Vlad the Hammer vs Obama the Wimp

[gurey25]

http://atimes.com/atimes/World/WOR-01-090813.html

THE ROVING EYE
Vlad the Hammer vs Obama the Wimp
By Pepe Escobar

Make a plan; then make another plan. Both won't work.
- Bertolt Brecht

This is getting ridiculous. The President of the United States (POTUS) screamed and shouted because he wanted his spy (Edward Snowden) back. Snowden, following Russian laws, was granted temporary asylum. The White House was "disappointed".

Then POTUS snubbed the bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow coinciding with the Group of 20 in St Petersburg in early September. The Kremlin was equally "disappointed".

Putin sent a telegram to George "Dubya" Bush - wishing him a quick recovery from heart surgery. [1] POTUS went to a US talk

show and said Russia tended to "slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality."

Brechtian distancing tells us that "ridiculous" does not even begin to describe it. The Cold War mentality is actually impregnated in the Beltway genes - from Capitol Hill to the Pentagon. As for POTUS, he acted like a diplomatic dilettante at best. "Yes, We Can" has morphed into "Yes, We Scan"; and now it's "Yes, We Scorn". This may apply to assorted poodles of European breeding, but it won't stick to Vlad the Hammer.

The White House justified its decision by "lack of progress" on everything including missile defense, arms control, trade and commercial relations, global security issues, human rights and civil society. Nonsense; this was all about an impotent POTUS prevented from prosecuting his war against whistleblowers. Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yury Ushakov, was closer to the truth when he said, "The US is not ready to build relations on an equal basis."

Vlad the Hammer can sense a wimp of Carter-esque proportions like a polar bear hunting a seal. He quickly evaluated how the Obama administration turned its already shaky credibility to ashes on two simultaneous fronts; because of the scale of the Orwellian/Panopticon complex detailed by Snowden's leaks, and because of the way he was being mercilessly hunted.

Adding a few more nails in the coffin of mainstream media, the New York Times posted an editorial - arguably "suggested" by the White House - justifying the cancelation of the summit, saying, "Mr Putin is a repressive and arrogant leader who treats his people with contempt." [2] Right; and Snow White lives in the White House.

All aboard the Trans-Siberian
POTUS's adolescent tantrum has nothing to do with Cold War. For starters, the US and Russia are mutually dependent on a vast array of issues. At least in theory, some adults will be discussing them in Washington this weekend, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Pentagon head Chuck Hagel.

Vlad just needs to say the word to turn the already humiliating US/NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan - as in having their asses kicked by a bunch of Pashtuns with fake Kalashnikovs - into a cataclysmic disaster.

Vlad can subtly calibrate Russia's support for Bashar al-Assad in Syria - especially after Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar "Bush" bin Sultan paid him a visit in Moscow and allegedly offered to buy loads of Russian weapons as long as Russia backed off. [3] Putin was not impressed. Still, Bandar would not have done that without "consulting" with his US masters.

Vlad can offer plenty of extra diplomatic support for the new Rouhani presidency in Iran - including, crucially, new weapons sales, and solidify Tehran's position in possible negotiations with Washington.

In the Caucasus, Vlad is on a roll. Georgia is way less antagonistic towards Moscow. And in Pipelineistan, Russia influenced Azerbaijan's decision to privilege the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) over the perennially doomed Nabucco West, and immediately moved to solidify energy cooperation between Azerbaijan's SOCAR and Russia's Rosneft. Both Georgia and Azerbaijan are considered as proverbial "staunch" US allies.

In Europe, every cruise ship pilot on the Rhine knows about Russia's strategic partnership with Germany. On negotiations on natural gas deals with Italy, France or Poland, for instance, the name of the Russian game is to secure long-term contracts with plenty of price breaks and tax schemes.

In Central and Eastern Europe Vlad is also - what else - on a roll, with Russia buying scores of strategic manufacturing, chemical and transport assets.

Then there's the crucial Trans-Siberian gambit. I did the Trans-Siberian twice, in winter, in the early 1990s and then in the late 1990s; it's one hell of a trip. At the time it was mostly about impoverished Russians buying everything in sight in China and wily Chinese selling everything they could in Russia. Nowadays it's all about heavy cargo. The Trans-Siberian moves no less than 120 million tons of cargo a year - and counting; that's at least 13% of container trade between Europe and Asia. Russia is investing in a US$17 billion expansion and adding 55 million extra tons of cargo capacity.

Add to it tripling the capacity of Russia's Pacific coast terminals by 2020; the expansion of St Petersburg's port; Siemens supplying 675 extra cargo electric locomotives as part of a $3.2 billion deal.

The name of the game here is Russia increasing its export of raw commodities by all means available. At least 250,000 barrels of oil a day - and counting - move from Russia to Asia. The upgraded Trans-Siberian will do wonders for Europe-Asia trade. Via the Trans-Siberian, Asian products reach Europe in 10 days; by sea, from South Korea or Japan, it's at least 28 days to Germany. No wonder Japan and South Korea are huge Trans-Siberian fans. And from a European point of view, nothing beats the cheaper, faster Trans-Siberian way to Asia.

Ain't got a clue
Cold War? That's part of the nostalgia business. With a comatose Europe; multiple frictions between Europe and the US; Beijing looking inward trying to solve the puzzle of tweaking its development model; and a paralyzed Obama administration, Moscow has identified the perfect opening and has embarked in no holds-barred, strategic commercial expansion.

The cluelessness of the Obama administration - not to mention US Think Tankland - cannot be overemphasized. Nobody in the Beltway has articulated a sound Russian policy - apart from demonizing Putin. That suits Vlad the Hammer fine; he's busy carefully constructing a new strategic reality not only in Europe's periphery but at the core as well. Russia is back - with a bang.

