Yes, Russia Is Our Top Geopolitical Foe Why Mitt Romney is right about Moscow.

[Vel]

Too bad that Obama hasn't figured this out. He thinks that Putin will respect weakness. He knows that Obama being "flexible" means he can bow a little further down and ceding to Russia.
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Yes, Russia Is Our Top Geopolitical Foe
Why Mitt Romney is right about Moscow.

The boldest gambit of the presidential contest thus far has to be Mitt Romney's assertion that Russia is America's "No. 1 geopolitical foe." The GOP candidate first blurted this out months ago, and he has been pilloried by the Dems for Cold War-era "old think" ever since. Some believe this view may even undermine the traditional perception voters have of Republicans being more adept than Democrats at national security affairs.

For all the flak he's taken, Romney reaffirmed his views about Russia last week. He no longer assigns Moscow a number -- much less No. 1 -- but Mitt has made it clear that, in his view, "everything we try to do globally they try and oppose." In particular, he cites the Russians' obstructive behavior when it comes to alleviating the conflict in Syria and the proliferation crisis with Iran.

Longstanding Russian support in the war on terror and the key role Moscow plays in the Northern Distribution Network that sustains the allied intervention in Afghanistan seem to have slipped his mind.

But no matter. Romney is still right about Russia. So far just in his instincts, as it seems he has not yet fully crystallized his thinking. As to the kind of thinking called for, he has made this clear: We must assess the world from a geopolitical perspective. This is most refreshing, given the utter lack of interest today among American institutions of higher learning in the intersection of geography and foreign policy.
Yes, Russia Is Our Top Geopolitical Foe - By John Arquilla | Foreign Policy

 

[Charles_Main]

Too bad that Obama hasn't figured this out. He thinks that Putin will respect weakness. He knows that Obama being "flexible" means he can bow a little further down and ceding to Russia.
******************************************************

Yes, Russia Is Our Top Geopolitical Foe
Why Mitt Romney is right about Moscow.

The boldest gambit of the presidential contest thus far has to be Mitt Romney's assertion that Russia is America's "No. 1 geopolitical foe." The GOP candidate first blurted this out months ago, and he has been pilloried by the Dems for Cold War-era "old think" ever since. Some believe this view may even undermine the traditional perception voters have of Republicans being more adept than Democrats at national security affairs.

For all the flak he's taken, Romney reaffirmed his views about Russia last week. He no longer assigns Moscow a number -- much less No. 1 -- but Mitt has made it clear that, in his view, "everything we try to do globally they try and oppose." In particular, he cites the Russians' obstructive behavior when it comes to alleviating the conflict in Syria and the proliferation crisis with Iran.

Longstanding Russian support in the war on terror and the key role Moscow plays in the Northern Distribution Network that sustains the allied intervention in Afghanistan seem to have slipped his mind.

But no matter. Romney is still right about Russia. So far just in his instincts, as it seems he has not yet fully crystallized his thinking. As to the kind of thinking called for, he has made this clear: We must assess the world from a geopolitical perspective. This is most refreshing, given the utter lack of interest today among American institutions of higher learning in the intersection of geography and foreign policy.
Yes, Russia Is Our Top Geopolitical Foe - By John Arquilla | Foreign Policy

;

 

[Charles_Main]

Too bad that Obama hasn't figured this out. He thinks that Putin will respect weakness. He knows that Obama being "flexible" means he can bow a little further down and ceding to Russia.
******************************************************

Yes, Russia Is Our Top Geopolitical Foe
Why Mitt Romney is right about Moscow.

The boldest gambit of the presidential contest thus far has to be Mitt Romney's assertion that Russia is America's "No. 1 geopolitical foe." The GOP candidate first blurted this out months ago, and he has been pilloried by the Dems for Cold War-era "old think" ever since. Some believe this view may even undermine the traditional perception voters have of Republicans being more adept than Democrats at national security affairs.

For all the flak he's taken, Romney reaffirmed his views about Russia last week. He no longer assigns Moscow a number -- much less No. 1 -- but Mitt has made it clear that, in his view, "everything we try to do globally they try and oppose." In particular, he cites the Russians' obstructive behavior when it comes to alleviating the conflict in Syria and the proliferation crisis with Iran.

