Op-Ed By Vladimir Putin for the American People

[Edgetho]

we're talking about the UN...please cite where we had UN authority for invading iraq. i agree with afghanistan, but we still did not have UN approval. and the UN was not destroyed.

There were 17 UN resolutions that indicated that Iraq had violated the cease fire agreement. Did you expect them to make a declaration of war on Iraq?

Putin is the one speaking out for diplomacy and peace.

That is far fewer than the much greater number of UN Resolutions addressing Israels continuing violations of intl law. We have not bombed Israel yet. Israeli violations of UN resolutions

That is an idiotic analogy.

Iraq had been defeated in War. They signed a "Cease Fire" in which they promised to do certain things and in which we promised not to continue to kick their asses for them.

There was no Armistice, no Peace Treaty only a TEMPORARY CEASE FIRE. Like ALL Cease Fires are.... Temporary.

You gotta behave yourself under a Cease Fire or guess what...? We gonna kick your ass for you -- Again.

Saddam violated the Cease Fire on multiple occasions; so we violated him -- And his Country.

That's life in the Big Leagues, baby

 

[Annie]

Sadly, our president, therefore us, are being played like a fiddle.

This may have been a too obvious play by Putin, what it really does is highlight just how much these two disrespect each other.

To those on the left, good luck with the "threat of force brought Putin to peace move," it's not playing. You're much better off with something like 'he's learned from this, as Kennedy did the Bay of Pigs...'

The 'bringing the UN down' is also not playing, too many conflicts without it. Only two UN approved 'wars' of significance, Korea and First Iraq War.

Anyone want to argue that Kosovo was NOT Humanitarian? UN did not go along...

this whole charade is a....charade

heres a quiz for one and all-, most especially the whackadoodles who think this thing has a chance at all, Assad giving up wmds, the Russians brokering it successfully etc.;

what country has a veto and has exercised its veto 3 times to save Syria 'face' or official admonishment, sanctions etc.? It has only used its veto more often on one other 'semi country' or in its terms un- official entity?

They will sit back and in the end, swoop in and veto anything that requires Syria to play by any rules or suffer.

I totally agree, I'm not THE ONE and I don't have power, I've never underestimated Putin. He's ruthless, no doubt on that. Obama is in his crosshairs, the question is, does Obama get himself some help to deal with or react thin skinned?

He can't change the storyline at this point that "Russia is playing games!" which they are, very high stakes table.

 

[Mac1958]

I totally agree, I'm not THE ONE and I don't have power, I've never underestimated Putin. He's ruthless, no doubt on that. Obama is in his crosshairs, the question is, does Obama get himself some help to deal with or react thin skinned?

He can't change the storyline at this point that "Russia is playing games!" which they are, very high stakes table.

Yeah, of all the adjectives for Putin, "ruthless" has to be near the top.

He senses both advantage and weakness here, let's see how far he runs with it.

.

 

[Edgetho]

Could it be that Syria's Assad really and honestly did NOT launch the gas attack that the West is so certain he did?

Yes, it is possible.

More evidence....

Report: Two Hostages Kidnapped By Syrian Opposition Overheard Conversation That Government Didn’t Do Chemical Attack, Opposition Did

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fkc2ZtPvc8o]FSA's Freed Belgian Hostage: FSA, NOT Syrian Govt, Behind Damascus Chemical Attack on August 21 - YouTube[/ame]


The hostages note how the “opposition” is Islamists and bandits, that there really is no “secular” or “moderate” opposition, as Kerry claims.

Via The Blaze:

Two Europeans who were allegedly abducted and held hostage for several months in Syria claim they overheard a conversation between their captors suggesting the Syrian rebels were behind the deadly chemical attack in Damascus. The men were released on Sunday.

Belgian teacher Pierre Piccinin and Italian journalist Domenico Quiric both say they were able to eavesdrop on an English-language Skype session between their abductors in which they allegedly revealed that it was the Syrian rebels who perpetrated the attack so that the West would intervene.

“In this conversation, they said that the gas attack on two neighborhoods of Damascus was launched by the rebels as a provocation to lead the West to intervene militarily,” Quirico told the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa. “We were unaware of everything that was going on during our detention in Syria, and therefore also with the gas attack in Damascus.”

Piccinin said he has a “moral duty” to share what he heard. He also stressed that he and his fellow hostage were completely cut-off from the outside world and didn’t even know chemical weapons had been used in the first place.

“The government of Bashar al-Assad did not use sarin gas or other types of gas in the outskirts of Damascus,” Piccinin reportedly told Belgium’s RTL radio station.

- See more at: Weasel Zippers | Scouring the bowels of the internet | Weasel Zippers

Edge:

This is just a report. I make no claims as to its veracity

 

[NoNukes]

Spare me.

