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Politics

by Mike Masnick

Wed, Aug 7th 2013 10:43am




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Filed Under:
barack obama, diplomacy, ed snowden, vladimir putin


Obama Cancels Putin Meeting Because Of Snowden, Because Diplomacy Is Like Kindergarten

from the petty-disputes dept

The White House had hinted at this earlier, but now it's been confirmed that President Obama has cancelled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin because of Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to Ed Snowden. This seems petty in the extreme. No one honestly thought that Putin would simply hand over Snowden. And, really, of all the things to cancel a meeting about, this is the one that pushes him over the edge? He could have cancelled it over Putin's recent homophobic remarks or Russia's latest focus on censoring the internet or putting activists in jail or any number of other things that generally should offend American sensibilities. But using the Snowden asylum as the reason just seems like the federal government is really losing perspective in this whole NSA surveillance debate -- the one Obama claimed he "welcomed."

Honestly, this whole thing feels like kindergarten-style diplomacy. The Russians took "our ball" and so now we're mad at them and won't talk to them. In an adult world, cancelling a meeting over something like this just looks incredibly immature and petty. It's all for show, rather than any legitimate purpose. I'd rather we had a government that didn't do things for show, but for legitimate reasons. Unfortunately, it seems we're well past having that kind of government.

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    rw (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 9:38am

    "it seems we're well past having that kind of government."

    We haven't had the kind that uses legitimate reasons for anything in years.

     

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      PRMan, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 2:24pm

      Re:

      Actually, and somewhat ironically, Bush did what he thought was right regardless of how it looked and got blasted for it. Now, Obama is doing the wrong thing and trying to look good, but comes off looking like a schoolyard bully all the time.

       

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        John Fenderson (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 3:31pm

        Re: Re:

        Bush did what he thought was right regardless of how it looked


        I don't really know what Bush thought, but I was never under the impression that he was doing what he thought was right for the nation.

        Regardless, Bush looked and acted exactly like a schoolyard bully.

         

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        PaulT (profile), Aug 8th, 2013 @ 12:31am

        Re: Re:

        "Bush did what he thought was right regardless of how it looked and got blasted for it"

        Usually because it was the wrong thing to be doing. Good intentions don't count for that much if the actions aren't right.

         

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    silverscarcat (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 9:42am

    Dammit!

    I have this mental image in my head now!

    Obama: *Pounding the ground crying* I want Snowden! I want! I want! I want!

     

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    Ninja (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 10:49am

    So they'd rather risk major international incidents than back off and actually do some thinking over the situation and start cleaning the mess. Bolivia wasn't nearly as high profile as Russia.

    This should be interesting to watch. Right now the Government is causing more damage than any leak from Snowden could. Much like the post 9/11 actions caused more harm than any building blown up could ever cause.

     

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    Russ (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 10:51am

    Didn't want to go anyway

    I have seen it written on other sites that the WH was looking for an excuse because there wasn't anything to accomplish (in a PR sense) through meetings. No agreements, not even a significant joint statement. And the WH doesn't actually want to discuss serious issues without knowing the answer in advance. It is all theater

     

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      ChurchHatesTucker (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 10:54am

      Re: Didn't want to go anyway

      Exactly. They knew they'd get flac for getting nothing done, so they used Snowden as an excuse to do nothing.

       

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    Zakida Paul (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 11:22am

    Obama throws his toys out of the pram in a tantrum that would put my one year old cousin to shame.

     

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    Wally (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 11:25am

    Something to note...

    This was an annual relations checkup between the two leaders. Vladimir Putin has expressed that his feelings are hurt about all this. It's like our foreign policies have gone to shites here in the US.

    It is being reported that Russia's homophobic policies were exactly what these meetings were supposed to be for.

    I hereby applaud the people for voting on TV edited charisma...and blindly ignoring the policies promised in the campaign.

     

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    identicon
    Levinath, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 11:39am

    "President Putin is acting like a school-yard bully and doesn't deserve the respect a bilateral summit would have accorded him," Schumer said. - Reuters

    Pot. Kettle. LOLs.

     

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    Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 11:49am

    Objectionable

    He could have cancelled it over Putin's recent homophobic remarks or Russia's latest focus on censoring the internet or putting activists in jail or any number of other things that generally should offend American sensibilities.

    Well, two of these three Obama has no issue with.

     

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      Wally (profile), Aug 8th, 2013 @ 5:58am

      Re: Objectionable

      Doesn't matter, he still canceled those human rights talking points because Russia granted Temporary Asylum to Snowden...this mean Obama doesn't care one iota.

       

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    Radical right wing leftist, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 11:53am

    I'm suprised the whitehouse didn't delete this one.

     

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    powow, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 12:04pm

    Diplomacy is like high school ...with nukes.

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 12:09pm

    and this is from the leader of the 'most powerful nation on Earth?' give me strength!it's like a kid spitting out the dummy when he cant have his own way!

     

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      Anonymous Coward, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 12:59pm

      Re:

      He is nominally the most powerful man on earth, and so he expects to get his own way all of the time. Not doing so gives lie to the proposition that he is the most powerful man on earth, hence the tantrum.

       

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    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 12:11pm

    DC needs to send itself some FEMA aid...

    Someone needs to send a massive amount of Preparation-H to Washington as there seems to be a huge epidemic of butthurt going on there.

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 12:44pm

    bawwwwwwwww

    *stomps feet and plugs ears
    *is the US government.

     

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    AmyEBarnes (profile), Aug 7th, 2013 @ 12:44pm

    Diplomacy or warfare?

    It's ridiculous and pathetic that Obama does not see this as an opportunity to engage in critical discourse and diplomacy... unless there was indeed something ELSE he was afraid of.

    What is NOT being said here is probably far more indicative of actual status between Russia and the USA. Hrm.

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Aug 7th, 2013 @ 12:46pm

    Obama hates bad publicity with a passion. Given how the economic summit went with the publicity photos showing both Putin and Obama looking like to bored school boys during the photo shoot, I would suspect it is more the idea he can't look like a hero in the global communities eyes than it is Putin's actions in granting Snowden asylum.

    Putin has done Obama a favor by making it a condition that Snowden can't keep releasing stuff while in Russia. But being the school yard bully, that doesn't work.

    The US government, agencies, and executive branch have done more to embarrass themselves over this matter of what they are doing than all of Snowden's revelations. Snowden proved they were doing it with the evidence. Were they not spying on citizens, despite the Constitution outlines, there would be no issues here. Being caught with their fingers in the cookie jar doing what they know they are not supposed to do is what the real problem is. It is compounded by the showing of a lack of interest to own up to this and come clean.

    That is what the real stink is over. Putin is just an excuse.

     

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