The Playground
Posted on August 11, 2008
On the playground, when a bully beats up a smaller kid, all the smaller kids look for help from a big kid. When the big kid does nothing, the smaller kids do all that they can to avoid the same fate. They beg. They endure humiliation. They bend to the will of the bully.
When the big kid does something to stop the bully, the smaller kids are thankful for a while, but they go on to live their lives without any fear, because they know they can count on the big kid to take care of the bully.
Russia is a bully. And America is the big kid. And we have to do something and do it quick to stop the bully. If we don’t, we will lose all credibility with our neighbors, our allies and all of those countries that border Russia.
Russia, under the brutal regime of Vladimir Putin, has been a bully for a while. They use the state apparatus to shake down foreign and domestic businessmen. They bully their neighbors with threats of cutting off oil and natural gas. They also threaten their neighbors with intimidation, assassination and all kinds of retaliation for a variety of slights.
George Bush has done many things wrong, but nothing is worse than how he has trusted Vladimir Putin, who is the reincarnation of Josef Stalin (without the mass murder, although who knows, that might be coming).
Putin is the original bully. He picks fights, he sows dissent, he has journalists killed, he allows criminal gangs to operate unimpeded, all in the name of Mother Russia. He must be stopped.
I have heard a bunch of poppycock from the media about how we are powerless to stop Putin, how we don’t have many options, how we need Russia’s help with Iran. I got news for you. The Russians will never help us with Iran. They have no intention helping the United States in any way, shape or form. Sure, they might kill some Muslim extremists, but believe me, they are doing that more for their survival than they are doing it for ours.
We have plenty of options. First and foremost, we have the best military in the world. We have plenty of allies who are looking for our leadership, including the Poles, the Lithuanians, the Ukrainians and pretty much every other former Warsaw Pact country. Now is the time to let old Vlad know that if he wants a fight, we are willing to give it to him.
When a bully is confronted by somebody who is stronger, the bully backs down. We need to confront Mr. Putin with the full force of our military might. If the Russians want a brawl, we ought to give to them.
It is time to take on the bully. Dick Cheney is right. We can’t let Putin get away with this crap.