Putin And Russia

You know, Russian President Putin does like to blow a lot of hot air about how Russia is now going to become this great nation and everything will crumble around us if we don't be nice to them. For example:

Make no mistake, though. Putin delivered a message, and the White House heard it loud and clear. It goes something like this: in the 1990s, America pushed us around. On NATO expansion, we asked you to consider our national interests. You answered with an advance into former Soviet territory in Eastern Europe. You spoke of energy partnership yet built new pipelines to bypass our territory. Western companies took advantage of our economic troubles to buy access to our natural resources at cut-rate prices.

Well duh, it's called capitalism. We did speak of energy partnerships, and what do you do? You raise prices and blackmail eastern Europe by shutting off the supply of energy. Proves us right doesn't it?

We took advantage of your economic troubles? You could have said no to private companies when they approached you. You had the right to ask for higher prices, yet you didn't. You signed the contracts and now you have to live with them. It's the same as when you buy a house at a high interest rate. No one was putting a gun to your head when you signed the papers, so if you don't like the deal, tough.

Yes, they have their own problems with Chechen terrorists and I think we should help them with that problem, but if they think we have to be nice to them after all the badmouthing we get from them throughout the years, they should think again.

America is tired of being the whipping boy for the world's problems. It's time we made other countries deal with their own problems and let them feel what it's like to be without our help.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com