Putin Strikes

Looks like I better write Putin Strikes while I still can, eh?

Putin puts nuclear missiles in the Baltic, orders the diplomats to send their dependents home and cancels a state visit to Paris. What a crisis.

Oh come now, this is no crisis. Obama will fold. He always folds.

Now, back in the day, I used to wonder why we were poking around Eastern Europe. Why bring the Baltic states into NATO? What's the point of that? For that matter, what's the point of NATO anymore? I mean really, the Germans are going to fight the Russians? Or the Norwegians, Belgians or Dutch? Yeah sure, Ok.

As it happens I've been reading a bio of Putin. He's pretty much what we think he is, stern, calculating, brutal when necessary and interested in restoring the greatness of Mother Russia. Mission accomplished, I'd say. In this space I have argued that Putin is securing his western flank because the eastern flank is so problematic. But I think I got it wrong. He gets on splendidly with China. He secured the eastern flank so he could make trouble on the western flank.

He's just so damn brazen about it. Georgia, Ukraine, Syria now the Baltics. I wonder what Putin has on us. He's probably reading our diplomatic correspondence word for word. Has he got a man in the White House? The State Department? He owns Barry, that's for sure.

Look, Poland, I like you a lot, I really do. My advice, talk to Putin and get the best deal you can. The man is not unreasonable.

I'm not dying for Danzig.