The little Russian dictator forgot the first three rules of world conquest: (1) Have an Army, (2) Have a Navy and (3) Have an Air Force.
It’s time to stop pretending that today’s Russia is anything but an aggressive but militarily weak regional power. President Obama realizes it and that fact should not be lost on the Russian high command. The U.S. armed forces are far more powerful and far better prepared for war than Russia and China combined. Separately, the Russian Air Force could be destroyed in a matter of days. The Russian Fleet is a rusting joke. Its Army is a amateurish band of recent high school graduates operating obsolete equipment. If the EU is going to accept the imposition of a military backed power running Europe it should and will be the U.S. not Russia. Americans are sick of dying for Europe’s mistakes.
The U.S. should stop acting solely to placate the domestic politics of European countries. If Germany or France want to go it alone the U.S. should work deals with Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic nations to forward deploy sufficient air force to inflict a crushing blow to the Russian Air Force. With the imminent installation of Aegis Ashore anti-missile technology, Russia’s intermediate missiles are close to useless. We should pass the costs of this defense on to Europe in the form of import tariffs. We should also insure that U.S. natural gas and oil will fill in any shortage if Russia commits economic suicide and cuts off oil and gas sales.
If Russia wants to pretend it is the Soviet Union, then the next time a Bear Bomber approaches the U.S. should have advised Russia that its actions are acts of war and any such air craft should be ordered to leave and then shot down. If Russia scrambles the U.S. should take it as an invitation to annihilate the Russian air force. Then we should turn to the sea and sink the pathetic Russian fleet. Every ship, submarine and destroy every dry dock. Russia can then ask the U.S. if it’s okay to put a boat in the ocean.
This may sound extreme but, mark my words, if Europe does not convince Russia to control its little dictator, the next U.S. president will run and win on this platform.
The better course is to crush the Russian economy now, wall Russia up and keep the civilized world free from Russian aggression. When the little dictator has been removed, Russia can apply for a membership in the civilized world. Until then, wall it up.
TimInHonolulu 