II
Eyah..

Just as I thought.

By the way, admission of mistakes and faults isn't telling the world America "sucks". Quite the opposite. It says to the world that American can recognize where it goes wrong.

That's part of what makes America an exceptional nation. The FACT that our government can make drastic changes in policy without massive internal political upheaval. That one President like Nixon can make a foreign policy blunder like assassinating political leaders and the very next President, Ford, can admit and correct that..is pretty amazing.

That's what you folks don't, and never will, get.

Giving speeches pointing out the sliver in our eye while ignoring the 2X4 in everyone else's eyes does nothing to correct past mistakes. It simply give our enemies plenty of ammo to attack us politically.

Never mind all of the blundering Barry himself has done on the world stage. I figure he's made enough mistakes of his own. So does everyone else I'm afraid.

Why do you not just speak for yourself and not everyone else?

 

[g5000]

Now that they can read Putin's own words, the appeasers can finally realize that dick they have had in their mouth all this time is his.

I told you fools you were being Russia's useful idiots.

Are you going to get up off your knees now, or are you going to continue to service his tool?

I think we all know the answer.

 

[Annie]

Now that they can read Putin's own words, the appeasers can finally realize that dick they have had in their mouth all this time is his.

I told you fools you were being Russia's useful idiots.

Are you going to get up off your knees now, or are you going to continue to service his tool?

I think we all know the answer.

It seems you are the one not learning from the past. Putin saved Obama's ass, from Congress, the people, and perhaps a military disaster for the US.

That Putin has written this knife in the back piece, actually will help Obama's ratings at home, which is what you are now trying to help with.

In reality, this whole mess is of his own making and it is US prestige he's made a mess of.

 

[g5000]

If the United States chooses to bomb Syria, there isn't a thing Russia can do about it. Russia can't get it up any more, no matter how hard you suck Putin off.

All Russia has is a veto on the national security council, and arms sales to our enemies. That's all they have to counter us. It's all they can bring to the table.

The United States has finally gotten an admission out of Syria that they have chemical weapons. Previous administrations failed at getting this admission out of Syria. The UN failed. The rest of the world failed.

Now those weapons are finally in play. They are finally on the negotiating table.

We are bringing a big fucking stick. Putin is bringing his army of useful idiots (he just wrote them all a love letter for them to gush over), his UN Security council veto, and arms sales to Iran as his bargaining chip.

Another factor is Turkey. Turkey and Iran would each like to annex Syria if Syria implodes. That's a big part of what is behind Putin talking with Iran about selling them arms. He's trying to maintain a balance of power since Turkey is our ally.

Anyway. Stop sucking him off, whores. You are making a spectacle of yourself swooning over his love letter.

 

[g5000]

Now that they can read Putin's own words, the appeasers can finally realize that dick they have had in their mouth all this time is his.

I told you fools you were being Russia's useful idiots.

Are you going to get up off your knees now, or are you going to continue to service his tool?

I think we all know the answer.

It seems you are the one not learning from the past. Putin saved Obama's ass, from Congress, the people, and perhaps a military disaster for the US.

BWA-HA-HA-HA!

I pity you.

You know, my question was rhetorical. You didn't have to go to the trouble of admitting you will continue to suck Putin's tool.

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Op-Ed Contributor
A Plea for Caution From Russia
What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria
By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN
Published: September 11, 2013 239 Comments


MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies.


Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again.

The United Nations’ founders understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America’s consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades.

No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization.

The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.

Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world.

Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all.

From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression.

No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored.

It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.”

But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes.

No matter how targeted the strikes or how sophisticated the weapons, civilian casualties are inevitable, including the elderly and children, whom the strikes are meant to protect.

The world reacts by asking: if you cannot count on international law, then you must find other ways to ensure your security. Thus a growing number of countries seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction. This is logical: if you have the bomb, no one will touch you. We are left with talk of the need to strengthen nonproliferation, when in reality this is being eroded.

We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.

A new opportunity to avoid military action has emerged in the past few days. The United States, Russia and all members of the international community must take advantage of the Syrian government’s willingness to place its chemical arsenal under international control for subsequent destruction. Judging by the statements of President Obama, the United States sees this as an alternative to military action.

I welcome the president’s interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on Syria. We must work together to keep this hope alive, as we agreed to at the Group of 8 meeting in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June, and steer the discussion back toward negotiations.

If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues.

My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.

Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/opinion/putin-plea-for-caution-from-russia-on-syria.html?_r=0

Hello, I am an American citizen and I read your letter to Americans addressing Syria. And I would like to sincerely thank you for all you are doing to try to prevent an escalation of violence in Syria. Americans oppose US involvement in Syria and in numbers much greater then the MSM try to spin this. I am seeing polls showing the opposition is as high as 96%. Unfortunately, we are seemingly being held hostage by a government who primarily serves the interest of another nation, Israel. Many of us, our eyes have been opened by the debacle that has unfolded the past few weeks as the war mongers do all they can do to take us into another war for Israel. We want to take our country back. Again, my sincerest thanks for all you are doing for peace. And I look forward to watching you keep pushing diplomacy as the only solution to stop the violence in Syria. Sincerely, Sherri Munnerlyn. That is my response, which I just emailed to President Putin of Russia.

 

[g5000]

Hello, I am an American citizen and I read your letter to Americans addressing Syria. And I would like to sincerely thank you for all you are doing to try to prevent an escalation of violence in Syria. Americans oppose US involvement in Syria and in numbers much greater then the MSM try to spin this. I am seeing polls showing the opposition is as high as 96%. Unfortunately, we are seemingly being held hostage by a government who primarily serves the interest of another nation, Israel. Many of us, our eyes have been opened by the debacle that has unfolded the past few weeks as the war mongers do all they can do to take us into another war for Israel. We want to take our country back. Again, my sincerest thanks for all you are doing for peace. And I look forward to watching you keep pushing diplomacy as the only solution to stop the violence in Syria. Sincerely, Sherri Munnerlyn. That is my response, which I just emailed to President Putin of Russia.

slurp, slurp, slurp

Make sure to wipe your chin when you are finished.

 

[Ava]

Could it be that Syria's Assad really and honestly did NOT launch the gas attack that the West is so certain he did?

Yes, it is possible.

More evidence....

Report: Two Hostages Kidnapped By Syrian Opposition Overheard Conversation That Government Didn’t Do Chemical Attack, Opposition Did

FSA's Freed Belgian Hostage: FSA, NOT Syrian Govt, Behind Damascus Chemical Attack on August 21 - YouTube


The hostages note how the “opposition” is Islamists and bandits, that there really is no “secular” or “moderate” opposition, as Kerry claims.

Via The Blaze:

Two Europeans who were allegedly abducted and held hostage for several months in Syria claim they overheard a conversation between their captors suggesting the Syrian rebels were behind the deadly chemical attack in Damascus. The men were released on Sunday.

Belgian teacher Pierre Piccinin and Italian journalist Domenico Quiric both say they were able to eavesdrop on an English-language Skype session between their abductors in which they allegedly revealed that it was the Syrian rebels who perpetrated the attack so that the West would intervene.

“In this conversation, they said that the gas attack on two neighborhoods of Damascus was launched by the rebels as a provocation to lead the West to intervene militarily,” Quirico told the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa. “We were unaware of everything that was going on during our detention in Syria, and therefore also with the gas attack in Damascus.”

Piccinin said he has a “moral duty” to share what he heard. He also stressed that he and his fellow hostage were completely cut-off from the outside world and didn’t even know chemical weapons had been used in the first place.

“The government of Bashar al-Assad did not use sarin gas or other types of gas in the outskirts of Damascus,” Piccinin reportedly told Belgium’s RTL radio station.

- See more at: Weasel Zippers | Scouring the bowels of the internet | Weasel Zippers

Edge:

This is just a report. I make no claims as to its veracity

U.S. intelligence has yet to uncover evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad directly ordered the chemical attacks last month on civilians in a suburb of Damascus, though the consensus inside U.S. agencies and Congress is that members of Mr. Assad’s inner circle likely gave the command, officials tell The Washington Times.

The gap in the intelligence has raised debate in some corners of the wider intelligence community about whether Mr. Assad has full control of his war-weary Army and their arsenal of chemical missiles, which most likely would be treasured by terrorist groups known to be operating in Syria, said officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing intelligence matters.

“If there was a rogue general that did it on his own accord, that would be a bigger problem for Assad, because---------

Read more: U.S. can't prove Bashar Assad approved chemical attacks in Syria - Washington Times
Follow us: [MENTION=39892]Was[/MENTION]htimes on Twitter

 

[R.C. Christian]

Now that they can read Putin's own words, the appeasers can finally realize that dick they have had in their mouth all this time is his.

I told you fools you were being Russia's useful idiots.

Are you going to get up off your knees now, or are you going to continue to service his tool?

I think we all know the answer.

And the answer is that you don't know what you're talking about.

In your insignificant mind, you see Good guy Barry, and BAAD guy Vlad. And that's because you're a partisan douche. If you could let that shit go then you might actually start to think out of the box and start seeing how the real world works. Doubt it.

 

[Ava]

Now that they can read Putin's own words, the appeasers can finally realize that dick they have had in their mouth all this time is his.

