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The
Examiner.com
Vladimir
Putin's Admiral Yamamoto moment
Timothy
Whiteman
March
1, 2014
Much
like the Japanese admiral who planned the sneak attack on Pearl
Harbor, the Russian president realizes he only has a certain amount
of time to "run wild" until someone stands up to him,
especially with the 2016 American presidential election literally
right around the corner, as reported on by both The New York Sun and
The Telegraph (of London, UK) on Mar. 1, 2014.
As
cited, the de facto Russian invasion of the Ukraine is already
underway with 2,000 troops already occupying key strategic points in
the Ukraine's heavily Russian-ethnic populated Crimean Peninsula.
In
the meantime, with Barack Obama's hot mic promise of future
"flexibility" framing the re-set in US-Russo relations, the
American government has effectively signaled to the Putin regime that
other than verbal condemnation of their armed incursion into the
Crimea, there would be no response of any real significance.
But
at least one of the presumed GOP front runners is making it known to
Vladimir Putin that the clock is ticking for his moves at
resurrecting the Russian Empire.
Florida's
Republican Senator Marco Rubio is demanding Obama initiate a
political full court press against Putin.
Not
holding back, the legislator from the Sunshine State added:
This
is a critical moment in world history. The credibility of the
alliances and security assurances that have preserved the
international order is at stake.
If
Putin's illegal actions are allowed to stand unpunished, it will
usher in a dark and dangerous era in world affairs.
Everything
old is new again ...
Putin's
mad dash at empire building is eerily reminiscent of Japan's running
riot through the Pacific in the opening days of the Second World War.
Fleet
Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto warned his nation's leaders that prior to the
December 1941-January 1942 initial attacks on American, British,
Dutch and Australian Pacific territories, he and his Imperial Fleet
would only have a certain amount of time to crush Japan's enemies,
but after that period, no promises of further success could be made:
In
the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and
Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory.
But
then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of
success.
Georgia
not on his mind ...
During
the Russian invasion of the postage stamp-sized nation of Georgia
during the closing months of the George W. Bush administration in
2008, scant reports surfaced to the American people that at least
there were open discussions of the United States launching air
strikes to defend the Georgians.
As
the left-of-center leaning news portal Politico.com reported at the
time, former Vice President Dick Cheney was quoted during one of the
meetings as saying directly to President Bush, "We can’t let
Georgia go down like this."
While
no American military intervention ever came to being, there was an
implicit threat Bush sent to the Russians: He opted not to use
civilian aircraft to ship humanitarian supplies to Georgia. Instead
Bush made a point of using clearly marked military aircraft to send a
none-too subtle message along with supplies.
According
to Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley:
We
thought it was a useful signal to use military aircraft to transfer
supplies and things into Georgia, and that was not lost on the
Russians. Soon thereafter, under the Obama Administration any
American response of substance to the Russian invasion of Georgia was
effectively abandoned.
Read
the article with links, and more, at The Examiner
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