Clinton: Putin’s Ability to Grab Presidency Has a Certain Appeal

Nick Glass – Politico

There’s not much to like about Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton remarked Wednesday.But there just might be one potential perk to being the Russian leader. “I don’t admire very much about Mr. Putin, but the idea you can stand up and say ‘I will be your next president’? That has a certain, you know attraction to it,” the former secretary of state joked during a question-and-answer session following her address on the Iran nuclear deal at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Vladivostok, Russia, Sept. 8, 2012.

On a more serious note, Clinton said that she is “in the category of people who wanted to do more in reaction to the annexation of Crimea” last year.

Russia’s objective “is to stymie, to confront, to undermine American power whenever and wherever they can,” she added in response to how the United States could control Putin’s aggression on the European continent.

Putin Is Driving Russia On a Road to Ruin

Amotz Asa-El – MarketWatch

Russian President Vladimir Putin knows what he wants. The latest flashpoint where he is demonstrating this is Syria, where he is expanding a strategic outpost, shielding an ally and financing an imperialism that, like the Soviet’s and czars’, defies economics.

Russia is preparing to build a new air base and send another 1,000 advisers to Syria….

In this Feb. 7, 2012 file photo, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov said on Sept. 10, 2015 that Russian aircraft flying into Syria are delivering weapons along with humanitarian supplies. (AP)

Shorn of the democratic concern with morality, Putin’s attitude to Syria is driven by nothing other than his understanding of the Russian national interest, which is the same as Peter’s, namely imperial greatness no matter what the cost.

Hillary Clinton’s Hawkish Position on Russia Troubles Both Sides of Aisle

S.A. Miller – The Washington Times

…Since leaving the State Department in 2013, her harsh rhetoric about Russia raised eyebrows among hawks and doves alike….

At a meeting earlier this year with London Mayor Boris Johnson, he said she faulted European leaders for being “too wimpy” about challenging Mr. Putin.

Mrs. Clinton isn’t the only candidate to take a tough stand on Russia’s annexation of Crimea and ongoing involvement in the warfare in eastern Ukraine. But she brings more heat to the discourse than any other Democrat or most Republicans.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a rally marking the one year anniversary of the annexation of Crimea outside the Kremlin on March 18, 2015. (AP)

The Democratic Frontrunner Flexes Her Diplomatic Muscles

Lexington – The Economist

Hillary Clinton’s greatest asset as she seeks the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination is also her greatest liability: her four years of service as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state. No rival for the presidency, from either party, can match her insider’s knowledge of the world and its leaders. Yet the American public, seeing wobbly allies and defiant foes at every point on the compass, has largely lost faith in Team Obama’s handling of foreign affairs….

On September 9th Mrs Clinton used a speech on Iran, and the recent American-led talks to curb that country’s nuclear ambitions, to attempt an escape. Speaking in Washington at the Brookings Institution, a think tank that serves as a high temple for America’s foreign policy priesthood, she presented herself as an advocate of “smart power”. Broadly speaking, this involved claiming joint-ownership of Obama policies that still have a decent chance of succeeding, while disavowing any initiatives that have already failed.