From The Newswires: Crimea gets annexed & the US fails to invade Russia as a consequence, something the loony right in the US indicates makes Obama a weak president. Enter the voice of sweet reason – Robert Gates, erstwhile Secretary of Defence to both Obama & Dubya – to point out that wild George his very self also failed to invade Russia when Vlad invaded Georgia when he was POTUS & that the right have never accused that fine Texas lad of being soft. Obama may be the most disappointing president for years but he is actually round about right on most foreign policy issues & for the rest of the world that is probably more important than his domestic policy failures. From The Economy: Russia/Crimea/Ukraine: an economic explanation for what is going on: Russia’s significant dependence on Ukraine for gas exports has long been a source of friction between … Continue reading 18.3.14 Edition of The Clearance