Of course, depends upon your definition of such.
Even the muddle-headed John Kerry was recently heard to concede that Russia has “legitimate interests” in Ukraine. In challenging Russia over Ukraine the West isn't just crossing some imaginary “red line” that Obama is so fond of proclaiming again and again. In installing a neo-fascist, rabidly anti-Russian regime in Kiev, it has crossed the double-yellow, guaranteeing a head-on collision.
Question is, which side will survive that collision: the Russian tank column, or John Kerry's limo? The West's opening gambit is to deny visas and freeze accounts of certain Russian officials and businessmen, who either don't have bank accounts in the West or have already pulled the money out last Friday (to the tune of a couple hundred billion dollars) and aren't planning to travel to the US.
Russia promised to respond “symmetrically.” In its arsenal is: popping the huge financial bubble and causing a resumption of the financial collapse of 2008 by any number of means, from requiring gold instead of fiat currency as payment for oil and gas, to dumping US dollar reserves (in concert with China), to putting the EU on a fast track to economic collapse by giving the natural gas valve a slight clockwise twist, to leaving US and NATO troops in Afghanistan (who are about to start evacuating) stranded and without resupply by declaring force majeure on the cooperative arrangement currently in effect, where much of their resupply route is allowed to pass through Russian territory.
That's if Russia chose to act decisively. But Russia could also choose to do little or nothing, and then just the financial contagion from Ukraine's forthcoming bond default and financial jitters over Ukrainian chaos disrupting natural gas deliveries to Europe could be enough to topple the West's teetering financial house of cards.
More @ ClubOrlov
"...which side will survive that collision: the Russian tank column, or John Kerry's limo?"
ReplyDeleteAnd Obama's big talk speech tonight regarding ISIL will never happen. Oh, we will bomb them 'some', but even the Kenyan knows that what he suggested tonight will never take place.
If he does, the arms will end up going to ISIS.
DeleteExcellent, thanks and posted.
ReplyDeletePutin could quite easily do to us what we did to the old Soviet Union back in the 1980s. First I do not think we have a manufacturing base large enough to compete in an arms war. Second we have a girlie man as President that hates the military. And finally, we are broke. If Putin decided to begin a large-scale military build-up America would either have to admit defeat or would go broke trying to keep up. Perhaps China would give us a good deal on some used Chinese AKs and old tanks.
ReplyDeleteI do not think Putin wants to completely destroy the United States. He is far too smart for that. Strong as Russia is he doubts its ability to manage a world in meltdown. Removing America from the game would do just that send the world into chaos. American aid has to the only thing keeping about 70% of the countries in the world going. Remove that and everything implodes. I am sure Putin will continue to make Obama look like the impenitent moron he is but he still needs America on the field.
Badger
Some good thoughts.
DeleteThree things the US gov is good at is blackmail, threatening, & punishing.
ReplyDeleteMake that four: false flags.
Good point and there are probably more, come to think of it.
Delete