Olympic Aggression Now that the Sochi Winter Olympics have concluded, the real games have begun in the Ukraine where Russia has taken aggressive action to seize control over Crimea. Now that Putin's real games have begun, many in the world have begun wondering how this could have happened. I mean, we won the Cold War right?
Never missing an opportunity to bash the president, those looking towards the 2016 Presidential Elections have begun weighing in on how to block Putin and Company's open aggression on the territorial integrity of the Ukraine. Yet, many of these potential presidential candidates offer rhetoric intended to make them look "presidential" without offering any real solutions to the problems at hand. Unlike the tired rhetoric spewed over Libya, Syria and Iran, any threat of military action against Russia is universally recognized as, well, insane. So instead of the continuous posturing about the "failures of the president", perhaps politicians should begin to recognize that the divisive political attacks on our Commander In Chief have in fact led in some degree to emboldening Mr. Putin. You see, Putin knows very well that Mr. Obama does not have strong support in Washington, not because Obama's foreign policy plans are all flawed, but because political leaders in Washington have made every foreign policy move a political circus.
Throughout our history Americans have openly questioned Presidents' positions as they relate to foreign affairs and wars, yet we have never seen such an aggressive ideologically oriented for-profit media use every opportunity to criticize and knock down a president. Alleged "scandal" rules the day on the sensationalized Infotainment media and opposition filled with rants and distortions geared to boost viewership and political support. But we must recognize that those viewing our vocal political media are not limited to Americans. Putin and Company must relish the political efforts to marginalize Obama. Does anyone ever think what our enemies think when they watch, hear and read pundits dedicated to tearing down a president's legitimacy and authority, even when it comes to foreign affairs? Clearly, Putin and Company have, based upon our media determined that Obama is so politically weakened as a Commander In Chief, there can be no coordinated and unified response to their dangerous aggression on the world stage. Why should he worry about America when America is too self-absorbed in domestic political wrangling instead?
Traditionally, presidents dealing in foreign affairs have been supported by Washington. When I say foreign affairs, I do not necessarily mean fighting wars. I mean instead, negotiating for the peace before actual war engages. With all of the talk by Freshman GOP Senator Marco Rubio (an obvious presidential wannabe) about a "retrenchment" from the hard fought victories of the Cold War, one has to recall that those "victories" took decades of presidential policies. Why is it that when GOP pundits and politicians look to the end of the Cold War, they lay the wreath of victory solely at the feet of their idol, Ronald Reagan? Why is it that they always fail to recognize that when Reagan was negotiating with Gorbachev, the political opposition in Congress openly proclaimed the need to avoid any appearance of partisanship that might lead to an impression the president was weak and unable to muster needed political support in Washington? You see, partisanship may be a good thing when it leads to compromise, but open oppositional partisanship when it comes to American foreign policy often times can lead to trouble - especially when leaders like Putin and Company actually believe America can no longer impose its collective will on anyone because Washington is broken.
While Lyndon LaRouche supporters parade around small cities holding signs portraying Obama as Hitler, the real tyrant in Russia is moving his military to impose his will on his neighbors. While Tea Party activists claim the president is engaged on a war on religion, Putin and Company see a real war in Crimea as "easy pickings." Is there a direct relationship between the current political opposition and its ideologically supporting media when it continues to argue about "Obama the Tyrant" instead of recognizing real tyranny in the world? Now that Putin and Company have formally opened the door for a renewed aggressive Russia, perhaps it is time for Americans to understand that partisan bickering on the home front when it comes to foreign policy is not in our best interests. When enemies are convinced an American president is weak, you can bet they move swiftly to capitalize on that weakness. Debate and opposition is good for domestic American politics but not for dealing with enemies and those still undecided on whether they can thrive by aligning with our enemies.
As Franklin Roosevelt once wrote; "Those newspapers of the nation which most loudly cried dictatorship against me would have been the first to justify the beginnings of dictatorship by somebody else." As long as politicians attack our Commander In Chief for self-promotion and a compliant Media aids in that attack (no matter who resides in the White House), true tyrants will seek the advantage. When it comes to Putin and Company, Americans should step back from the political rhetoric and show the world a United States, remains the leader of the free world.
