Brilliant

Barack Obama is to charge Vladimir Putin with being a menace to an international system built up over decades following the Russian leader's sudden appropriation of part of Ukraine.

In his sole big policy speech of a four-day trip to Europe, Obama, on his first presidential visit to Brussels.

  Guardian

What a dupe.

As well as Ukraine and Russia, the US and EU leaders will discuss their ambitious negotiations on a transatlantic free trade area which, if successfully concluded, would boost the EU economy by more than €100bn (£83bn), according to Brussels, although economists say trade agreements actually have little impact on levels of trade and point to China's soaring trade performance as proof.

And yet, countries keep entering trade agreements with us.

The trade talks may also be encumbered by European complaints about the National Security Agency surveillance scandal, with White House reforms of NSA bulk data gathering in the pipeline. The Europeans will press the US leader to facilitate reciprocity in the courts, meaning that Europeans in the US should be able to seek redress in the American courts if they feel their data privacy rights have been violated by US agencies.

Americans in Europe can go to the courts, but not vice versa.

How did that happen?

Our economy is unstable, our promises are not always kept, and we have no allegiance to international law. America’s super power status is a lot of smoke and mirrors. When the dollar comes unhinged, surely the rest of the world will stop bowing.

"There's no question that Nato is prepared to defend any ally against any aggression," said the senior US official. "To reassure them, we do think we should take additional steps. We've already deployed Baltic air policing, additional planes over the Baltic countries. We've deployed an aviation detachment to Poland.

"We are looking at doing more things like that. We'll be discussing very specifically what more can be done in terms of signalling concrete reassurance to our eastern European allies."

Reassurance?  More like fear-mongering. Ramp up the demonization of Putin and Russia. Tell them Russia is becoming aggressive and looking to gobble them up. Yes, world, it’s Russia that’s the destabilizing force in the world today.

So, are the troops we’re withdrawing from the mess we created in the Middle East going to be redeployed to Eastern Europe?  That would be reassuring, wouldn't it?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.