The reason Putin has power is because the EU decided to be cheap and buy Russian oil.

Weaken that dependency and Russia loses teeth.

But weakening that requires:

- investment in alternative sources
- investment in oil producing sources
- decreasing a monoculture dependency on fossil fuels.
- investment in efficient infrastructure


Europe's cheapness has made Russia powerful enough to threaten.

(March 4, 2014 at 4:10 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: It's funny how Barack Obama is making threats and acting hostile to Russia, but the lefties on this board still find a way to say that it's all the Republicans, everything is the fault of Republicans. I swear that some of you guys can find a way to blame literally anything on Republicans.

You must have conveniently skipped over all my posts.

(March 4, 2014 at 4:10 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: It's funny how Barack Obama is making threats and acting hostile to Russia, but the lefties on this board still find a way to say that it's all the Republicans, everything is the fault of Republicans. I swear that some of you guys can find a way to blame literally anything on Republicans.

Because Bush did such a good job with Putin's move on Georgia, huh?

Nearly 70% of Americans were against military action in Syria. That is the legacy of two futile wars waged by...oh, yeah, Bush.

Our actions in invading Iraq, Afghanistan and spinkling bombs all over the rest of the mid-east whenever it suits our fancy - and yes, in that Obama is no better than Bush - make our denunciations of Russian actions sound awfully hollow.

History does not suddenly get re-written because we had an election. And if either of those two assholes, McCain or Romney, had won we'd be in wars up to our eyebrows right now in Iraq, Afghanistan and probably Yemen and Syria. We'd still be in no position to confront Russia.

(March 4, 2014 at 7:59 pm)Minimalist Wrote:

(March 4, 2014 at 4:10 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: It's funny how Barack Obama is making threats and acting hostile to Russia, but the lefties on this board still find a way to say that it's all the Republicans, everything is the fault of Republicans. I swear that some of you guys can find a way to blame literally anything on Republicans.

Because Bush did such a good job with Putin's move on Georgia, huh?

Nearly 70% of Americans were against military action in Syria. That is the legacy of two futile wars waged by...oh, yeah, Bush.

Our actions in invading Iraq, Afghanistan and spinkling bombs all over the rest of the mid-east whenever it suits our fancy - and yes, in that Obama is no better than Bush - make our denunciations of Russian actions sound awfully hollow.

History does not suddenly get re-written because we had an election. And if either of those two assholes, McCain or Romney, had won we'd be in wars up to our eyebrows right now in Iraq, Afghanistan and probably Yemen and Syria. We'd still be in no position to confront Russia.

America is *weird*. Never won a war, but entered a lot of them, just to face internal opposition and retreating like mutts with their tails between their legs.
I don't know why anyone even takes you seriously. Worst world power ever in history.
Not that I'm much of a supporter of Russia, but I don't think that this is the first humiliation you will have to endure in its hands.

(March 4, 2014 at 8:33 pm)kılıç_mehmet Wrote: America is *weird*. Never won a war, but entered a lot of them, just to face internal opposition and retreating like mutts with their tails between their legs.
I don't know why anyone even takes you seriously. Worst world power ever in history.
Not that I'm much of a supporter of Russia, but I don't think that this is the first humiliation you will have to endure in its hands.

Did you forget WWI and WWII? Did you forget Iraq? Is being ignorant a requirement of your fascist views?

And the Barbary Pirates.

And Grenada...and Panama....and Somalia.

I would have been upset with a Russian move of this nature, but then I remembered how much a shitty ally the US had in Georgia, so yeah....then again, totally different situation now.

(March 4, 2014 at 8:49 pm)rasetsu Wrote:

(March 4, 2014 at 8:33 pm)kılıç_mehmet Wrote: America is *weird*. Never won a war, but entered a lot of them, just to face internal opposition and retreating like mutts with their tails between their legs.
I don't know why anyone even takes you seriously. Worst world power ever in history.
Not that I'm much of a supporter of Russia, but I don't think that this is the first humiliation you will have to endure in its hands.

Did you forget WWI and WWII? Did you forget Iraq? Is being ignorant a requirement of your fascist views?

Did you win WWI or WWII for that matter?
You entered it after the lot of the fighting was done.
Not to discredit your involvement, though you didn't win WWII. And you wouldn't be able to conquer Japan without further interal whining so you dropped nukes on their cities to force them into surrender.

As for Iraq. Yeah, considering that it was a NATO operation....
I can credit you for like winning a few battles in the Philippines.

Quote:Somalia

You consider that a win?

In all, I think the people of the US, in their current state, are weak, and lack the stomach to fight a war. Though on the other hand, I don't think that any country can actually invade the US, as most of its citizens have easy access to weaponry and can easily form well-armed militia groups to defend themselves.
The US should stay where it is, in the new world, and detach from the matters of the old world. They aren't able to make much of a difference anyways.

---

(March 4, 2014 at 11:46 pm)Polaris Wrote: I would have been upset with a Russian move of this nature, but then I remembered how much a shitty ally the US had in Georgia, so yeah....then again, totally different situation now.

Why are you upset? In your signature, it reads "end to American imperialism and militarism", which is what Uncle Putin is trying to archive. They strike at vital points.

(March 4, 2014 at 4:10 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: It's funny how Barack Obama is making threats and acting hostile to Russia, but the lefties on this board still find a way to say that it's all the Republicans, everything is the fault of Republicans. I swear that some of you guys can find a way to blame literally anything on Republicans.

Considering what we're dealing with here it's not at all surprising....The left are blind sheep of an intolerant and naive ideology. They live in a bubble world where all is the way they imagine it to be, not as the real world actually is. That's how they govern. They can't imagine why anyone would think differently from them. That's why they try to intimidate, ridicule, and smear anyone who voices a different opinion from theirs. In their treacherous and anti- American bubble world America is the great evil picking on poor little dictators and terrorist nations like Putin, Saddam Hussein, Iran, North Korea,....funny how the left turns a blind eye to the evils those leaders and nations committed. Their naive approach to foreign policy is that we should try and understand why people are mad at the U.S., and then appease and capitulate so people across the world won't be angry with us. The United States is not the great evil. The great world evils are nations like Putin's Russia, China, Iran, Syria,...look at the atrocities and the civil rights abuses these nations are committing, America doesn't even come close. But you can't convince the naive and anti-American far-left of that....In real world events, peace comes through strength, not through appeasement and capitulation. If Europe and the United States would have dealt with Hitler and Tojo sooner instead of appeasing and ignoring them we would have possibly avoided WWII...I only hope that we can change things here in the midterms and get the leftwingers voted out of office.