Never missing an opportunity to bash the president, those looking towards the 2016 Presidential Elections have begun weighing in on how to block Putin and Company's open aggression on the territorial integrity of the Ukraine. Yet, many of these potential presidential candidates offer rhetoric intended to make them look "presidential" without offering any real solutions to the problems at hand. Unlike the tired rhetoric spewed over Libya, Syria and Iran, any threat of military action against Russia is universally recognized as, well, insane. So instead of the continuous posturing about the "failures of the president", perhaps politicians should begin to recognize that the divisive political attacks on our Commander In Chief have in fact led in some degree to emboldening Mr. Putin. You see, Putin knows very well that Mr. Obama does not have strong support in Washington, not because Obama's foreign policy plans are all flawed, but because political leaders in Washington have made every foreign policy move a political circus.
Throughout our history Americans have openly questioned Presidents' positions as they relate to foreign affairs and wars, yet we have never seen such an aggressive ideologically oriented for-profit media use every opportunity to criticize and knock down a president. Alleged "scandal" rules the day on the sensationalized Infotainment media and opposition filled with rants and distortions geared to boost viewership and political support. But we must recognize that those viewing our vocal political media are not limited to Americans. Putin and Company must relish the political efforts to marginalize Obama. Does anyone ever think what our enemies think when they watch, hear and read pundits dedicated to tearing down a president's legitimacy and authority, even when it comes to foreign affairs? Clearly, Putin and Company have, based upon our media determined that Obama is so politically weakened as a Commander In Chief, there can be no coordinated and unified response to their dangerous aggression on the world stage. Why should he worry about America when America is too self-absorbed in domestic political wrangling instead?
Traditionally, presidents dealing in foreign affairs have been supported by Washington. When I say foreign affairs, I do not necessarily mean fighting wars. I mean instead, negotiating for the peace before actual war engages. With all of the talk by Freshman GOP Senator Marco Rubio (an obvious presidential wannabe) about a "retrenchment" from the hard fought victories of the Cold War, one has to recall that those "victories" took decades of presidential policies. Why is it that when GOP pundits and politicians look to the end of the Cold War, they lay the wreath of victory solely at the feet of their idol, Ronald Reagan? Why is it that they always fail to recognize that when Reagan was negotiating with Gorbachev, the political opposition in Congress openly proclaimed the need to avoid any appearance of partisanship that might lead to an impression the president was weak and unable to muster needed political support in Washington? You see, partisanship may be a good thing when it leads to compromise, but open oppositional partisanship when it comes to American foreign policy often times can lead to trouble - especially when leaders like Putin and Company actually believe America can no longer impose its collective will on anyone because Washington is broken.
While Lyndon LaRouche supporters parade around small cities holding signs portraying Obama as Hitler, the real tyrant in Russia is moving his military to impose his will on his neighbors. While Tea Party activists claim the president is engaged on a war on religion, Putin and Company see a real war in Crimea as "easy pickings." Is there a direct relationship between the current political opposition and its ideologically supporting media when it continues to argue about "Obama the Tyrant" instead of recognizing real tyranny in the world? Now that Putin and Company have formally opened the door for a renewed aggressive Russia, perhaps it is time for Americans to understand that partisan bickering on the home front when it comes to foreign policy is not in our best interests. When enemies are convinced an American president is weak, you can bet they move swiftly to capitalize on that weakness. Debate and opposition is good for domestic American politics but not for dealing with enemies and those still undecided on whether they can thrive by aligning with our enemies.
As Franklin Roosevelt once wrote; "Those newspapers of the nation which most loudly cried dictatorship against me would have been the first to justify the beginnings of dictatorship by somebody else." As long as politicians attack our Commander In Chief for self-promotion and a compliant Media aids in that attack (no matter who resides in the White House), true tyrants will seek the advantage. When it comes to Putin and Company, Americans should step back from the political rhetoric and show the world a United States, remains the leader of the free world.
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