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| Obama Answers Critics, Dismissing Russia as a ‘Regional Power’ | Obama Answers Critics, Dismissing Russia as a ‘Regional Power’ |
| (5 months later) | |
| THE HAGUE — Amid the chest-thumping between President Obama and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in recent weeks, one question has lingered: How big a threat is Russia, anyway? | |
| Mitt Romney, Mr. Obama’s 2012 presidential challenger, made clear his own assessment during the campaign, saying repeatedly that Russia was America’s “No. 1 geopolitical foe” and arguing that Mr. Putin’s aggressive stance demanded a similar response from the American president. | Mitt Romney, Mr. Obama’s 2012 presidential challenger, made clear his own assessment during the campaign, saying repeatedly that Russia was America’s “No. 1 geopolitical foe” and arguing that Mr. Putin’s aggressive stance demanded a similar response from the American president. |
| On Tuesday, Mr. Obama offered his answer, saying that Mr. Putin leads a “regional power” whose real threat extends largely to its bordering nations. In language that seemed to be aimed at the highest ranks inside the Kremlin, Mr. Obama dismissed Russia as a country that is lashing out at its neighbors “not out of strength, but out of weakness.” | On Tuesday, Mr. Obama offered his answer, saying that Mr. Putin leads a “regional power” whose real threat extends largely to its bordering nations. In language that seemed to be aimed at the highest ranks inside the Kremlin, Mr. Obama dismissed Russia as a country that is lashing out at its neighbors “not out of strength, but out of weakness.” |
| Mr. Obama’s decision to engage a reporter’s question about Mr. Romney during a foreign trip suggests that the president was eager to deflect criticism at home that he has been naïve about his approach to Mr. Putin. In Mr. Obama’s first term, he pursued a “reset” in relations with Russia, and during the campaign, he mocked Mr. Romney, saying during a televised debate that “the 1980s, they’re now calling to ask for their foreign policy back.” | Mr. Obama’s decision to engage a reporter’s question about Mr. Romney during a foreign trip suggests that the president was eager to deflect criticism at home that he has been naïve about his approach to Mr. Putin. In Mr. Obama’s first term, he pursued a “reset” in relations with Russia, and during the campaign, he mocked Mr. Romney, saying during a televised debate that “the 1980s, they’re now calling to ask for their foreign policy back.” |
| In recent weeks, as Mr. Putin’s forces rolled through Crimea with little regard to warnings by Mr. Obama, Republicans have said Mr. Romney has been vindicated, and Mr. Obama proved wrong. In February, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Mr. Obama’s 2008 rival, called him “the most naïve president in history.” | In recent weeks, as Mr. Putin’s forces rolled through Crimea with little regard to warnings by Mr. Obama, Republicans have said Mr. Romney has been vindicated, and Mr. Obama proved wrong. In February, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Mr. Obama’s 2008 rival, called him “the most naïve president in history.” |
| After Russian troops began taking control of Crimea, Sarah Palin, the Republican Party’s 2008 vice-presidential nominee, took credit for predicting it. “Yes, I could see this one from Alaska,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “I’m usually not one to Told-Ya-So, but I did, despite my accurate prediction being derided as ‘an extremely far-fetched scenario’ by the ‘high-brow’ Foreign Policy magazine.” | After Russian troops began taking control of Crimea, Sarah Palin, the Republican Party’s 2008 vice-presidential nominee, took credit for predicting it. “Yes, I could see this one from Alaska,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “I’m usually not one to Told-Ya-So, but I did, despite my accurate prediction being derided as ‘an extremely far-fetched scenario’ by the ‘high-brow’ Foreign Policy magazine.” |
| And Sunday, on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Mr. Romney echoed Mr. McCain’s assertion that the president had been naïve about Russia. | And Sunday, on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Mr. Romney echoed Mr. McCain’s assertion that the president had been naïve about Russia. |
| “His faulty judgment about Russia’s intentions and objectives has led to a number of foreign policy challenges that we face,” Mr. Romney said. “This is not fantasy land. They are not our enemy but an adversary on the world stage.” | “His faulty judgment about Russia’s intentions and objectives has led to a number of foreign policy challenges that we face,” Mr. Romney said. “This is not fantasy land. They are not our enemy but an adversary on the world stage.” |
| Seizing his news conference with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands as a platform to respond, the president on Tuesday explained his thinking about Mr. Putin and the country he governs, saying that the influence of Russia on the world stage has languished since the breakup of the Soviet Union. He said the situation in Ukraine in recent weeks proved that he is right. | Seizing his news conference with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands as a platform to respond, the president on Tuesday explained his thinking about Mr. Putin and the country he governs, saying that the influence of Russia on the world stage has languished since the breakup of the Soviet Union. He said the situation in Ukraine in recent weeks proved that he is right. |
| “The fact that Russia felt compelled to go in militarily and lay bare these violations of international law indicates less influence, not more,” Mr. Obama said. | “The fact that Russia felt compelled to go in militarily and lay bare these violations of international law indicates less influence, not more,” Mr. Obama said. |
| Internally, that is the blunt assessment by the United States of Mr. Putin: He is, according to the president’s national security team, someone whose bluster about his closest neighbors can be backed up with action. And they view Russia’s actions — or inaction — as critical to resolving some of the world’s most enduring conflicts far beyond Russia’s borders. | Internally, that is the blunt assessment by the United States of Mr. Putin: He is, according to the president’s national security team, someone whose bluster about his closest neighbors can be backed up with action. And they view Russia’s actions — or inaction — as critical to resolving some of the world’s most enduring conflicts far beyond Russia’s borders. |
