Don Roach: Obama Loses Showdown with Putin
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
There’s really no way to put it.
Last Friday, President Obama told Russia that “there will be costs” to any Russian military intervention in the Crimean region of the Ukraine. If you are unaware, Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, was recently removed from his position as a result of significant political unrest in the country. Not only that, an arrest warrant was issued for Yanukovych over the recent deaths of Ukrainian protesters.
Much of the political unrest in Ukraine, to make a long story short, stems from Yanukovych’s November 2013 decision to step away from talks that would strengthen ties between Ukraine and the European Union. Afterwards, Ukrainians took to the streets in displeasure over the move. Fast forward a few months, Yanukovych was out and Obama told Russia not to move into the Ukraine or face the consequences. So how did Russia respond?
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTOne day after Obama told Russia to stay out of Ukraine, Russia sent 16,000 troops to Ukraine.
Let me repeat and format that sentence for effect.
One day after Obama told Russia to stay out of Ukraine, Russia sent 16,000 troops to Ukraine.
Has the United States become a paper tiger?
I understand that for decade Russia and the US were embroiled in a Cold War. I get that, but I also get that that Cold War should have ended back in what, 1989? I also recall an America that was a leader on the world stage who could speak and people would at least pause before acting.
Not so with Obama’s latest tough talk. Instead, Russia made moves to protect its interests in Ukraine. I don’t care what Putin says about why he’s moved troops into Ukraine, it’s all about Russia and nothing about what the Ukrainian people want. The Ukrainian people wanted stronger ties with the EU and Ukraine’s Parliament booted ex-President Yanukovych because of the fallout that resulted when he took those ties off the table.
But what is bothersome to me is how little power it appears our “big stick” has in the world. Prior to Russia moving into Crimea there was no Obama-Putin conversation (that happened afterwards) and what’s more Obama’s talk polarized his position.
If you say there will be costs if you move into Crimea, now that Russia has done just that, there must be costs to the Russians.
And no, I don’t believe boycotting the G8 summit constitutes as “costs”? If our answer to military action is to simply not talk no, doesn’t that sound more like someone who’d move troops to Iraq than the guy who promised “change we can believe in”?
When I first saw Obama’s comments, I thought they were some of the most idiotic and reckless comments he’s made. No, I’m not sitting in the war room discussing diplomacy on a daily basis but I have negotiated with people before. They usually tell you not to put a threat out there unless you’re willing to back it up.
Putin called Obama’s bluff. And America shot back with a boycott.
I guess this is what diplomacy looks like in the Obama administration. 2016 can’t come soon enough!
Don can be reached at [email protected] . You can also follow Don on Twitter at @donroach34.
Related Slideshow: 13 Best MINDSETTER™ Columns of 2013
Related Articles
- Don Roach: An Equitable Solution to Illegal Immigration
- Don Roach: 38 Studios Was Never a Good Investment
- Don Roach: Are Beautiful White Females The Only Murder Victims We Care About?
- Don Roach: Can We Believe Raimondo?
- Don Roach: Don’t Frisk Me, Bro
- Don Roach: Head-Scratchers From The Past Week
- Don Roach: Is The Master Lever So Bad?
- Don Roach: Making Sense of the Newtown Tragedy
- Don Roach: Newt Fights Back in South Carolina
- Don Roach: Obama- A Case Study In Deceit
- Don Roach: RI GOP’s Passionate Pursuit of Mediocrity
- Don Roach: The Fiscal Cliff and Rhode Island
- Don Roach: Welcome to the Era of Social Media Wars
- Don Roach: You Bet Cicilline is Sorry
- Don Roach Reacts to David Cicilline’s Victory
- Don Roach: 5 Big Stories Facing RI in 2014
- Don Roach: Are You Ready to Kill Syrians?
- Don Roach: Carcieri Makes Chafee Look Like a Genius
- Don Roach: Fiscal Cliff? What Fiscal Cliff?
- Don Roach: Hinckley Closing in on Senator Whitehouse
- Don Roach: It’s Doherty or Bust for Rhode Island
- Don Roach: Marriage Equality Advocates Don’t Love All Minorities
- Don Roach: Newt Gingrich – Your Next U.S. President
- Don Roach: Occupy & the Tea Party – Twins Separated at Birth
- Don Roach: RI Politicians Don’t Know Jack About Business
- Don Roach: The Power Of Poverty
- Don Roach: What Happened to the Occupy Movement?
