And it was a Republican congressman, so the Russian leader’s humiliation of U.S. political leaders has been non-partisan, and has covered two of the three co-equal branches of our government.
Maybe he and Justice Scalia should go out on a shirtless hunting trip together, and see who can bag more game. Or something.
Anyway, courtesy of Slate, here’s the story:
During an interview with KPCC that aired yesterday, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, was asked if he had ever met Vladimir Putin. It’s safe to say his answer was more than a little unexpected.
Turns out, during the early 1990s, Putin, then only a local official, traveled to Washington with a Russian delegation. While there, Putin and two other Russians ended up playing a game of touch football with Rohrabacher and a few of his “right-wing” buddies. Things only got stranger after the game:
“We all ended up going to the Irish Times Pub afterwards, and we were having a little bit too much to drink I guess. But anyway, we started arguing about who won the Cold War, etcetera. And so we decided to settle it like men do when they’ve had too much to drink at the pub. So we got down to these arm-wrestling matches, and I ended up being paired off with Putin. And he’s a little guy, but boy I’ll tell you he put me down in a millisecond. He is tough … his muscles are just unbelievable. And then his bodyguard gets up and this buddy of mine and says ‘oh I’ll take him.’ And my friend put his bodyguard down, so it was good.”
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That’s a heck of a story – – other than the thought racing through my head that Putin might have had his bodyguard sent off to Siberia for losing the arm wrestling match to Rohrabacher’s friend.
Please explain how President Obama was out maneuvered by Putin if the chemical weapons are removed from Syria?
If the press reports are to be trusted, in a moment of frustration, John Kerry made what was supposed to be a sarcastic reply when he threw up his hands and said all they have to do is surrender their chemical weapons. Now follow the bouncing ball, Putin took the comment made in a moment of frustration after the ever changing position of Obama, approached Assad, Assad agreed, and Putin did out maneuver Obama on the world stage. The fact that an agreement in principal has been reached between Russia and the US because of Putin’s actions, not Obama’s, it is very clear to anyone who is not a lemming like devotee to Obama is that he was out maneuvered.
If Obama had taken the surrendering chemical weapons approach a long time ago, the US and the world most likely wouldn’t have been subjected the the angst and anguish over what to do about Obama declaring he would use military force in the form of a few minor missile strikes if Syria crossed a red line if a bunch of chemical weapons were used.
Now, the deal is on the table, approved by Russia and the US but Obama is still moving ahead to supply arms to the rebels. In the end, the US is once again supporting an effort to overthrow another ME despot by supporting rebels who are heavily influenced and infiltrated by al Quida and the Muslim Brotherhood, both sworn enemies of the US. Libya is in total disarray, Egypt is in the grips of an upheaval once again and Syria is still nowhere close to having a resolution to their internal civil war.
Damn, haven’t we learned our lesson by now? Apparently not.
A number of ways, Elliott.
By seizing upon a slip by Kerry, Putin instantly switched positions, from being the heavy who was supporting the bad guy to being the big peacemaker, and driving the agenda. He’s got the world dancing to his tune right now.
More than that, he has bought time for Assad — more time to scatter his weapons and other assets in case there is still an American attack.
Obviously, Assad feared such an attack. Else he wouldn’t have done a 180, agreeing to give up the chemical weapons that he previously denied he had. (Actually, he denied it this very week, even as his foreign minister was admitting it.)
And now, he’s succeeded it putting it off indefinitely.
And that is why the destruction of the two Syrian ports (and long airport runways) was something to consider. Minimal casualties; maximum regime disruption between it and its backers like Russia, Iran and China.
It would have kept the optics as despot needing despots to cling to power …
It pains me to write this, but Hillary Clinton would not have bungled this as John Kerry has. He only plays a Secretary of State – in his head.