I must say I'm not sure I agree with Republican calls for Obama to get much tougher on Putin - not that I agree with Obama's performance in this regard - I think I can safely say there's nothing Obama has done, since the first day he woke up as president to whatever he's doing right now [ah, with the Pope - maybe they'll discuss his past support for partial birth abortion between fawning smiles for the camera] nothing he's done that I have or can agree with - the problem with Dear Leader getting tough with Putin is that Putin would never buy it or see the threat as credible and therefore might view it as an opportunity to escalate so as to further embarrass Obama, whom Vlad for good reason believes will back down, and drive home the idea that America is a fading power. Now, sure, Putin may be ready to escalate regardless - but since no one really expects the EU or Obama to act in a convincingly forceful way here the only real option left is to limit the damage done to America's reputation as much as possible. Unfortunately, of course, Putin understands this all too well and is no doubt looking to do harm no matter which weak hand Obama decides to play - so there may indeed be no way to save American credibility so long as Obama is calling the shots.
The other problem with 'getting tough' on Putin is that Obama's national security team inspires no confidence whatsoever - who really believes should things heat up that these people have the wherewithal required to get it right? If Gates was still SecDef, maybe - but Kerry, Hagel, Rice and O himself? No, that team does not inspire confidence.
The other problem with 'getting tough' on Putin is that Obama's national security team inspires no confidence whatsoever - who really believes should things heat up that these people have the wherewithal required to get it right? If Gates was still SecDef, maybe - but Kerry, Hagel, Rice and O himself? No, that team does not inspire confidence.
