A Foreign Policy in Shambles

Weak Obama Has Emboldened Putin
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was mocked in 2008 for warning that Russia'a Vladimir Putin may invade Ukraine if Barack Obama were elected President, and the former GOP vice presidential nominee on Monday said that President Barack Obama's weakness has emboldened Putin and perhaps even the Chinese. "Anyone who carries the commonsense gene would know that Putin doesn't change his stripes," Palin said. "He harkens back to the era of the czars... and he wants that Russian empire to grow again to exert huge power and dominance." 

Putin Adviser Urges Dumping US Bonds In Reaction to Sanctions
authorities would issue general advice to dump US government bonds in the event of Russian companies and individuals being targeted by sanctions over events in Ukraine. Sergei Glazyev said the United States would be the first to suffer in the event of any sanctions regime.

Russian warships pass through Istanbul’s Bosphorus sea, Turkey intercepts Russian jets
The two ships, which were usually based in the eastern Mediterranean to monitor developments in Syria, are now on their way to Crimea due to the latest situation there. Eight Turkish F-16 fighter jets intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane that had flown parallel to Turkish coast in international airspace on Tuesday. Turkey’s General Staff said on its website that an IL-20-type reconnaissance jet had flown parallel to Turkey’s Black Sea coast in international airspace. The Turkish Air Force responded by sending eight F-16 fighter jets to intercept it, the statement said.  

Russia warns could 'reduce to zero' economic dependency on US
Russia could reduce to zero its economic dependency on the United States if Washington agreed sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine...warning that the American financial system faced a "crash" if this happened. "We would find a way not just to reduce our dependency on the United States to zero but to emerge from those sanctions with great benefits for ourselves,"... 

Russia, China react to Obama’s sanctions threat by testing nuclear missiles
Russia test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from a test site in southern Russia on Tuesday evening, a Russian defense ministry spokesman said. U.S. intelligence agencies recently confirmed China’s development of a new intermediate-range nuclear missile (IRBM) called the Dongfeng-26C (DF-26C),U.S. officials said. 

A Foreign Policy in Shambles
American foreign policy is in the worst disarray of the past 195 years, and our Secretary of State thinks "climate change" (formerly "global warming" and before that "the new Ice Age") is our greatest problem.

The Russian Bear Roars
There’s an old Jewish saying: “A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you’re in deep trouble.” President Barack Obama and his foreign policy advisers would have profited if they had been aware of this. Instead, the president went ahead with a 90-minute phone conversation on March 1, 2014 with President Vladimir Putin of Russia about the situation in Ukraine. 

Lawmakers allow Putin to use military in Ukraine
Russia's parliament granted President Vladimir Putin permission to use the country's military in Ukraine and also recommended Saturday that Moscow's ambassador be recalled from Washington over comments made by President Barack Obama.

Ukraine: Putin's Crimea aim is to make the West look weak
If you want to invade a country, it’s important to call it a liberation. Over the coming weeks and months, that’s what we’re going to see in Ukraine. In fact it has started already. Just look at the Crimea. Troops in unmarked uniforms have started guarding the region’s main airport. They’re being assisted by some local people. After all, they’re just there to help.

Bolton: Kremlin 'laughing' at Obama
Warns U.S. in decline as Russia asserts itself worldwide. The Kremlin is breaking out in laughter over the response by President Obama and members of his administration to Russia’s moves in the Ukraine, charged former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton in a radio interview Sunday. 

Ukraine mobilizes troops after Russia's 'declaration of war'
As Ukraine's new leaders accused Russia of declaring war, Russia's PrimeMinister warned Sunday that blood could be spilled amid growing instability in the neighboring nation. Kiev mobilized troops and called up military reservists in a rapidly escalating crisis that has raised fears of a conflict. And world leaders pushed for a diplomatic solution. 

Nato supports Ukraine's territorial integrity against Russian occupation
The allied countries under Nato command have condemned Russia’s military occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea, as world leaders threaten to oust Moscow from the G8 economic club. “Nato allies will continue to support Ukrainian sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity,” said the North Atlantic Council, Nato’s main decision-making body, on Sunday (2 March), in a statement.  

Nato warns that Russia is risking Europe's peace and security
Ukraine has mobilised for war amid warnings from Nato that Russia's annexation of Crimea "threatens peace and security in Europe". With tension nearing boiling point, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato Secretary General, vowed the organisation would stand by Ukraine, a nation of 46 million which occupies a vital strategic position between Europe and Russia

Putin has miscalculated – Ukraine will not be an easy victory
Moscow has consistently misread Ukraine. Putin's repressive agenda since his return to the Kremlin in May 2012 has meant insistence on the West as a threat to Russia.  

Ukraine Puts Forces On Combat Alert, Says Intervention Would Lead To War
Ukraine put its armed forces on full combat alert on Saturday and warned Russia that any military intervention in the country would lead to war.

HOUSE INTEL CHIEF: 'Putin Is Playing Chess, And We're Playing Marbles'
Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, criticized the U.S.'s response to Russian aggression in the Crimea region of Ukraine, suggesting that President Barack Obama was being outsmarted by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. "Putin is playing chess, and I think we are playing marbles — and I don't think it's even close," Rogers said on "Fox News Sunday."

Ukraine orders full military mobilisation over Russia moves
Ukraine has ordered a full military mobilisation in response to Russia's build-up of its forces in Crimea. Acting President Olexander Turchynov has ordered the closure of airspace to all non-civilian aircraft. US President Barack Obama has called Russian troop deployments a "violation of Ukrainian sovereignty". 

Ukraine asks UN to stop Russian ‘aggression’
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations asked an emergency session of the Security Council on Saturday “to do everything possible now” to stop Russia’s “aggression” as its troops took over the strategic Crimea region.

Putin: Russia has right to use force in Ukraine
Putin said Moscow reserves the right to use all means to protect Russians in Ukraine as US Secretary of State John Kerry was on his way to Kiev. Tensions remained high in the strategic Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea with troops loyal to Moscow firing warning shots to ward off protesting Ukrainian soldiers.  

Putin: Russia reserves right to use 'all means' to protect the citizens of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia reserves the right to use "all means" to protect the citizens of Ukraine. Putin said the use of force by Russia in Ukraine was a choice of "last resort." ...Putin also said Russia reserved the right to intervene if there was "lawlessness" in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's Yanukovych asked for troops, Russia tells UN
Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych asked Russia to send troops across the border to protect civilians, Moscow's UN envoy has claimed. Vitaly Churkin told a Security Council meeting Mr Yanukovych wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday. Thousands of Russian troops have been pouring into Ukraine's Crimea region.