Vice President Biden warned supporters during the campaign:
“Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy [Obama]…I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate.”
While we are in a struggle with Obama’s road to serfdom, the world is a dangerous place – and also in economic turmoil. The European Union is struggling to survive, as the eastern bloc of new democracies are in need of bailouts. Because of this, nationalism is on the rise. Will the stronger countries in Europe let the weaker ones struggle on their own?
And then – there is Russia. A student of 20th Century European history is now wondering if history will repeat itself. Will Obama protect the eastern democracies that were protected under George Bush, or will he sell them out?
UPDATE! 3/4
Russia Snubs Obama Overture
Pajamas Media
by Kim Zigfeld
On Tuesday, it was reported that U.S. President Barack Obama had written a “secret letter” last month to Russian “president” Dmitri Medvedev. The letter seemed to propose that the U.S. would back away from its planned missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Russia would force Iran to shut down its long-range missile program.
When asked about the document, Obama stated:
What I said in the letter was that obviously to the extent that we are lessening Iran’s commitment to nuclear weapons, then that reduces the pressure for or the need for a missile defense system. In no way does that in any — does that diminish my commitment to making sure that Poland, the Czech Republic and other NATO members are fully enjoying the partnership, the alliance and U.S. support with respect to their security.
Assume for a moment that Obama did not intend to offer a quid pro quo along the lines of Munich that would sell America’s allies in Eastern Europe down the river, exposing them to Russian power and signaling American willingness to let Russia swallow them. Still, the context in which this letter was sent and the fact that its contents were leaked indicate that Obama has badly bungled his first effort at relations with Russia. Such a result is the entirely predictable result of his total lack of foreign policy experience.
Russian President Won’t “Haggle” Over US Missile Defense Plans
DW-WORLD.DE
Russia | 03.03.2009
Russian President Medvedev has said he’s willing to discuss the proposed US missile shield with Washington. But he added that any deal linking those talks with negotiations regarding Iran would not be productive.
Russian President Dimitry Medvedev’s comments came in response to a New York Times report that US President Barack Obama had written a secret letter to his Russian counterpart offering to halt the planned missile shield, which would be located mainly in Poland and the Czech Republic, in return for Moscow’s help in stopping Iran from developing long-range nuclear weapons.
The Russian president welcomed the “positive signals” coming from the Obama administration with which he said he hoped to reach “agreements.” “Haggling,” however, was “not productive,” added Medvedev on Tuesday, March 3.
The Russian president also said Obama’s letter had not presented the issue in such a way.
Obama on Tuesday said the Times report did not “accurately characterize the letter” he sent Medvedev.
“What I said in the letter was that, obviously, to the extent that we are lessening Iran’s commitment to nuclear weapons, then that reduces the pressure for — or the need for a missile-defense system,” he said.
Earlier, Medvedev’s spokeswoman Natalya Timakova confirmed the receipt of a letter, but added that “there were no concrete proposals about any mutually binding decisions.”
On Sunday, the Russia president was quoted as saying that Moscow was waiting for new US proposals to resolve the missile dispute.
The Times’ sources said while the letter did not offer a direct quid pro quo deal, it was intended to give Moscow an incentive to join the United States in a common front against Iran.
“It’s almost saying to them, put up or shut up,” an unnamed senior official told the newspaper. “It’s not that the Russians get to say, ‘We’ll try and therefore you have to suspend.’ It says the threat has to go away.”
Russia has been bitterly opposed to the deployment of a US missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic ever since it was proposed by the former US President George W. Bush’s administration. Moscow believes the interceptor system is aimed at Russia. Bush officials have said it was meant to counter missile threats from states such as Iran.
Medvedev had warned last year that Moscow would deploy nuclear-capable Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave bordered by Lithuania and Poland, in response to the plans.
There are indications that the missile defense shield will be on the agenda between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when they meet on Friday.
Iran has repeatedly rejected calls by the UN Security Council — of which Russia and the United States are permanent members — to halt uranium enrichment, despite the imposition of three sets of sanctions. The United States and its European allies believe that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge that Tehran denies, saying that the program is purely civilian.
Iran recently began testing its Bushehr nuclear plant, a construction project run by Russia. Last week, Tehran said its first nuclear power station could go on line within months.
On Monday, Clinton reiterated Washington’s willingness to engage with Iran if it “unclenches its fist.” This represents a clear switch in policy from the previous US administration, which made talks dependent upon Iran halting the enrichment process.
Russian news agencies cited Lavrov as saying that US talks with Iran could help to end the international standoff over its nuclear program and boost regional security.
Drudge Report
RUSSIA BRUSHES OFF OBAMA: NO ‘HAGGLING’
Tue Mar 03 2009 09:15:17 ET
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Tuesday showed willingness to discuss the US-planned missile defense system opposed by Moscow, but without ‘haggling’ linking it to Iran.
Medvedev was commenting during a visit to Spain on an alleged offer by US President Barack Obama to halt the defense system if Iran could be convinced to give up nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in Madrid, Medvedev welcomed the ‘positive signals’ coming from the Obama administration with which he hoped to reach ‘agreements.’
‘Haggling,’ however, was not ‘productive,’ Medvedev said.
Novosti
MOSCOW, March 2 (RIA Novosti) – Washington has told Moscow that Russian help in resolving Iran’s nuclear program would make its missile shield plans for Europe unnecessary, a Russian daily said on Monday, citing White House sources.
U.S. President Barack Obama made the proposal on Iran in a letter to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, Kommersant said, referring to unidentified U.S. officials.
Iran’s controversial nuclear program was cited by the U.S. as one of the reasons behind its plans to deploy a missile base in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic. The missile shield has been strongly opposed by Russia, which views it as a threat to its national security. The dispute has strained relations between the former Cold War rivals, already tense over a host of other differences.
The leaders have exchanged letters and had a telephone conversation since Obama was sworn into office in January, Kommersant said. The first high-level Russia-U.S. meeting will take place later this week, when Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva.
Moscow has not yet responded to the proposal by Obama, the paper said, adding that a decision was unlikely to be made during Lavrov and Clinton’s meeting.
The issue is likely to be discussed when Obama and Medvedev meet in London on April 2 on the sidelines of the G20 summit of world leaders to address the financial crisis. Earlier reports said Medvedev had also invited the U.S. leader to visit Russia and the date of Obama’s first visit to the largest country in the world could be announced in the British capital.
In an interview on Sunday with Spanish media, Medvedev said he hoped to discuss the issue of missile defense with Obama in London. He also said he hoped the new U.S. administration would display a “more creative approach” to the issue than its predecessors.
“We have received signals from our American colleagues,” Medvedev said. “I expect those signals will turn into specific proposals. I hope to discuss the issue, which is extremely important for Europe, with U.S. President Barack Obama.”
The United States and other Western nations suspect Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is purely aimed at generating electricity. However, unlike his predecessor, George W. Bush, Obama has stated a preference for diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on the NBC television channel on Sunday that the Islamic Republic was not close to building a nuclear bomb. “They’re not close to a stockpile, they’re not close to a weapon at this point, and so there is some time,” Gates said.
Gates also said that the while more sanctions should be imposed against Iran, the door should not be closed to diplomacy.
Filed under: News, Obamaworld, Politics | Tagged: Barack Obama, Biden, European Union, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Medvedev, missile shield, nuclear program, Obama, Obamaworld, President Bush, Putin, Russia
