Obama Seen Gaining On Putin As U.S. Prods EU On Sanctions -- Bloomberg
President Barack Obama’s response to the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine reflects the consensus of U.S. officials that time, evidence, and world opinion are increasingly on his side as he takes on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Secretary of State John Kerry cited the tragedy yesterday in an effort to prod Europeans into expanding sanctions against Russia, even at some peril to their own economies, in an effort to break Putin’s support for pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists. “We are trying to encourage our European friends to realize this is a wake-up call,” Kerry said on “Fox News Sunday,” invoking a phrase used last week by Obama.
Read more ....
My Comment: This is so typical of the U.S. press .... they believe that the affairs of the world are filtered through a Washington D.C. prism. In the past .... this was definitely the case .... but today .... not as much. The U.S. is not as engaged in world affairs as it use to be .... and in fact this White House is more focused on searching for an international consensus to a crisis rather than being the main "leader and spokesperson" in advancing a specific position. Why this is the case is open for debate .... but I suspect that this is what happens when the White House does not have a strategic vision .... and what is worse .... (and this is just my opinion) I suspect that some in the White House do not believe that the U.S. has the moral stature to be the leader in confronting an international crisis. Case in point .... Malaysian Flight MH17. This is the golden moment for the U.S. to rally reluctant European allies and countries to stand up to Moscow's support of the Russian rebel movement in Ukraine .... but instead we have US Secretary of State John Kerry flying to Egypt to try and broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel .... a ceasefire that will accomplish nothing but (maybe) put a temporary stop to a conflict that has been ongoing forever. As a result .... I find that many Europeans are no longer listening to the U.S. and more specifically they are tuning out President Obama .... and when they do listen to him it is with a reluctance that I find is disappointing and self serving. And in Russia itself .... Putin may be worried about the long term impact of economic sanctions (which he should) .... but in the short term .... his approval ratings among Russians are sky-high.
2 comments:
I feel like I'm watching
Jr. High School kids on
the playground trying to
out tough each other. I
expect a bit more out of
the US President than a
"I know what you are, but
what am I?"
ofs
OFS,
I said when he was elected that this guys is nothing but an ongoing bluff. Well Putin called him out and now the world either ignores him or laughs at him. The only people apparently afraid of him are Republicans.
Post a Comment