by Stephen Lendman
It’s not the first time. It won’t be the last. It didn’t surprise.
Obama represents the worst of rogue state governance. He’s a war criminal multiple times over. He heads a repressive police state apparatus.He’s ravaging one country after another. He’s waging war on humanity. He’s doing it at home and abroad. He risks global war.
At the same time, he finds new ways to humiliate himself. He further denigrates America in the process. He cancelled a long-planned Moscow summit with Vladimir Putin.
It was scheduled ahead of the September 5 and 6 St. Petersburg G20 summit. No longer. New York Times editors urged him not to go. They did so disgracefully. A separate article discussed it.
At issue is the brouhaha over Russia granting Edward Snowden asylum. It was done honorably by the book. It was right and proper to do.
Snowden’s a world hero. He exposed lawless NSA spying. It’s done globally. Everyone targeted is monitored all the time everywhere. Doing so is unconstitutional. It doesn’t matter. Obama calls it OK.
He’s taking his wrath out on Russia. He’s mindless about rule of law principles. He’s irresponsibly harming bilateral relations. He’s risking world peace.
It’s back to the future. Reinventing Cold War politics perhaps is likely. According to The Times, unnamed officials said he’s frustrated about Russia’s refusal to extradite Snowden.
Risking Bradley Manning type treatment won’t be tolerated. He’ll be brutalized if sent home. He’s been declared guilty by accusation.
He’ll be denied judicial fairness. He’ll face certain long term hard time. He’ll never again be free. It’s the American way.
Thousands of political prisoners languish gulag hell. It’s the world’s largest. It’s one of the worst.
Obama’s angry with Russia on Syria. He wants Putin help destroy another country. He wants what he won’t get. America’s more adept at making enemies than friends.
Obama excels at doing it. His high-sounding rhetoric rings hollow. It reflects lies, damn lies, and rogue state policy.
An official White House cancellation statement said:
“Following a careful review begun in July, we have reached the conclusion that there is not enough recent progress in our bilateral agenda with Russia to hold a US-Russia Summit in early September.”
“We value the achievements made with Russia in the President’s first term, including the New START Treaty, and cooperation on Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea.”
“However, given our lack of progress on issues such as missile defense and arms control, trade and commercial relations, global security issues, and human rights and civil society in the last twelve months, we have informed the Russian Government that we believe it would be more constructive to postpone the summit until we have more results from our shared agenda.”
“Russia’s disappointing decision to grant Edward Snowden temporary asylum was also a factor that we considered in assessing the current state of our bilateral relationship.”
“Our cooperation on these issues remains a priority for the United States, so on Friday, August 9, Secretaries Hagel and Kerry will meet with their Russian counterparts in a 2+2 format in Washington to discuss how we can best make progress moving forward on the full range of issues in our bilateral relationship.”
“The President still looks forward to traveling to St. Petersburg on September 5-6 to attend the G-20 Summit.”
Perhaps he should be disinvited in response.
He’ll snub Putin a second time. He won’t meet him face-to-face. He accused him of Cold War tactics. He turned truth on its head claiming it.
Hardline US lawmakers urged Obama to cancel. Senator Chuck Schumer (D. NY) is AIPAC’s man in Washington.
“The president clearly made the right decision,” he said. “President Putin is acting like a schoolyard bully and doesn’t deserve the respect a bilateral summit would have accorded him.”
Obama’s snub set a precedent. It’s the first time a US president cancelled an announced Moscow visit since the Cold War ended.
He’ll spend two extra days in Stockholm instead. White House spokesman Jay Carney called Sweden a “close friend and partner to the United States.”
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s subservient to imperial US interests. So are others in his coalition government.
Moscow expressed disappointment. America’s not ready for prime time. For sure, not Obama, key administration officials, and congressional hardliners. They infest both parties. They mock legitimate governance.
According to Putin aide Yuri Ushakov, what happened “shows that the US is still not ready to build relations with Russia on an equal footing.”
For many years, Washington refused to extradite 20 or more hardened criminals. Russia wants them prosecuted. They’re given sanctuary. They remain free.
US policy is do what we say, not what we do. It’s one-way. It’s offensive. America doesn’t care. It’s an out-of-control rogue state.
Russia’s invitation stands, said Ushakov. Moscow’s “ready to continue working with our American partners on all the key issues of the bilateral and multilateral agenda.”
Washington doesn’t reciprocate. It punishes. It’s longstanding policy. Rogue states operate that way.