The US Vice Presidents harsh statements about Russia are his own, not a preplanned move by the White House, says political analyst Ivan Eland.
Right Pundits has more:
Joe Biden over the weekend made a gaffe of rather historic proportions for a Vice President, and yet the mainstream media seemed to treat it as a trivial incident.
He gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal that was released on Saturday, which had Russian officials seeing red. Here’s one of many quotes that the Russians did not appreciate.
"Russians…have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they’re in a situation where the world is changing before them and they’re clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable. "
Biden suggested that Russia will be so weak in the coming years that the country will have to make concessions to the United States and the West in the future. How very diplomatic for a politician.
The full interview is available here. Biden is not responsible for the incendiary title, “Biden Says Weakened Russia Will Bend To U.S.,” but the content of his interview sure lead one to believe that he is making such a statement.
In the interview, he gave some more delightfully insulting insights such as:
"It won’t work if we go in and say: ‘Hey, you need us, man; belly up to the bar and pay your dues…It is never smart to embarrass an individual or a country when they’re dealing with significant loss of face. My dad used to put it another way: Never put another man in a corner where the only way out is over you."
I’m no fan of Russia, but somehow, I don’t think it’s the Vice President’s place to call a country with nuclear weapons that is of vital strategic importance to U.S. foreign policy a “weak” and “withering” country. It’s not smart to compare a very poweful country to a drunk at the bar who can’t pay his bar tab.
That doesn’t seem like good diplomacy, if you ask me.
The Russian news agency stated yesterday that they were “perplexed” by Biden’s remarks. They rightfully asked why Biden was making comments that seemed so contrary to Obama’s stated position that he wanted to “reset” relations with Russia.
Seriously, Obama, this is your second in command?
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