Russia

  I wrote this in 2008 after Russia took over Georgia:

Russia is not our friend.  Russia has never been our friend.  Russia will never be our friend. 

Russia as a part of the Soviet Union teamed up with Hitler against us at the beginning of WW II.  Then, when Hitler reneged on their partnership and invaded Russia the Soviet Union cried "Uncle".  We saved their butts in WW II.  This was a gross mistake.  A proven military strategy of the ages is when two of your adversaries go at it with one another stay out of the fray and let then annihilate each other, then go in and take over the spoils

The Soviet Union came into the war against Japan only after they learned we had the atom bomb and intended to use it.  They wanted to grab as much real estate on the Korean Peninsular as possible.  The 38th Parallel was established because that is where the Americans and Russians met.  Shortly after the occupation of Japan the Russians attempted to extend the 38th Parallel across Northern Japan thereby also dividing Japan.  Fortunately, MacArthur stopped it by dispatching combat ready troops (including yours truly) to the beaches of Western Japan with orders to stop any landing by the Russians.  Therein began MacArthur's problems with President Truman.  He thought MacArthur had made a political policy decision and MacArthur thought he made a sane military decision.  I agree with MacArthur.

In Europe the Soviet Union successfully achieved a "political policy" that divided Germany with Berlin in the Russian occupied territory.  Berlin by "political policy" agreement was divided.  It was occupied by the Allies and Americans in one sector with the Russians in the other sector.  Russia blockaded the Allies and American occupied part of Berlin.  Truman instigated the Berlin Airlift to supply Berlin with the critical supplies needed to survive.  The United States then entered into an extended period of an arms race that came to be know as the Cold War. The Russians opposed the United States at every turn in the United Nations.  They openly supported and supplied the Viet Cong during the Viet Nam war.  All this time the "political policy" of the United States was to mollify the Russians.  It was only when President Reagan had the intestinal fortitude to face down the Soviets that they collapsed leaving Mother Russia intact.

The next several presidents pursued a policy of appeasement and accommodation of Russia to bring them out of chaos into the world of nations and the organization of nations that became known as the G-8.  President Bush looked into Putin's eyes and saw "goodness in his soul."  Horse pucky!  How gullible can a leader of the United States be?  What Bush really should have seen was "KGB" and acted accordingly.  When Russia was down we should have taken necessary steps to keep them down.  I learned a long time ago in the army that when you have an adversary down you keep him down because he can get up and beat the hell out of you.  A guy attacked me and I knocked him down twice and each time let him get up.  The second time he came up with a club (the wooden brace out of the end of a canvas folding cot) and beat the hell out of me before some guys pulled him off.  I learned a hard lesson, a lesson our nation could do well to learn.

Now, thanks to American technology exported to Russia they have found and developed oil rich areas especially in the Arctic regions.  They are now even claiming Russian sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean all the way to the North Slope of Alaska.  With the sky high price of oil the Russians suddenly have money and lots of it.  The Europeans have become almost totally dependent on Russia to supply them oil and gas with pipe lines from Russia and controlled by Russia.  That now brings us to the goings on in the small but critically independent country of Georgia that was a former part of the old Soviet Union.  The only pipe lines flowing oil and gas to Western Europe from that area passes through Georgia which was not controlled by Russia.

The August 8, 2008 attack by Russia to take over Georgia was planned months ago and timed to coincide with the opening on August 8, 2008 of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, while the world's attention was diverted to the Olympics.  With Bush out of the country and Putin in China, he played his hand.  Putin left immediately to direct the takeover of Georgia with his objective to control the flow of gas and oil to Europe, and restore the original old Soviet Union so it can rise to the power of its former self with enough force to face down the rest of the world.  No need for Putin to worry about the Europeans.  They are wimps.  The United States shows a lack of unity and is split in the throes of an upcoming election between two presumptive presidential candidates neither of which is of forceful dedicated leadership strong enough to face down Russia.  Putin is smiling.

So where does this leave us?  Russia regaining its former evil empire to exert its force world-wide while we, the United States, twiddle our thumbs and contemplate what to do.  We cannot forever be the saviors of the world.  We have to re-direct our efforts to what is best for us.  Much of the world perceives us a giant marshmallow.  Then, too, there is China to worry about.  But, that's a whole different situation.  The future does not look that bright.  The final results are not going to be pretty.  Thank God I'm 80 years old and probably won't live to see it. 

Now, fast forward to  March, 2014:

So, here we are.  Same movie,  same actor, different locale.  Three weeks ago Putin invaded Crimea with unmarked soldiers and armaments but known to be Russian troops and occupied that part of Ukraine while our president Obama fumbles with his feckless foreign policy.  He finally issued weak sanctions and then was off to a fund raiser, played golf, filled out his "March Madness" bracket, went on TV comedy shows to promote his Obamacare disaster, and sent his wife, mother-in-law and kids to China on an expensive holiday vacation, all the while the entire nation is obsessed with wall-to-wall TV coverage of the mysterious disappearance of the Malaysia Flight 370 Boeing-777 airplane.  Putin is still smiling.