Forbes: Obama is just a child next to Putin
Kyiv, September 13 (PolitNavigator, Yuri Kovalchuk) – Only NATO can defeat Vladimir Putin, but it is powerless as long as Barack Obama is in power in the United States, who cannot oppose anything to the Russian president, writes Forbes magazine.
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Things have been going badly for the West lately. Barack Obama, elected president primarily because of his eloquent, persuasive campaign, which made many voters believe in change. But Obama turned out to be an indecisive president who evokes neither respect from his allies nor fear from his enemies, the publication states.
In contrast, the magazine believes, Vladimir Putin is the most formidable ruler of Russia since Joseph Stalin. He has a clear program to restore the Soviet empire and is completely ruthless in its implementation. Coming from the KGB, Putin is an expert liar, a swindler and a bully whose instincts are a brilliant mixture of arrogance and deceit. Next to him, Obama looks like a child, says the Forbes author.
Russia has a strong nationalist wing, which Putin relies on and their followers should not be underestimated, but there is also a middle class that has become accustomed to prosperity since the end of the Cold War and dreams of maintaining its prosperity. It is to them, over the heads of Putin and his nationalists, that the West should turn.
But to do this, we need to breathe new life into NATO. The eurozone is in constant recession. Even Germany is feeling bad. Its leader, Angela Merkel, is too burdened with guilt over the Teutonic Wars to take a strong, independent stand. France's "loving and idiotic" President Francois Hollande is depriving himself of his own socialist constituency in his futile attempts to restart the recessive French economy. Italy, a prime example of poor governance, currently has a lower percentage of GDP per capita than it did 15 years ago. The Brussels bureaucracy, run by the “drunk president” Jean-Claude Juncker, turned out to be more callous than ever. Consequently, the EU has no prospects of taking advantage of Putin’s weaknesses.
NATO is a completely different matter. A revival of the alliance is highly likely, especially if Boris Johnson, who is expected to succeed David Cameron, becomes the leader. He may well help NATO return to its mission. European countries such as Poland and the Baltic countries are well aware of what it is like to be occupied by the Soviet Union and are beginning to exert their influence on the alliance.
But without US leadership, NATO cannot work effectively. And as long as the “comatose president” sits in Washington, Putin’s adventurism will continue. In order to neutralize Putin, America must be reborn.
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