In this larger scheme of things, drifting towards a post-Post Cold War environment, the Snowden affair is just a piece of the puzzle. And here's where the personal perfectly mirrors the political. Vlad the Hammer knows exactly what he's doing - while Obama the wimp looks like a deer caught in a Trans-Siberian locomotive's headlights.

Notes:
1. In wishing Bush well, Putin has message for Obama, Reuters, August 8, 2013.
2. What's the Point of a Summit?, The New York Times, August 7, 2013.
3. Saudi offers Russia deal to scale back Assad support - sources, Reuters, August 7, 2013.

Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge. He has also written Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009).

He may be reached at pepeasia@yahoo.com.

(Copyright 2013 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

[SultanOrder]

Good read. WTF was Obama saying when he said "Russia goes back into cold war mentality," very unpresidential and ignorant to boast.

[FAH1223]

Good read. WTF was Obama saying when he said "Russia goes back into cold war mentality," very unpresidential and ignorant to boast.

Since Obama came to office in 2009, the US has no idea how to deal with Russia.

Bush was much more cozier with the Russians. Him and Putin are best buds lol

[Basra-]

gurey...... When it comes to my adopted country-- the GREAT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, I don't joke. Putin is a fcuking JOKE!!! As Obama derided and patronized him on his press conference, he said--Putin was slouching like a school boy. Obviously, Obama thinks he is smarter than Putin, and basically has him on the palm of his hands. Anytime a president openly calls another president a 'slouching like a school boy'--it clearly states there is an unequal relationship which could or could not be endearing. I think Obama thinks Putin is a dumb idiot who can be managed.

And as far as this article---I doubt Russia will ever reach any economic wonders. For a country that is rigged with extreme corrupt political and human right fiasco-- I doubt there will be any hope. Yes, it will grow like China, but look at where China is today. United States is Ordained by God to exist and stay the supreme ruler. WhY? Because---of its In God we trust slogan, because of its respect for human right and because of its unlimited democratic human freedom ever recorded in human history.


PS: If it was up to MOI...... I will have Obama influence the decision of cancelling the upcoming Olympics from Russia all together, and give it to another country. This intolerant, idiotic, African mentality of hostility on Gays---I say Russia should be handled like adoons are handled---- scolded, modern style colonized with sanctions and clever maneuverings, ostracized, and confined in their own depreciated currency, away from the civil global society!

[SultanOrder]

Basra, your in a completely different realm then the rest of us. BTW Obama didn't say that Putin slouches like a school boy but he was addressing the media that says he (Obama) slouches like a school boy when he sits with Putin.

[Basra-]

PO

U r absolutely right. I am in complete different realm from YOU, for example -- u r a UK-ian, while I am an American. Do not engage in American poilitics if you don't know anything about it. I know, in the press release (which I just did a quick YOUTUBE review) Obama did not specify whether it was him or he (putin) that was slouching like a school boy. However, if u follow American politics like I do-- u will learn, Obama was alluding to the body language in which the media had an extensive coverage between him and Mr. Putin last meeting. In the media, then, it was reported that Putin was bored and kinda disrespectful to the President.

[gurey25]

your focus on the slouching comment highlights exactly whats wrong with americans.
you have been turned into sheep, conditioned into focusing on irrelevancies and ignoring the big picture.
You no longer have credible news channels, your education system is failing, your economy is failing.
whats worse your constitution is unravelling and you are no longer a democracy and you are already in a surveillance state that would give stalin a wet dream.

putin has checkmated the us on several fronts.
the title is accurate, obama the cry baby while vlad is the impaler

[Shirib]

your focus on the slouching comment highlights exactly whats wrong with americans.
you have been turned into sheep, conditioned into focusing on irrelevancies and ignoring the big picture.
You no longer have credible news channels, your education system is failing, your economy is failing.
whats worse your constitution is unravelling and you are no longer a democracy and you are already in a surveillance state that would give stalin a wet dream.

putin has checkmated the us on several fronts.
the title is accurate, obama the cry baby while vlad is the impaler

That first paragraph hits the nail on the head when it comes to American society. Obama and his congress has pretty much taken all of our freedoms away and no one seems to even notice or care.

[Basra-]

gurey-- how can I take u serious? U hate America. U r a terrorist. End of Discussions.

[gurey25]

so this is the real definition of a terrorist right?
finally we have one...

in that case i would be happy to share this title with the rest of the world that hates Amurika!!!

proud to be terrorist...

sadly i like the old US, before it lost all its political and moral capital, the US that used to be loved throughout the world,
but now is an unrestrained bully, ceeb and spoiled brat.

even your bitches resent you, e.g Europe and South east Asia, you have nothing to frighten them with and you cannot bitchslapp them to bring them into line
so you will probably lose them soon.

[Basra-]

gurey--- the ONLY time I dislike u or I find u incoherent or disengaging, is when u attack the Great America. America a bully? That is sad. Did u ever consider America is compassionate, benevolent and worlds police? DO u disagree the world needs a police? DO u want the world to be like the current state of Somalia where everyone does whatever they want? I think u r going through America or Empire envy. All worlds empire went through this envy. The Roman Empire, the Egyptian empire, even that midget Napoleon's empire, they ALL went through people hating on them. The difference is--- We, American Empire --differ from them because we don't conquer and steal other lands wealth. We are rich ourselves. America is Blessed and ordained by the Almighty Allaah swt in plentiful and to last forever!! Our green powerful dollar has the slogan--"In God we Trust"! Long Live America! Alaaahu Akbaar! The land of the free and the brave!