Putin: "I want to remind you that Russia is one of the most powerful nuclear nations"

[Commando]

You'd rather just punt and see what happens?

Better not to do anything. I think he'll respect America's greatness and try not step on any more toes.

[Maximus]

Question with a question. No thanks.

Apparently you have some Cold War angst which in itself is LOLz funny.

Was romney right when he said russia was our geopolitical foe or not?

[Commando]

Was romney right when he said russia was our geopolitical foe or not?

Please- you're making him uncomfortable with all these questions- could turn into a dick measuring contest!!

[fusnik]

Was romney right when he said russia was our geopolitical foe or not?

No.

[Topper]

Lol.

What would Romney do different? Do you really think that Putins actions would be any different with Romney in the White House? I for one am glad that someone who had already deemed Russia our geopolitical foe is not the one making the decisions when that Russia acts up. Putin is crazy and last thing we need is political dick measuring with Russia just as the markets celebrate 5 years of run.

Here is what Romney would have done differently. HE would not have let the missile defensive out of Poland for a future promise from Putin. That message may have let Putin think twice about invading Ukraine.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

So the Obama supporters have gone from believing he would stop the rise of the oceans and charm the living hell out of all those jihadists worldwide with the mere sight of his face, to saying that whoever is occupying the office along with their policies has no bearing on world events. Apparently also being hilariously, lol funny wrong on Russia, having a status of forces agreement, ISIS, etc. is actually a good thing. Correspondingly, being right about those same things amounts to engaging in dick-measuring contest.

Consider this gem from Andrew Sullivan in 2007:

The next president has to create a sophisticated and supple blend of soft and hard power to isolate the enemy, to fight where necessary, but also to create an ideological template that works to the West’s advantage over the long haul. There is simply no other candidate with the potential of Obama to do this. Which is where his face comes in.

Consider this hypothetical. It’s November 2008. A young Pakistani Muslim is watching television and sees that this man—Barack Hussein Obama—is the new face of America. In one simple image, America’s soft power has been ratcheted up not a notch, but a logarithm. A brown-skinned man whose father was an African, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, who attended a majority-Muslim school as a boy, is now the alleged enemy. If you wanted the crudest but most effective weapon against the demonization of America that fuels Islamist ideology, Obama’s face gets close. It proves them wrong about what America is in ways no words can.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...ngle_page=true

I'm pretty sure Obama could go pinch a loaf on the 50 yard line at the Super Bowl on live television and some of you rubes would continue defending this lazy, unengaged imbecile.

[fusnik]

Here is what Romney would have done differently. HE would not have let the missile defensive out of Poland for a future promise from Putin. That message may have let Putin think twice about invading Ukraine.

OMG, do people really believe this?

Think how ridiculous this statement is, we have nukes that will blow up the world 4x over yet we remove a couple of missiles in Poland and all of a sudden we are weak and we give license to Putin to invade a country.

[Pelado]

OMG, do people really believe this?

Think how ridiculous this statement is, we have nukes that will blow up the world 4x over yet we remove a couple of missiles in Poland and all of a sudden we are weak and we give license to Putin to invade a country.

Does anyone really believe that we would use nukes again?

[fusnik]

Does anyone really believe that we would use nukes again?

Of course.... they aren't freaking place holders.

Obama has used drones 10x as much as Bush, you don't think Putin knows this and realizes that Obama is willing to kill people?

This idea that Obama is feckless is dumb. The idea that the US looks weak in the world is dumb. The idea that Romney would be a foreign relations wiz kid is dumb.

Why do conservatives feel the need to be arms powerful? I'm much more frightened that people like CMBF are my neighbors and Wuap is having Red Dawn flashbacks than I am of Putin.

[Topper]

Well you don't understand foreign relations at all then. The pull back on the defensive system was a sign of extreme weakness. You do not understand the KGB mentality nor that of Russia. Typical of feckless liberals.

[USUC]

Well you don't understand foreign relations at all then. The pull back on the defensive system was a sign of extreme weakness. You do not understand the KGB mentality nor that of Russia. Typical of feckless liberals.

More than this I think Obama has undermined our relationship with Europe and our global allies. Obama has made the USA's promises even less believable than before. That being said, the war-mongering neo-conservatives that dominate the Republican party has done more damage than Obama ever could have.

[Maximus]

No.

so you think Russia isn't a geopolitical foe?

[Topper]

You hit upon the true problem. Obama undermines credibility with allies such as Poland by withdrawing the missile network or getting Britain to support an attack on Syria and then pulling the rug from under the Prime Minister's feet.

War mongering is not the secret but firm resolve in advance. Obama and his advisers are feckless pussies without a clue about international relations.

Frankly Obama doesn't care because that is not a constituency that votes. If the world goes to hell as long as his political base and his sycophants are appeased.

None of his foreign relations decisions make sense. It is a policy without a rudder. What is the Obama doctrine in terms of foreign relations? I bet nobody can identify it, because there really isn't a coherent policy. It sounds like, talk big, carry a limp noodle, and run like hell if somebody calls you on your bluff.

Of course, in Afghanistan there was the build up strategy for a while and then there wasn't. There was the Iraqi withdrawal that left the county unable to defend itself. There was the Libya and Syria strategy. There is the meaningless sanctions strategy over the Ukraine.

What is the coherent philosophy of the administration? There isn't one or even a system of philosophies. It's the run like hell doctrine when somebody calls you on your bluff doctrine.

[Moliere]

I thought fusnik was always right....which makes me wonder why his bloody butt is getting dragged through this entire thread.

[ERCougar]

Could someone run the string of events that led to this ISIS problem? I'm no foreign policy wonk, but it seems to me that save a very short list of exceptions, our intervention in others' affairs, even when allegedly in our interests ("our", lol), generally causes more problems than it solves. So I guess I'm increasingly skeptical of a foreign policy that involves us determining who should control what territory, even if it is "coherent".