in the face of the Muslim take over of Western Europe and the destabilization that brings to the World, you'd figure the US and Russia would team up swat ISIS and put the fear of Allah into Iran and Al Qaeda. It's not happening and the problem is leadership.

Putin is an ego maniac that wants reconstitute most of the old Soviet Union. Putin wants Russia to have the same World influence as the old USSR. We have to understand that first. We also need to remember the old Cold War alliances that are still out there on both sides.

Putin still honors old alliances - Assad in Syria. He will not let us take out Assad anymore than w'd let Russia over throw Israel. Not gonna happen.
Meanwhile ,Obama encouraged this Arab Spring thing and just is loving his Muslim brothers invading Europe in unprecedented numbers as he allows a million per year in here.

For the UIS and Russia to join together for mutual prosperity, both first need a change at the top. Hillary will NOT be the answer for us here. We've seen her work on foreign policy.

We will have to not only conceded that some of Russia's long time buddies must stay - like Assad. Not only that, we need to support people like Assad that can keep their Muslims in check and ruthlessly crush the fundamentalists. Maybe is the US and Russia backed the same tyrants, they'd pacify the unrest and they would have the need to screw with Israel and the West. If one got out of line, they'd turn where for support if the US/Russia coalition wanted them out? China? Nobody wants to work with China.

Europe needs to start to understand that true Western Democracy has no place in the Muslim World. Peace is kept by strength, fear, and respect. Look at Iraq, free from Saddam's grip and they can't pull it together. Same in Afghanistan. Egypt needs its military to prop up the government. On and on.

If united, the US, Western Europe and Russia could clean out the Jihad in about 2 months and leave the Middle East to people who know how to run it. I don't see it.

Because we are always going to need a big bad wolf that only the government can protect us from (and to keep us distracted from more pressing agendas).

The US in its present status has little stomach for any renewed entry in large numbers and is devoid of leadership capable of forming a plan.
HRC will continue the globalist viewpoint which will allow Putin to posture in that arena but shore-up support and another warm water port in Syria.
Putin is far too cagey for a Obama or HRC to get ahead of.
The USA is left playing tic tac toe while the Russians are playing 3 dimensional chess. For them at present, its a cakewalk.

Because even a crook like Putin has his standards Hat, and frankly your current administration doesn't meet them.

Now Reagan...Putin would have got along well with him.

First we would have to have a leader that could earn respect before we try and improve relations with Russia.

Hard to be friends or even have a civil relationship with someone when at the same time you're trying to dictate how they live, who they partner with, and what they can and can not do!

We've always assumed that we've got all the answers for everyone else, its great for us when they need our help... but the world has evolved making nations that 50 years ago had little today wealthy.

They don't need us any more and are turning to partners that are more of their own and of the same global area. Russia and China, India, Iran, Pakistan are creating their own international trade groups and becoming allies.

Hell even Japan, Australia, and Canada are looking away from the U.S..

Phil

We have a State Dept, in my experience, populated with liberal idealist that find the idea of dictators and tyrants and monarchs unimaginable as what some countries and people indeed need. Look at Ataturk in Turkey where a democracy is now destroying the country. To be economically viable a country needs to be stable and there are countries that simply need that firm had to be stable.

Well not really, we are just embarrassed for you.

we have a bad relationship with Russia because that fit's putin's agenda. He is not America's friend, ally or partner. He is on the opposite side of every diplomatic fence.
Make no mistake about this, putin considers America Russia's enemy. He is an unreconstructed commie bastard.

Like clockwork, once a year, Mannlicher makes a post that I am in 100% agreement with. This is the one for this year.

I will will believe this next year about Putin, and I believed this last year about Putin.

I believed this about Putin, even when GWB said " "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. "


Sycamore

I've had to take a step back and look at all of this from a different prospective,maybe I've got it all wrong,I don't know.First off,I cannot believe our media,they report biased news.Now let's take a look at Putin.We had improving relations with Russia until Bush invited him and his wife to his ranch.After that,relations seemed to be on the decline.The U.N.,that was formed as an alliance to bring peace and compromise in the world,has become a fast forward path for the New World Order.George H. Bush was big on N.W.O.and even Joe Biden spoke of this in recent years.In order to have this type of government,everybody has to give in and give up what their countries stand for so you can have an even playing field.This means the countries with the most to lose are going to get screwed big time.I think the U.N. has decided,if you don't play,you're gonna pay.I think some of the powerful countries are seeing this and saying,screw you.........You cannot have this type of government and everybody be happy.Now let's look at Syria.The fighting that's going on there is a result of the arab spring.The same wave of revolution that swept through North Africa,moved on to Syria.How did that work out for those people? U.N. was involved in that too,so was SOTS H.R.C. and our POTUS.Hillary was saying Assad has to go,John McCain and Lyndsey Graham did a secret meeting with the Syrian rebels supplying them arms to overthrow Assad.Slip of the tongue Joe Biden said Saudi Arabia would fund the U.S. overthrow of Assad and Putin said no way...Why? Russia has very few shipping ports.Their country has been doing trade through there for probably centuries.Would you rather deal with Assad or a bunch of rebels?Same goes for Crimea,shipping port.Lets also remember,Russia's economy is largely based on oil,and who dropped the price of oil,Saudi Arabia.After all of this happened,Putin has suddenly become aggresive bad guy in the world.I don't know,maybe,maybe not.

Putin is a bullying thug. Obama is a pussy, Putin recognizes it.
Jim

We can make Putin into a better ally. We just have to let him restore the Soviet Union to its' former positions in the "Easter block" and re-annex former territories.

I agree BaldHunter.

The idea that Russia is just willy nilly trying to re create the former Comm Bloc seems a bit outrageous.

Russians study history far better than us, and know that propping up all those puppet states was bad for business.

Since the start of the cold war, Russia tried to create a buffer from NATO.

They were not about to let NATO put missiles in Ukraine.

I am not saying that Russia is blameless, but one should read Russian and American news. The truth, as always is in the middle.

Obama

This! We have a president who on the terrorist side. I think Trump wants to open the doors to a much stronger and better relationship with Russia.

That would put a lot of big business noses out of joint, wouldn't it.

Putin wants to drive wealth and power.
Communism and the old iron curtain was useful for Russia to bleed wealth from satellite countries. Now his card is oil, and Muslims present competition and disruption of his plan.
Common interest should be stabilization, but the U S benefits on turmoil.
Easier to be a superpower with outside terrorism.

Pretty much nails it.

Well maybe, It would be good for the world but some here will never be able to move on from their hate.

To be honest Scott I think it is more about lining pockets than it is about hate...and that goes for Russians as well.

Lining pockets always comes first no doubt about it.

Funny how it never seems to trickle down to the little man.

Yep!