FOD 2014.06.23

I am of Polish heritage, so the following story caught my eye.

Polish minister says US ties worthless

A Polish magazine said Sunday it has obtained recordings of a conversation in which Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski says the country's strong alliance with the U.S. "isn't worth anything" and is "even harmful because it creates a false sense of security."

In a short transcript of the conversation, a person identified as Sikorski by the magazine Wprost tells former finance minister, Jacek Rostowski, that Poles naively believe the U.S. bolsters their security. Using vulgar language, the person argues that such beliefs are nonsense, and that the Polish-U.S. alliance alienates the Russians and Germans.

It's not surprising that Poland and other Eastern European nations are becoming increasingly skeptical of U.S. support. obama has stood idly by - or more accurately, has fled to the golf course - while Russia under Putin has bitten off a chunk of Ukraine, and is hungrily eying more.

As government troops and insurgents were locked in heavy battles in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, NATO’s chief said a new Russian military buildup was underway near the border.

This is something that should be of concern to everyone, regardless of heritage. It highlights the under-the-radar damage that obama, by virtue of his disastrous foreign policy*, is doing to our country's influence on the world stage. The next president, whoever he (or God help us, she) might be, will have the devil of a time undoing this aspect of obama's legacy.

* obama's foreign policy can best be described as "ignore it and hope it goes away - if that doesn't work, impose sanctions."

How's that working, you ask?

Not so good...

U.S Approves New Sanctions as Russian Tanks Roll Into Ukraine