ON: HOW THE U.S. CONGRESS INVITED PUTIN TO ATTACK UKRAINE (A REMINDER)

NOTE: Originally posted on March 3, 2014, as ON THE INVASION OF UKRAINE AND THE AMERICAN CONGRESS, I thought this point of view should be re-posted with a clearer title.

Americans, especially members of Congress, love to tout American “exceptionalism” and America’s “super” power status.  However, if you had the opportunity to look at America from abroad these last few years you will have seen glaring signs of American weakness.

What causes me to say such thing? Well, for years Congress has spent its precious legislative calendar making mischief rather than working on the people’s business. Discussion and votes on abortion, religion, gay marriage, and Sharia law…not to mention filibusters to avoid voting on Presidential appointments…took up time better spent on "real" issues. More than 40 different attempts were made to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even when the Republican Congress knew it had no chance of being repealed.

Immigration reform has been tabled, though every citizen thinks it is necessary. Budget issues have been ignored in an attempt to embarrass the President. Financial markets have been forced to sweat until the last minute, wondering if the debt ceiling will be raised so the government does not default on its bills. The government even had to close for weeks to make a point about which side of the aisle had the biggest stick.

In foreign affairs Cuba remains a focus of many politicians a full 15 years after the end of the Cold War. Nothing is done to secure this island as an American ally. Rather than engage Cuba, we let its politics move south through places like Venezuela, Bolivia and more.  Key legislation was tabled for years that would have secured trade pacts with Panama and Colombia. We moan a lot about our neighbors to the south and their politics, but nothing is done to help change the atmosphere unless it is part of our "war on drugs." After all, it is much more important to repeal "Obamacare," then to secure our nation and make new allies.

Since 2001 two wars were approved by Congress. Billions of dollars are still being spent and thousands of lives have been lost.  Fifteen Saudis, led by another Saudi, Osama bin Laden, attacked America from the air and we bombed Iraq and Afghanistan.  To me that makes about as much sense as bombing Venezuela after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Imagine yourself a former KGB agent with 16 years' Cold War experience. Your citizens are so enamored of you they vote you in as President or Prime Minister for 15 straight years.  

Couple that with the fact you have managed to grab the man who stole millions of pages of your arch enemy’s top secrets. You are now able to access this information trove to fully understand the weaknesses of the U.S.A. and its diplomatic corps. And, just how did such a defector get his hands on so many secrets? Congress thought it a much better idea to let outside contractors provide the vetting of our top security personnel rather than trained, internally controlled and employed agents.  

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin wants to make Russia great again.  It is obvious he took personally the dissolution of his beloved Soviet Empire.  He is working with Tsar-like zeal to build Russia into a giant again. 

He knows his enemies are weak.  He knows no one will challenge him militarily.  He meddles in the Mideast, much like the Soviets of the 1960’s.  He gives nations arms and access to nuclear capability.  Why?  He knows Syria and Iran irritate the West. He can keep the West occupied there, much like a master magician fools his audience with sleight of hand. With the world’s eyes focused on the Mideast, he is free to take what he really wants.

He sees former Soviet states Georgia and Ukraine looking West. So, he makes excuses to take back former Soviet territory. First, under the guise of saving Russians, he moves on South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia in 2008. Now, under the same premise of saving Russians, he has moved on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine. He is piece by piece reclaiming his empire.  And, he knows, no one will dare stop him. He does not care what the U.S. thinks and he knows NATO is a toothless giant.

When Obama let Europe lead on Libya a few years ago, NATO forces wound up having to borrow American missiles and bullets to complete the mission. Europeans did not have enough basic weaponry in their arsenals.  If Europe cannot handle a small country like Libya, what can they possibly do to Russia?

Now the Republican Party leaders, with a view of the world similar to that illustrated in the cartoon on the left, are out in droves poking at the President, saying his weakness allowed Ukraine to be invaded…Gates, Rubio, Graham, Boehner, Rogers, and more have blasted the media with their points of view on Ukraine.

They never mention their handiwork...or lack of it...in getting the world to this point. They are not smart enough to know someone like Putin sees lack of support for the President in his Congress as weakness. But, Congress does not care about projecting strength through the world.  Our Congress prefers to fiddle while the world burns.

Bullies love to pick on weakness. President Putin is a classic bully. By being petty and silly over the last few years our Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have played right into Putin’s hands. Shame!