I told you fools you were being Russia's useful idiots.

Are you going to get up off your knees now, or are you going to continue to service his tool?

I think we all know the answer.

And the answer is that you don't know what you're talking about.

In your insignificant mind, you see Good guy Barry, and BAAD guy Vlad. And that's because you're a partisan douche. If you could let that shit go then you might actually start to think out of the box and start seeing how the real world works. Doubt it.

Too late: "We don't see things as they are, we see them as "we" are."

 

[g5000]

We might kill kids and stuff!

 

[Annie]

Now that they can read Putin's own words, the appeasers can finally realize that dick they have had in their mouth all this time is his.

I told you fools you were being Russia's useful idiots.

Are you going to get up off your knees now, or are you going to continue to service his tool?

I think we all know the answer.

It seems you are the one not learning from the past. Putin saved Obama's ass, from Congress, the people, and perhaps a military disaster for the US.

BWA-HA-HA-HA!

I pity you.

You know, my question was rhetorical. You didn't have to go to the trouble of admitting you will continue to suck Putin's tool.

It was Obama and his SOS that brought them to the place they are. That brought Putin in the position of appearing to be the voice of sanity. Not easy to accomplish, but Obama just looks like he had his war mongering wings clipped.

He could set it right, but not so far:

Barack Obama?s misguided approach to Syria: The president?s strategy for confronting Bashar al-Assad?s chemical weapons has confused everyone. - Slate Magazine

Dazed and Confused
If your foreign policy has to be rescued by a dictator, you are doing it wrong.

By William J. Dobson|Posted Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013, at 6:19 PM


Give President Obama credit: He has done such a good job of acting unpredictably in the lead-up to his proposed military strikes on Syria that no one knows what he will do next. He has successfully confused ally and enemy alike. Sun Tzu would be proud.

But President Obama cannot take all the credit for sowing confusion. Secretary of State John Kerry also has the unique distinction of becoming the first chief American diplomat whose offhand quip at a press conference launched a last-minute, global diplomatic initiative to disarm a murderous dictator. Kerry never thought that he was making a bold bid to avert military strikes that his president’s party and public had no interest in supporting. He simply suggested that if Bashar al-Assad handed all of his chemical weapons over in a week, that might stave off an impending U.S. attack—and of course, Assad wasn’t going to do that. The State Department rushed forward to clarify that Kerry wasn’t floating an actual proposal—he was just speaking rhetorically. You know, riffing. To say that the Obama administration is freelancing when it comes to foreign policy is an insult to freelancers.


...

 

[g5000]

Now that they can read Putin's own words, the appeasers can finally realize that dick they have had in their mouth all this time is his.

I told you fools you were being Russia's useful idiots.

Are you going to get up off your knees now, or are you going to continue to service his tool?

I think we all know the answer.

And the answer is that you don't know what you're talking about.

In your insignificant mind, you see Good guy Barry, and BAAD guy Vlad. And that's because you're a partisan douche. If you could let that shit go then you might actually start to think out of the box and start seeing how the real world works. Doubt it.

I explained how the real world works to you useful idiots in post 95.

 

[NLT]

This is all about Putin realizing that Obama is a weak CIC and is losing the American Peoples confidence and support and he is taking advantage of it. He sees Obama job approval numbers dropping and he is having a field day over it.

 

[g5000]

In your insignificant mind, you see Good guy Barry, and BAAD guy Vlad.

Reverse projection. In your small minds Obama can never do anything right. Your reflex reaction to EVERYTHING he does is to oppose. Your dysphemistic use of his first name betrays you.

If you believe I think Obama is a great guy, then you obviously have not read any topics where I eviscerate him for ObamaCare or any number of other topics.

On the subject of Syria, however, he has done everything right. He could have given Congress the finger and gone ahead and bombed Syria the way Clinton bombed Iraq three times without even consulting Congress.

But you jerkwad useful idiots keep parroting the Putin line because of your idiotic Obama Derangement Syndrome which causes you to make this political rather than face the realities of the world.

The end result is Syria's chemical weapons are now on the negotiating table. Bush failed to do that, the UN failed to do that, the whole world failed to do that. Syria would not even admit to having chemical weapons prior to now.

So eat that simple fact! No matter how you try to twist the real world in your vacuous minds, that simple fact guts your position.

 

[g5000]

Whenever we negotiate with North Korea, China always has to have a seat at the table.

When we negotiate with Syria, Russia will have a seat at the table. Saying this is somehow a sign of weakness on Obama's part is to demonstrate a massive ignorance on the part of oneself.

Assad knows we can boot him from power with a flick of a booger. We have huge leverage. He's terrified for his life.