- NEW: State Rep. Dan Gordon Reacts to Rep. Carnevale’s Arrest
- Don Roach: 50 Years Later, The Negro Is Free
- Don Roach’s Political Wish List
- Don Roach: 5 Most Intriguing Stories from 2012
- Don Roach: Assessing Blame for the Latest Fiscal Crisis
- Don Roach: Chafee’s Switch Doesn’t Matter… To Anyone
- Don Roach: Fung Gains Cranston GOP Endorsement as Block Falters
- Don Roach: How Will the Next RI GOP Chair Restore Credibility?
- Don Roach: Jim Langevin Should be Very Afraid of Mike Riley
- Don Roach: Megyn Kelly Needs a Serious Reality Check
- Don Roach: No Significant Need To Wear Your Seat Belt
- Don Roach: Paul Ryan will Not Win Over Rhode Island
- Don Roach: RI Sales Tax Needs to go
- Don Roach: There Will Be Blood
- Don Roach: When Is Enough Enough, Rhode Island?
- SEEN: Gordon Ramsay & More Celebs in the 401
- Don Roach: A Conversation with Representative Brian Newberry
- Don Roach: Immigration reform appears imminent
- Don Roach: 5 Reasons Conservatives Don’t Trust Romney
- Don Roach: Black History Month Needs to Go
- Don Roach: Cicilline & Gemma Make the Case for Doherty
- Don Roach: GOP Relevancy for Dummies
- Don Roach: Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Obama Diplomacy
- Don Roach: Jockeying for Position in the 2014 Governor’s Race
- Don Roach: Mike Riley can Beat Jim Langevin
- Don Roach: North Korea’s Napoleon Complex
- Don Roach: Paula Deen, Affirmative Action + 21st-Century Racism
- Don Roach: Religious Freedom isn’t Important to Obama
- Don Roach: Too Many Vacancies in Occupy Movement
- Don Roach: When Rights Collide – Homosexuality and Religion
- Seen: Bill Murray, Gordon Ramsay, & More…
- Don Roach: A Moment of Truth for Mitt Romney
- Don Roach: ‘Choose Life’ License Plates Another Win For Tolerance
- Don Roach: 5 Reasons Taxing the Rich is Stupid
- Don Roach: Black People are Getting Lost in the American Shuffle
- Don Roach: David Cicilline Ruined Providence
- Don Roach: Gay marriage debate at the tipping point
- Don Roach: I Am a Republican…We’re Idiots
- Don Roach: Just Say No to In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants
- Don Roach: My Education Crusade - An Interview with Deborah Gist
- Don Roach: OMG! The Government Shuts Down!
- Don Roach: Political Things I’m Thankful For
- Don Roach: Rhode Island Needs a Sales Tax Holiday
- Don Roach: Trying To Make Sense Of The Zimmerman Verdict
- Don Roach: Who is Clay Pell?
- Don Roach: After Iowa, What Next?
- Don Roach: 10 Things I Want for Christmas
- Don Roach: 5 Things We Learned on Election Day
- Don Roach: Blind Faith in Cicilline is Reckless
- Don Roach: Deborah Gist, You Go Girl!
- Don Roach: Gemma Looks to Expose Cicilline
- Don Roach: I Didn’t Watch the Inauguration
- Don Roach: Latinos Are The Key to the Republican Revolution
- Don Roach: My Education Crusade Begins Today
- Don Roach: Obama Campaign Takes Cue from Karl Rove
- Don Roach: President Obama has Failed to Turn Around the Economy
- Don Roach: Rhode Island’s Christmas Carol
- Don Roach: Vote Republican in 2012
- Don Roach: Why President Obama Won Last Night’s Debate
- Don Roach: Allan Fung Needs to be RI’s Next Governor
- Don Roach: 2012 Election Predictions
- Don Roach: 5 Things to Watch for in 2012
- Don Roach: Boston Bombing—The Latest Challenge To Our Freedom
- Don Roach: Diversity is Overrated
- Don Roach: Good Intentions Often Lead to Hell
- Don Roach: If Cicilline Wins In 2012, Voters Lose
- Don Roach: Let’s Get Ready To Rumble
- Don Roach: NECAP and Gist
- Don Roach: Obama Goes on the Offensive
- Don Roach: Providence City Council Unanimously Votes Republican
- Don Roach: Super Tuesday, The Day of Reckoning?
- Don Roach: Wake Me When the CD-1 Race Begins
- Don Roach: Will Gemma Knock Off Cicilline?