| But despite Russia’s vast Cold War arsenal, the administration does not view the country as an existential threat to the American homeland. On Tuesday, Mr. Obama again rejected Mr. Romney’s assertion, though he misquoted the former Republican governor slightly, saying that Russia does not “pose the No. 1 national security threat to the United States.” | But despite Russia’s vast Cold War arsenal, the administration does not view the country as an existential threat to the American homeland. On Tuesday, Mr. Obama again rejected Mr. Romney’s assertion, though he misquoted the former Republican governor slightly, saying that Russia does not “pose the No. 1 national security threat to the United States.” |
| “My response then continues to be what I believe today,” he said, referring to his answer to Mr. Romney in 2012. “Which is: Russia’s actions are a problem. They don’t pose the No. 1 national security threat to the United States. I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan.” | “My response then continues to be what I believe today,” he said, referring to his answer to Mr. Romney in 2012. “Which is: Russia’s actions are a problem. They don’t pose the No. 1 national security threat to the United States. I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan.” |
| That comment might have been of particular concern to the residents of New York City. But it matches the overall assessment of most Americans when it comes to Russia, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. | That comment might have been of particular concern to the residents of New York City. But it matches the overall assessment of most Americans when it comes to Russia, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. |
| In that poll, conducted Thursday through Sunday, concern about Russia has increased recently, but only about a quarter of those surveyed said they viewed Russia as an adversary of the United States. About four in 10 said Russia is a serious problem, but about half said it is important for the United States not to get involved in the situation between Russia and Ukraine. | In that poll, conducted Thursday through Sunday, concern about Russia has increased recently, but only about a quarter of those surveyed said they viewed Russia as an adversary of the United States. About four in 10 said Russia is a serious problem, but about half said it is important for the United States not to get involved in the situation between Russia and Ukraine. |
| In the weeks ahead, Mr. Obama may face more criticism as the confrontation between Mr. Putin and the Western nations continues with no end in sight. But Mr. Obama’s aides have made clear that they have no intention of letting Mr. Romney or Mr. McCain succeed in painting the president as doe-eyed in the face of a harsh reality. | In the weeks ahead, Mr. Obama may face more criticism as the confrontation between Mr. Putin and the Western nations continues with no end in sight. But Mr. Obama’s aides have made clear that they have no intention of letting Mr. Romney or Mr. McCain succeed in painting the president as doe-eyed in the face of a harsh reality. |
| Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to the president, said, “Well, look, we’ve been very cleareyed about our Russia policy from when we came into office, which is that we will cooperate when we have common interests and we can form common positions, but we’ll be very clear when we have differences.” | Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to the president, said, “Well, look, we’ve been very cleareyed about our Russia policy from when we came into office, which is that we will cooperate when we have common interests and we can form common positions, but we’ll be very clear when we have differences.” |
| Mr. Rhodes and other advisers argue that the cooperation that Mr. Obama sought with Russia at the beginning of the administration — at a time when Mr. Putin was prime minister and was not in direct control of the country — helped the United States succeed in several initiatives, including supplying troops in Afghanistan, putting sanctions on Iran and passing a new Start treaty. | Mr. Rhodes and other advisers argue that the cooperation that Mr. Obama sought with Russia at the beginning of the administration — at a time when Mr. Putin was prime minister and was not in direct control of the country — helped the United States succeed in several initiatives, including supplying troops in Afghanistan, putting sanctions on Iran and passing a new Start treaty. |
| And they insist that Mr. Obama’s decision against using force in Syria had nothing to do with Mr. Putin’s calculations in Ukraine. | And they insist that Mr. Obama’s decision against using force in Syria had nothing to do with Mr. Putin’s calculations in Ukraine. |
| “When George Bush was president, we went to war in Iraq, we went to war in Afghanistan; that did not in any way deter Russia from going into Georgia in 2008,” Mr. Rhodes told reporters in The Hague. “Frankly, in terms of the steps that we’ve outlined and the steps that we’re taking, they go far beyond any previous steps that have been taken in response to Russian aggression.” | “When George Bush was president, we went to war in Iraq, we went to war in Afghanistan; that did not in any way deter Russia from going into Georgia in 2008,” Mr. Rhodes told reporters in The Hague. “Frankly, in terms of the steps that we’ve outlined and the steps that we’re taking, they go far beyond any previous steps that have been taken in response to Russian aggression.” |
| On Twitter on Tuesday, one of Mr. Obama’s top aides was more blunt. Dan Pfeiffer, the senior adviser and chief communications strategist, said the president absolutely rejected Mr. Romney’s criticisms. Mr. Obama, Mr. Pfeiffer posted on Twitter, “actually said he was wrong cuz he was.” | On Twitter on Tuesday, one of Mr. Obama’s top aides was more blunt. Dan Pfeiffer, the senior adviser and chief communications strategist, said the president absolutely rejected Mr. Romney’s criticisms. Mr. Obama, Mr. Pfeiffer posted on Twitter, “actually said he was wrong cuz he was.” |