Yes, there are some bad actors in the world which is not to say that Obama and the US are always good actors...and perhaps Putin in his 2nd term realizes this.

For all the talk about freedom and democracy, the US has supported almost every major dictatorship in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa...and continues to support thuggish regimes in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and elsewhere when it suits our interest. Don't tell me that Assad is any worse than most other dictators in that part of the world

I tend to agree with your philosophy... US is certainly involved with treaties (NATO) that are obsolete... but I think Obama's (democrats in general) altruistic expectations going into the presidency lead to an eye opening realization that there are some very bad actors in the world... hence increase in drone strike and continuation of Gitmo.

Russia's response. You punch us. And we'll punch you back. More and more countries will stand up to US bullying. And yes. Obama and the us is better off leading from behind- let others shoulder more of the burden if they are so keen on sham democracy in libya, syria....I'd rather so my tax dollars used to pay for better healthcare for people in this country

TheBigGuy - +1

The liberal media has given and continues to give King Obama a pass on his foreign policy disaster as well as the ever-delayed Obamacare - why is being constantly being delayed? Because it was not well thought out, was rammed down the throats of Congress and the US public and above all is a disaster waiting to happen.

If the US does not tell Russia and China what to do/not to do who will? Just look at their voting records at the UN (which by the way is another joke of an organization).

You don't try to negotiate with bullies - you punch them in the face.

[quote]
hero69 wrote:
Who is the US to tell Russia what it must do? If the shoe were on the other foot, would the US return a Snowden-like person to Russia. You betcha Not.

I think Obama's foreign policy has been much better than Bush, but I think the US needs to learn that Russia and increasingly China will stop kowtowing to the US.

Obama liked Medvedev because Medvedev was servile[/

Especially with Obama leading from behind... I can not think of one foreign policy success by this administration... It was Obama who told Medvedev he would have more flexibility after the election... Intel Leaks everywhere.. his administration has destroyed Mexico (gun running to cartel)... Middle East is in shambles, North Korea is firing missiles... China/Russia spheres of influence continue to grow especially in mineral rich Africa... and we have created doubt in our historically common allies... scary

Who is the US to tell Russia what it must do? If the shoe were on the other foot, would the US return a Snowden-like person to Russia. You betcha Not.

I think Obama's foreign policy has been much better than Bush, but I think the US needs to learn that Russia and increasingly China will stop kowtowing to the US.

Obama liked Medvedev because Medvedev was servile

You have to smirk and shake your head when geo-political reality hits these liberal democrats in the face. Their guy Obama is not getting it done especially after Hillary C. "hit reset" with the Russians. If either Bush had done 1/3 of what these incompetent fools had done in the Middle East, this same guy (+ Reid, Schumer, etc.) would be screaming for independent investigators and/or impeachment. The Russians/Assad/Iranians kicked our butts in Benghazi stopping an illegal shipment of guns(USA Constitution / UN Charter) in an attempt to overthrow another member of the UN. They have Snowden and basically every important foreign policy initiative from this administration has failed.

Menendez calls for 'pause' to assess U.S.-Russian relations

By Steve Strunsky/The Star-Ledger
on August 11, 2013 at 6:37 PM

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it could be time to ?pause? and re-examine American relations with Russia, in light of Russian positions on NSA leaker Edward Snowden, on Syria, nuclear arms, gay and lesbian rights and even the adoption of Russian children by Americans.

Asked this morning on ABC?s ?This Week? how the United States could get Russian relations back on track, the New Jersey Democrat suggested that, after being rebuffed on a number of issues by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Obama Administration shouldn?t necessarily be in a rush to do that.

?We seem to be more invested in this effort to create a relationship with Russia that can be productive for both countries more than Putin is,? Menendez told the show's host, George Stephanopolous. ?And so it seems to me that, as we?ve tried to restart this relationship several times, that now is a moment of pause, and [we] think about how we?re going to move forward with Russia.?

Menendez and his House Counterpart, Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, were on the show following an appearance by the lawyer and the father of Edward Snowden, whose release of classified records involving mass eavesdropping on ordinary Americans' telephone and email communications has prompted accusations of treason as well as efforts to rein in domestic data trawling by the National Security Agency.

Royce echoed Menendez' position.

?This former KGB agent still has a sense of hostility toward the West and to the United States,? Royce said of Putin.

"It seems to me that, as we?ve tried to restart this relationship several times, that now is a moment of pause.?

President Obama cancelled a planned face-to-face meeting with the Russian president after his decision to grant Snowden sanctuary in Russia for one year, allowing him to avoid criminal prosecution in the United States on espionage charges.

Ron Snowden, the former NSA contractor's father, said members of Congress had "poisoned" his son's chances of getting a fair trial by labeling him a traitor. But Menendez and Royce both disagreed.

?In my view , Ed Snowden is a fugitive who deserves to be in an American courtroom and not in asylum in Russia,? said Menendez, asserting that Snowden could have taken his concerns directly to Congress. ?The reality is, I don?t think he needed to undermine America?s national security to do whatever he thought his conscience led him to do,?

But "This Week" played a clip from CSPAN of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) refuting the criticism by Menendez and Royce of both Snowden and then Putin.

"in fact, he was being loyal to the rest of us by letting the American people know that their government was getting out of hand," Rohrabacher who chairs a Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Russia, said of Snowden. "Accepting him for asylum, I think, was not as hostile an act as it?s being portrayed.?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013 ... us-russian_relations.html