow???")
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To: Sir Francis Dashwood

Hey, what’s the problem with living in a prison, as long as you have a flat tax, and your leader is anti-homo?


35 posted on 09/13/2013 4:44:08 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Sir Francis Dashwood
Dem's controlling the US Military, Russia controlling the Middle East.

Believe me we won't have to wait long for them to come knocking on our door.

I don't know what religious beliefs you have but I was always curious as to why we in the US don't seem to fit into the Book of Revelations.

Obama in charge of the US may explain that. The pieces just might be coming together.

36 posted on 09/13/2013 4:49:50 PM PDT by mware
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To: mware

We have refugees and criminals streaming across our own border with Mexico because of the narcoterrorists, mass graves, beheadings, kidnappings, forced prostitution, and chemical warfare with the narcotics.

We should be thinking about protecting Americans and put the US Army on our border... and if the Mexican government doesn’t do something, we should invade them with the US Marine Corps and have a regime change there...

We have problems closer to home that have been ignored for far too long.

To hell with the Middle East.


37 posted on 09/13/2013 4:52:06 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood ("Arjuna, why have you have dropped your bow???")
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To: 1rudeboy
Islamic countries execute homosexuals.

Broken clocks are right twice a day.

The central focus of the US State Department for the last five years has been some kind of a faggot jihad promoting homosexuality.

The attempt by our own State Department to steal the Russian elections for their comrades in the Russian Communist Party through non-profit NGOs was soundly beaten by Vladimir Putin (love him or hate him).

This is why Russia cracked down on non-profit groups, something that should be done here in the USA with the 501c(3) racketeering.

The homosexual attack on the Orthodox Church by the queer punk band Pussy Riot, who were on the payroll of State Department funded NGOs, is another reason. Lesbian weirdo Madonna was also flown in as a provocateur...

The US government is run by a bunch of ass clowns, nobody can blame this on Putin...

38 posted on 09/13/2013 4:56:47 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood ("Arjuna, why have you have dropped your bow???")
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To: Socon-Econ

“Where is the unclassified proof that Assad used the gas rather than his Islamic opponents?”

If classified proof is good enough for Reagan, Bush,WBush, Clinton....It’s good enough for the nitwit Obama.

But seriously, we have confirmed Sarin tests on scene in Sunni / Rebel villages. Of course Assad did it, we even know which units carried it out.

That being said, it is fruitless and against US interests to assist the Sunni AQ affiliated rebels.


39 posted on 09/13/2013 4:57:14 PM PDT by rbmillerjr (We have No Opposition to Obam a's Socialist Agenda:)
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To: Sir Francis Dashwood
I agree with you on our borders.

As to the Middle East and the rest of the world, if we had someone like Reagan as President, I would feel a lot more comfortable with our situation with other nation in the world.

Obama has so weakened our credibility, I doubt any nation takes us seriously for the next 3 years.

40 posted on 09/13/2013 4:57:51 PM PDT by mware
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