IHT Poses the Rhetorical Question of the Day

"Can NATO Take A Tough Line When Putin Shows Up at its Summit?" No....of course not. NATO can't even get their act together to protect Afghanistan where the Taliban is even going to the great lengths of threatening cell phone carriers as the US is picking them off one by one when they ask, "where you at?" though they are most definitely not using Boost Mobile. NATO is becoming increasingly knock-kneed, which is truly a shame. Consider this passage from the article regarding Putin:

On Feb. 12, the same day he accepted NATO's invitation, Putin warned
Ukraine that it could become a target of Russia's nuclear missiles if
it joined the alliance. Last Friday, his official onlooker at NATO
headquarters in Brussels, Dmitri Rogozin, struck the same compliant
note.

If NATO "breaches its mandate" in Kosovo, Rogozin said, or if the
European Union reaches a unified position on the issue - subtext: don't
you dare - then, "We too would have to proceed from the view that in
order to be respected we must use brute force, in other words, armed
force."

Russia is stepping up it's rhetoric in a major way and threatening to point it's nuclear arsenal towards Eastern Europe should be a major cause of concern. I'm really not holding my breath for NATO go strongly criticize these words though. However, you can imagine what would be the reaction of our media and the hard left had Bush uttered a threat to point offensive nuclear weapons towards, North Korea, let's say. Outrage. Where's the left on this one? They hate armed conflict and protest President Bush at every opportunity but where's the outrage with Putin? Hmmmm....

Off in the horizon, you can practically see the dark clouds gathering. Russia has been increasingly hostile in its relations with a number of nations who are engaging in treaties with NATO and Western Powers. They are refusing to let go of the mentality of the East v. West even after the Iron Curtain was torn asunder and the Soviet Union fell. It would appear that in Putin's mind the consolidation of power and squashing of dissent is his best way forward, and that, my friends, is most definitely not good news for the world.

-Caomhin

Russia Steps Up its Rhetoric as Well as Its Tactics, John McCain Called This One

Vladimir Putin has been blazing a path towards centralizing all power within the Russian government under his and his appointed successors' control. He hand-picked Dmirty Medvedev to replace him as President who in turn, announced that he will appoint Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister. Pure power consolidation tactic. The Russian elections were less than fair to say the least and I hope that the Russian people can overcome this obvious heavy handed tactic by Putin and his political allies. The Russians worked hard to overcome the shackles of Communism and re-gain their freedom and we should help them in their quest towards democratic reforms. It seems however, that Putin has moved from being a somewhat moderate leader to a level just below that of a dictator.

You'll recall a few days ago, US war planes were assembled to fend off Russian bombers that were approaching the U.S.S. Nimitz while it was on patrol in the Pacific. This is reason to be concerned indeed, as one of the bombers had actually flown directly over the carrier, "buzzing" it twice during this occurrence. No military actions came of this, no shots fired, etc, but it is worth noting. I remember seeing documentaries about the Cold War where US and Soviet military would routinely "buzz" each other or interact each other, playing antagonist with each other without it ever coming to head and shots being fired. If memory serves me correct, it was especially true with submarine fleets. That being said, it would appear Russia is heading towards more Cold War tactics and actively seeking to engage the United States in every realm that it can.

During Putin's "Farewell Speech," he assailed the U.S. as having touched off a new arm's race by having the audacity to seek to implement missile defense in Eastern Europe that would have positive effects for the vast majority of the world, serving as a buffer against the increasing dangerous Iranian regime in particular as well as the still dangerous North Koreans. Rather than embracing and seeking greater cooperation with NATO and Western Nations, Putin's policies reverted to the tactics of the old Soviet Union and took to seeing the expansion of NATO into Eastern European nations, nations that actively sought membership in the Organization, as a direct threat to Russia. While Putin will hit talking points of respecting Russia's sovereignty, elections, and internal decisions, apparently that idea does not extend to the nations who, on their own, for what they determined to be the best course for their nations, sought out NATO membership. While Putin should be commended for hitting on the points of economic development and fighting terrorism in Russia, it is disappointing and a reason for pause that he would threaten the world with a new arms race unless Russia is appeased at the cost of denying other nation's the right of self-destiny in seeking out alliances.

Prefaced by the information above, it becomes even more imperative to recognize the great threat that may be arising as today Putin announced that it will being to target its offensive nuclear missile capabilities towards Ukraine if Ukraine presses ahead with NATO membership and become part of the U.S. missile shield program. In response to a defensive deployment of the missile shield, Russia is essentially saying that it will target any nation with offensive missiles, that is threaten to possibly hit nations with nuclear missiles should said nations not comply to Russia's demands. For all the wrongful claims that many Democrats lobby against President Bush, imagine their reaction if he had announced a decision to begin targeting our offensive arsenal at Iran, let alone Russia. Yet, the Democrats have been dreadful silent with regard to this issue. It is very troubling that Russia is pursuing this path.

I'll leave you with Sen. McCain's statements from back before the Iowa caucuses in which he is asked about Vladimir Putin and Russia in general. It now sounds almost prophetic and I believe that under a John McCain administration we will be much better situated to meet not just this threat, but other political and military threats to our Republic.

-Caomhin

Mansour Dadullah Captured

Great news on the Afghan front as Mansour Dadullah has been captured. Dadullah took over for his brother as chief terrorist in charge in Afghanistan after the other Dadullah got taken out by our forces. What makes this catch especially strong is that it occurred during the ongoing debate in NATO about supporting the effort in Afghanistan. I'm sure this will only help secure and reaffirm the effort. It's interesting to note as well that he was taken in Pakistan. That's even better yet as I'm sure the Pakistanis will have no problems harshly interrogating Dadullah. It also raises a stronger possibility that al-Qaeda and the Taliban had jointly assassinated Benazir Bhutto. It's also important to note that Dadullah is pretty close with bin Laden as well as Taliban leaders. I hope the Pakistanis milk him for all the information he has that can help the Afghans, the Pakistanis, and the NATO alliance in the fight against global radical Islamic extremism. Very good news indeed.

-Caomhin

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