A win for Russia 4

We and our commenters have noticed variously that Obama resembles Mussolini, Peron, and Mao. Lately he has seemed to us to be more like Kim Jong Il, the arrogant twerp who tyrannizes over North Korea.

We think it highly likely that he, “the Dictator” as we now frequently call him, will try to ensure a permanent Democratic majority in Congress –  increasing the number of people employed by and dependent on the government, granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, and enfranchising felons. We also suspect that if he could he would extend his period in office indefinitely.

We are pretty well convinced that the Dictator has a deeply-rooted, fanatical desire to destroy America as a nation embodying the idea of liberty, and change it into a collectivist state subject to his arbitrary will.

He does not want America to be a superpower.

He has said that he does not want America to be nuclear armed.

How far has he got towards realizing his vision of a collectivized and disarmed nation?

He has taken a giant step towards collectivization with his health care legislation.

Disarming America will take longer, but he has begun to weaken it. One of the steps he has taken is to give the Russians what they want with the new US-Russia arms-reduction treaty.

Paul Mirengoff discusses the treaty at Power Line:

The text of the agreement has not been released, which is reason enough not to get carried away praising it  … In essence, though, Obama and the Russians have agreed to a mutual reduction in nuclear weapons deployed for long-range missions, from a ceiling of 2,200 to between 1,500 and 1,675. The two militaries would also make relatively small cuts in the number of jets and land- or submarine-based missiles that carry nuclear warheads and bombs.

This arrangement is clearly in Russia’s interest… the deal would enable the Russians to maintain strategic parity with the U.S. while retiring large numbers of weapons they cannot afford to replace. Indeed … the Russians, unable to pay for their current nuclear forces, have already of their own volition cut the number of launchers to the treaty’s new level.

But what does the U.S. gain from the agreement? The administration claims that the deal is a significant step towards curbing the nuclear ambitions of other nations. But … a minor reduction in Russian and American nukes (or even a major reduction, for that matter) isn’t going to cause Iran and North Korea to set aside those ambitions.

Perhaps the administration believes that the deal will enable us to enlist Russia in a quest to stop Iran from going nuclear. But such a view seems hopelessly optimistic. More likely, the Russians will demand more deals that serve their interests, such as explicit agreements limiting our ability to develop a missile defense, in exchange for small, meaningless measures directed at Iran.

But does Obama’s agreement hurt U.S. interests? Without knowing what the agreement says, this question is difficult to assess…

For me, the key point is the agreement’s impact on missile defense. We will not be able to sweet talk rogue nations out of developing nukes, not even with the help of our “friends” the Russians. And we cannot be confident in our ability to deter some of these states from attacking the U.S. and our allies. Hence, the central role of missile defense.

Obama, it seems clear, has no interest in developing such a system. But Obama won’t be around forever. The key, then, is not to enter into agreements that will tie his successors’ hands.

Reportedly, the agreement contains only non-binding language on defensive missiles. It will be up to the Senate to make sure of this when it considers whether to ratify what looks like a very good deal for Russia and not such a good deal for us.

We share the writer’s apprehension, and see one sentence of his as a ray of light in a political atmosphere thickening with anxiety: “Obama won’t be around forever”.

Posted under Commentary, Russia, United States by Jillian Becker on Sunday, March 28, 2010

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