Barack Obama has far more in common with Jimmy Carter than with Ronald Reagan
In Eastern Europe, they don’t think of Barack Obama as the first black president. They think of him as the first black-hearted president.
Obama announced that he is scrapping plans for a U.S. missile defense shield designed to protect the Czech Republic and Poland, leaving the two democracies to twist in the Russian wind.
Czech Premier Jan Fischer announced that Obama has informed him that “his government is pulling out of plans to build a missile defense radar on Czech territory.”
“The same happened with Poland. Poland was informed in the same way about this intention,” Fischer announced.
What’s the response in Europe? Here’s how Nile Gardiner of the Telegraph UK sums it up:
This is bad news for all who care about the US commitment to the transatlantic alliance and the defence of Europe as well as the United States. It represents the appalling appeasement of Russian aggression and a willingness to sacrifice American allies on the altar of political expediency. A deal with the Russians to cancel missile defence installations sends a clear message that even Washington can be intimidated by the Russian bear.
What signal does this send to Ukraine, Georgia and a host of other former Soviet satellites who look to America and NATO for protection from their powerful neighbour? The impending cancellation of Third Site is a shameful abandonment of America’s friends in eastern and central Europe, and a slap in the face for those who actually believed a key agreement with Washington was worth the paper it was written on.
Ronald Reagan is a hero in Eastern Europe. The people who lived under the tyranny of the Soviet Union know that he was responsible for bringing down the Evil Empire and giving them their freedom. They erect statues dedicated to his memory. Don’t expect to see Barack Obama statues any time soon.
These are dark days for small democracies that look to the United States for protection.
Source: Telegraph UK
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
“Russia on Thursday welcomed the news, but said it saw no reason to offer concessions in return. ”
This is the kind of toughness we need in a leader.
The strategy of undercutting support for our friends in order to appease a dictator has paid huge dividends in the past! Just ask Neville Chamberlain.
Amazing! When will we learn. The democrats strive to destroy the strength of America to defend the free world. I guess it is because they are communists at heart.
Interesting take from Debka.com:
Obama to scrap US missile shield project in E. Europe
DEBKAfile Special Report
September 17, 2009, 10:55 AM (GMT+02:00)
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6271
The Obama administration’s decision to shelve the plan to install US missile interceptors and radar systems in Poland and the Czech Republic is to be announced at a news conference later Thursday, Sept. 17 by defense secretary Robert Gates. In the face of strong Russian objections, the shield was promoted by the Bush administration to shield Europe from long-range Iranian ballistic missile attack.
DEBKAfile reports that Barack Obama’s decision prompted Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s surprise comment Monday, Sept. 14, that his government no longer rules out further sanctions against Iran – although the Kremlin has always denied its cooperation with the US on the Iranian nuclear issue was contingent on the removal of the US missile shield plan.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly in its coming issue (out Friday) will reveal how the shared US-Russian wish to avert an Israeli military strike against Iran produced Obama’s decision to ditch the missile shield in East Europe.
Our Washington sources report that the decision follows a 60-day assessment of the issue ordered by Obama. “The US will base its decision on a determination that Iran’s long-range missile program has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the continental US and major European capitals,” said unnamed current and former US officials.
On Aug. 29, DEBKAfile reported exclusively from East European sources that Washington was considering the transfer of its missile plan from Poland and the Czech Republic possibly to Israel and Turkey.
This decision is an important foreign policy step for Obama; it is a prize for Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who fought the US shield plan on Russia’s doorstep tooth and nail, and a major strategic reversal for Iran.
Moscow’s cooperation would remove a key obstacle on the road to harsh sanctions against Iran. Acting in concert with Moscow, Washington could dispense with Beijing’s endorsement.
Nonetheless, DEBKAfile’s Moscow sources stress, it is not entirely clear how far the Kremlin is willing to go in partnering the US drive against Iran. Russian leaders will take good care not to appear to the Muslim and Arab world as Iran’s enemy or a trading and diplomatic partner who reneges on its commitments.
“Why you’ll never see a statue of Barack Obama in Eastern Europe”
I have to disagree. The Russians might erect one in Ukraine or Poland or the Baltic Republics one day; or Muslims in the rest of Europe might do so in the future.
BTW, it looks like the U.S. now has No-Dong Missile Defence just like North Korea courtesy of the One.