Quote:
Mitt Romney, Mr. Obama’s 2012 presidential challenger, made clear his own assessment during the campaign, saying repeatedly that Russia was America’s “No. 1 geopolitical foe” and arguing that Mr. Putin’s aggressive stance demanded a similar response from the American president.
On Tuesday, Mr. Obama offered his answer, saying that Mr. Putin leads a “regional power” whose real threat extends largely to its bordering nations. In language that seemed to be aimed at the highest ranks inside the Kremlin, Mr. Obama dismissed Russia as a country that is lashing out at its neighbors “not out of strength, but out of weakness.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/wo...ref=world&_r=0
But NATO itself is now weak and powerless:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editor...-impotence.htm
Quote:
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Checking out Rembrandts and checking in with European allies, President Obama seems blind to the rubble around him. The U.S. leadership vacuum has left NATO as ravaged as a post-World War II battlefield.
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Despite this, Obama vowes to defend Nato's members
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...570889098.html
Quote:
President Barack Obama cautioned Russia that it would face a swift response if it encroaches on countries that belong to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—in remarks that underlined the 28-nation alliance's renewed sense of purpose and its constraints as tensions escalate between Moscow and the West.
Only weeks ago NATO, created to contain the Soviet Union, was struggling to define its mission in the world. With its combat operation in Afghanistan finishing at the end of 2014, alliance leaders had planned a September summit in Wales to discuss its future role.
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