Russian President Vladimir Putin has so cultivated the image of unrivaled strongman that Russians could be forgiven for thinking he can slay dragons with his stare.
Hell, listening to Republicans swoon over his leadership, you could be forgiven for thinking they wish Putin were president of the United States. Granted, this swooning probably reflects their partisan/racial hatred of Obama more than their love of Putin. But there’s no denying a totalitarian ideation that makes far too many Republicans swoon over cocksure leaders who shoot first and ask questions later. Only this explains their election of George W. Bush and their flirtation now with Donald J. Trump.
Mind you, Putin’s reputed power is based on little more than using Russia’s military to bully neighboring countries, its secret police to incarcerate and even assassinate local critics, and its state media to propagate propaganda and PR stunts.
All of which makes one wonder why a purportedly sophisticated magazine like Forbes has bought into his manufactured image; so much so that it has just ranked Putin the most powerful person in the world — for the third consecutive year:
Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged as the world’s most powerful person for the third year running. Putin continues to prove he’s one of the few men in the world powerful enough to do what he wants – and get away with it. International sanctions set in place after he seized Crimea and waged war-by-proxy in Ukraine have kneecapped the Ruble and driven Russia into deepening recession, but haven’t hurt Putin one bit: In June his approval ratings reached an all-time high of 89%.
(Forbes, November 4, 2015)
Except that nothing exposed the obvious chinks in Putin’s PR armor quite like a ragtag bunch of Islamic terrorists teaching him a very deadly lesson for trying to bully his way into their sectarian battles.
New intelligence suggests that ISIS may have planted a bomb on the Russian passenger jet that crashed in Egypt on Saturday…
British and U.S. officials said Wednesday they have information suggesting the Russian jetliner that crashed in the Egyptian desert may have been brought down by a bomb, and Britain said it was suspending flights to and from the Sinai Peninsula as a precaution.
(Huffington Post, November 4, 2015)
Putin dispatched his PR flaks to denounce the British as hysterical cowards for immediately suspending British flights to the Sinai region of Egypt. Yet, less than 24 hours later, he followed suit by suspending Russian flights to the entire country, thereby exposing more chinks.
Of course, the irony is not lost on me that the timing of this terrorist strike, the worst since 9/11, put paid to the spectacle of Forbes hailing Putin as the most powerful person in the World. Not least because ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi could claim that this strike is tantamount to the holy parable of David slaying Goliath.
ISIS affiliates in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula insist that they took down a plane carrying 224 people as an attack on ‘Russian crusaders,’ experts say Putin might have little choice but to get even more deeply involved in the Middle East…
But Putin might be reluctant to give ISIS credit for this attack, knowing that it would drag him even further into the fight.
(Business Insider, November 5, 2015)
No doubt al-Baghdadi would like nothing more than to force this self-styled macho man into a 1970s, Afghanistan-style quagmire – all in a vain attempt to live up to his own manufactured image.
Putin has proved himself such a spiteful, bullying, rabble-rousing strategist that I fear he may have blustered and boxed himself into a corner, leaving him no choice but to invade Ukraine [and now Syria] to save face.
(“The Russians Strike Back … with Fruits and Vegetables?!” The iPINIONS Journal, August 8, 2014)
More to the point, though, here’s to Russians finally questioning the value of Putin’s much vaunted power – given that he was powerless to stop ISIS from blowing up 224 of their compatriots on board a Russian plane.
In the meantime, my prayers and thoughts go out to the loved ones of those who perished.
They also go out to the Russian people who continue to cower, suffer, and die under Putin’s Stalinesque dictatorship.
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Russians strike back…