Longstanding Russian support in the war on terror and the key role Moscow plays in the Northern Distribution Network that sustains the allied intervention in Afghanistan seem to have slipped his mind.

But no matter. Romney is still right about Russia. So far just in his instincts, as it seems he has not yet fully crystallized his thinking. As to the kind of thinking called for, he has made this clear: We must assess the world from a geopolitical perspective. This is most refreshing, given the utter lack of interest today among American institutions of higher learning in the intersection of geography and foreign policy.
Yes, Russia Is Our Top Geopolitical Foe - By John Arquilla | Foreign Policy

Of Course they are, in a close race with China. Only Childish, Idealist Liberals don't under stand that. Russia is that "friend" you have that you know will fuck you over in a heart beat. They are not our ally, and not our Friend, they are simply practicing the age old Idea of keeping your Friends close and your Enemies closer.

When I say they, I mean the Government of course, which we all know is no Real Democracy, and only really different from the old one cosmetically.

 

[buckeye45_73]

I'm curious to see who liberals think it is, Iran? naaaaaa, Russia, naaaaaaa, China, naaaaaaa, Canada? You never know with these dumbasses

 

[chikenwing]

They are just like the street gang that lost a few members and are noy so big anymore,but still a street gang

 

[ScienceRocks]

Both Russia and China are our enemies. They're working against us on the world stage.

 

[Vel]

Obama is clearly out of his league going up against someone like Putin.
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For in classic geopolitical terms -- that is, by giving attention to territory, resources of all sorts, and their influence on beliefs, behavior, and policy -- it is quite clear that Russia is the major counterweight to American power and influence. A huge country that straddles what the great geographer Halford Mackinder called the Eurasian "heartland" is sure to operate with substantial effect in the world. A country with thousands of nuclear weapons, still-substantial armed services, and a cornucopia of natural resources will have its innings in high politics.

"Romney's assertions about Russia should be seen less as stale strategic thinking and more as a critique of Barack Obama's looming "Pacific shift," which implies that China has moved into position as our top geopolitical foe. Yet Beijing, in the throes of modernization and heavily weighed down by a massive population, increasingly urgent energy needs, and a troubled political transition -- see: Bo Xilai and other travails of succession -- can hardly be seen as our new No. 1 geopolitical foe."

Yes, Russia Is Our Top Geopolitical Foe - By John Arquilla | Foreign Policy

 

[Vel]

By GEORGE H. WITTMAN on 7.6.12 @ 6:07AM

The foreign policy of a narcissist.

They say a photo is worth a thousand words. Perhaps presidents Obama and Putin never heard of that expression. It is rare to the point of being unknown when the last time was that two world leaders showed such obvious mutual dislike of each other. Even the post-White House meeting facial expressions of Netanyahu and Obama did not reach that level. It's hard to imagine a discussion over why Russia should allow heavy sanctions to be placed on the Assad regime in Syria or similar Russian cooperation over Iranian nuclear weapon development becoming so vitriolic as to create the intensity of distaste and disregard that showed in the faces of Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin after their meeting at the G-20 in Mexico.

Vladimir Putin is not unsophisticated and certainly not inexperienced. He is a very calculating intelligence professional and since the 1990s an equally calculating politician. The problem that President Obama has with his counterpart is that Putin just does not respect him. From Putin's standpoint Obama is quite deficient in his knowledge and experience in world politics and thus inept as a prospective partner in evolving issues such as Iran and Syria.
Apparently this lack of understanding by President Obama has arisen before in the private conversations between the U.S. and Russian leaders. Putin was treated to the Obama pedantry much the same way the American president has insultingly lectured other world figures as he did P.M. Netanyahu of Israel. The New York Times reported Pres. Obama's remark about a "Polish death camp…" so infuriated Poland's P.M. Donald Tusk that he referred to Obama as guilty of "ignorance, lack of knowledge, bad intentions." President Obama's behavior on numerous occasions gives a lie to his vaunted intellectual competence in the field of diplomacy. Apparently Putin -- hardly known as a mild-mannered person -- chose to react at their meeting in Los Cabos.