NEW YORK — That was quick. Less than one week following latest warnings that President Obama is instigating conflict with Russia replete with profound dangers for America and for our dwindling coterie of allies, Vladimir Putin is hardly bowing to accentuating pressures.
The day after Christmas, we learned Russian government officials would be on call and theoretically working during their traditional winter holiday that runs through Jan. 7, 2015 when Eastern Orthodox Christmas will be celebrated.
The next day, Mr. Putin cited the United States and the NATO alliance as threats to the national security of Russia.
Monday, Russia and China announced steps that may afford each country greater flexibility in international currency transactions — moves that could end up placing heightening financial pressures on the over-extended businesses, financial institutions, and governments in North America, Western Europe, and Japan.
Tuesday, it became ever clearer that Russia will not assist America in guiding leaders of Iran or Syria towards responsible and productive peace negotiations in these key nations.
Moreover, we learned that Russia will flex even more military might in resource-rich and contested northern territory above the Arctic Circle.
Months into a battle of wits involving nuclear-armed and increasingly unpredictable nations, it is also obvious that Mr. Obama is not winning new friends inside Russia.
So, instead of hitting the vaunted “reset” button with Russia, it turns out that Mr. Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry hit the “tilt” button — soon and quickly the unipolar world in which Americans prospered after 1991 may turn upside down, and do so irretrievably.
How does a large, prosperous, and somewhat well educated population get whipped into a frenzy by a petulant and persistent warmonger, masquerading as a Nobel Peace Laureate?
To find the answer, look into the closest mirror and ask yourself, honestly, how engaged you are on evident geopolitical and economic facts.
Willing Suspension of Disbelief
Unless you are completely lost in cyberspace yourself, you must see clear signs that too many Americans are happiest pretending the real world is the one seen on internet-connected devices.
Particularly since January 20, 2009, too many of us are dangerously ignorant of alarming evidence.
The list of lies sold to us by Team Obama is long indeed—but the half-lives during which these lies get debunked are growing shorter and shorter.
Take the accusation made conclusively last week by Mr. Obama concerning North Korea’s purported role in hacking Sony Pictures Corporation — that claim could not stand intact under less than one week of scrutiny.
What about the idea that American economy is well along the road to pronounced recovery?
The stunning descent in oil prices destroys this myth as will become abundantly clear once holiday hangover fogs lift.
As Mr. Putin stokes rage against America and shows few signs of stepping back from the abyss of widening conflict, what is happening here inside America?
Why King Barry Won’t Win Any Wars
2015 is shaping up to be a different kind of year — one during which Team Obama and Americans could experience monumental setbacks.
At present, we brace for more violence inside cities already suffering mightily from fact free demagoguery.
Given Mr. Obama’s unprecedented flouting of the United States Constitution, few should be surprised that a few brave observers are likening him to a dictator — as one sports legend did recently on national television.
Meanwhile, inside Russia, Mr. Putin demonstrates few impulses to restrain his dictatorial tendencies.
Events in Russia could spin outside of Putin’s effective control.
However, Russia’s president certainly can count on retaining more power over potential opponents and unruly mobs than Mr. Obama can inside America.
Can any force arrest the looming collisions that suggest spreading international tensions and civil strife?
The American Revolution gave us a republic, a binding system of laws, and realistic prospects for ordered liberty — it did not grant one man and a single branch of Federal government unfettered opportunity to rule by inspired right.
Our Founders feared the imperial impulses on full display now — rulers and standing armies seldom sit still, which is why an engaged and informed citizenry must take time to debate whether it truly makes sense to proceed towards hostilities.
Writing in 1793, George Washington observed:
“The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure.”
In Mr. Obama’s war against Russia, capitalism, and freedom, all Americans will suffer profound losses.
Steel yourselves against rising dangers and prepare for the kind of robust debate over national and international priorities that Americans and true allies have delayed too long.
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