The Obama Administration has assembled a team that is working full time on preparing anti-Russia measures, and the team is said to be convinced the US is capable of “badly damaging the Russian economy.”
President Obama is determined to move against Russia and administration hawks counsel moving as quickly and harshly as he can possibly muster, and he and Vice President Joe Biden have been courting nations around the world that might go along with demands to seize Russian assets or sever business ties with them.
Other officials within the administration, particularly those actually involved with economic policy, warn the move is liable to alienate allies who are harmed by the measures, and could provoke a cycle of tit-for-tat retaliation.
The European Union seems broadly split on the issue, with British Prime Minister David Cameron insisting he doesn’t care how much damage sanctions do to his own capital city of London so long as they can stick it to the Russians. Germany, on the other hand, has noted that they and much of central Europe are dependent on Russia for energy purchases, and aren’t willing to see their entire economy crippled by shortages just to spite Russia.
They seem to earnestly believe they are going to sway China on this, forgetting for a moment their planned pivot to Asia. Obama's team is living in an imperial bubble.
Ok, let's do it, to hell with peace, to hell with American and every other people, more of jobless and homeless people are better then American people. More of these jobless people join the us military we can prepare for sending them to Eastern Europe for war with Communism, Russian always been THE communist and they are about to invade America, you don't believe me..! the former governor of Alaska can see them coming.
LMAO @ "the former governor of Alaska can see them coming". Thanks for the laugh. :))
Even the mentally challenged can see that Russia is doing what it needs to do after the US government's brazen support of dangerous Ukrainian terrorists.
This Russia bashing is a new low. The Obama administration has proven to be worse than the GWBush administration in every respect.
Hmmm…bad, but not as bad as Dubya. What Bush did was lay the groundwork for what Obama is doing now. Because Bushco were not prosecuted for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that they perpetrated, Obama feels emboldened knowing that the precedent has been set and he and his miscreants will never be prosecuted either.
hahahahahahahahaha
I think that will be better to end first the war in Afghanistan, namely to run from there.But for sure,hoe neocons explained America may fight in the same time in different places and has not a motive to worry because Israel is behind her,so take on all the world.
They've certainly had lots of practice damaging the American economy.
If the British economy is destroyed as a result then the Brits will deserve all they get unless they dump the Cameron government. As for our own country, if the Democrats are so stupid as to endorse this policy, there are many who will work assiduously to see the party hit hard. The total disregard by our own country of Ukraine's sovereignty and our multiple violations of international law triggered this crisis, and there is no reason to blame the Russians for what has happened. If the Administration is now going to make it a power struggle based on the law of the jungle, and a propaganda war of disinformation, then the Administration will have lost whatever legitimacy it may have had. As for Kerry, I never thought he was dumb and corrupt until he became Secretary of State. Now his true colors are showing and it is an embarrassment of colossal proportions, but even worse is Hillary waiting anointed in the wings for the 2016 election is the international rabble rouser Hillary Clinton with her scummy and slimy husband at her side. A country is a terrible thing to waste.
The US should start to rebuild its own economy. As always, my favourite solution is building plenty of nukes, and using the gas and coal saved to make synthetic oil. Of course, the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act requires that no Federal agency can purchase synthetic fuel that results in the life-time production of more greenhouse gases than conventional petroleum. See section 526. So the act makes it illegal for the US to obtain energy independence and security by the only technology proven to work. Henry Arnold Waxman, US Representative for California's 33rd congressional district insisted on retaining this section, despite strong opposition. So if you wonder why the US wastes lives and money on oil wars in the Middle East, you know who to blame.
How do we destroy Russia's economy? – Easy we send representatives from all of the major Wall Street banks and hedge fund brokers over there to establish the same crooked practices as were used to destroy America's economy. Piece of cake (for the rich, that is).
It's the other way around: Russia can dump $150B in USD and raise interests rates for US treasuries causing massive deficits in US. That in turn would create a domino effect.
Europe does about $500B in trade with Russia and the last thing they want is a devalued Ruble. This is economics 101. The City of London further launders another $100B a year for Russian tycoons – just as they do for US oligarchs.
Travel and visa restrictions? Those have been in place since long before the cold war emded.
Asset seizure? |There is almost nothing the US can seize since Russia does not invest in the US.
However, Russia can seize several hundred billions in US assets resident in Russia. The oil and gas investments alone are monumental.
The \US has NO military option WHATSOEVER. Russia, on it's on turf is indestructible. And no, NATO means absolutely nothing: you think if Russia were to take out Polish or Czeck ABMs or radars, that NATO would lift a finger and endanger itself to Russian nukes? No fvcking way.
Get used to the NWO – not the same NWO the US was hoping for – Russia and China in command now.
Oh, and any thoughts of Ukraine being part of NATO, you can forget that too.
Surely the USG understands that they can't "badly damage" the Russian economy without "badly damaging" the economies of several nations, the US in particular.
The US believes they can "badly damage" the Russian economy – details are irrelevant. But, Russia can respond, with more effect, I believe, by declaring that the US dollar is not a valid currency when purchasing oil and gas from them.
If the USG actually pursues this course of action and the US economy tanks, as it surely will, there will be no place for those responsible to hide…and there will be very, very many very angry citizens who will want their piece of backside.
These tensions have pushed the price of oil up, so the US economy is already being damaged. The Big Oil profits that would result from the elimination of Russian competition are behind this big push to re-start the Cold War.
These tensions have pushed the price of oil up, so the US economy is already being damaged. The Big Oil profits that would result from the elimination of Russian competition are behind this big push to re-start the Cold War.
Even still more blah blah blah from the Obama regime. Obama probably shouldn't threaten the Russians or the Chinese. Especially regarding economies. You simply can't fix stupid.
This is the "Masters of The Universe" syndrome taken to its extreme…
There is a key distinction likely to make these events go badly for the West.
The West believes in escalation. They go step by step, upping the "pressure" until they find the minimum price they must pay to win. That has the reverse effect, of allowing the other side to cope with the pressure step by step, and so to make it cost more.
The Russians as a matter of longstanding policy and practice don't do that. They believe in overwhelming, decisive force. They believe that it will ultimately cost less to go all out from Day One, getting it over faster and without the other side having time to cope gradually.
There is every reason to think the Russians will do economic warfare as they do all other warfare, with overwhelming, decisive action from Day One. If they do, the West will suddenly find itself deeply on the losing side of economic sanctions.
There is no reason to think Putin will do this in the way that is easiest for the West, least painful for the West, or put himself at disadvantage.
Good analysis. The Russians can do damage to Western Europe but very little to the US. If the Russians go for "overwhelming force" (Mark Thompson's comment above), they will shoot themselves in the foot because they will make war the lesser evil and Russia's ramshacklle conscript military forces will be no more of a match for the all-professional, hightech US military than was Saddam Hussein's army. There'll be mass surrenders, desertions, mutinies etc. At that point, Putin is overthrown and the Russian Federation unravels. That may, of course, be what the neocons want.
Needed: A Smart Bomb that only kills master planners, military nationalists, and global megalomaniacs.
Needed: A Smart Bomb that only kills master planners, military nationalists, and global megalomaniacs.
…just like they messed up America's economy. Making a mess and crapping on the furniture are Obama's sole talents.
Can we remove the madmen from power please? I am talking about both Obama and P*tin.
Get real. There are groups of people out there who think that we live in a hand holding world of koombaya. That’s not where we’re heading right now folks. (No, I am NOT anywhere near being a republican. Just a realist.) everyone needs to prepare for what is real. If it turns out better, then great. But if not, then we won’t be caught off guard.