Putins Judo #Putin Use your opponent’s larger size and strength against himself. Keep on moving to surprise him. Feign retreat to attack. Judo’s basic principles have been successfully applied by the world’s most famous judoka, Vladimir Putin, in his dealings with the American administration. By calling Obama to engage in a new round of talks, with his army ready to invade Eastern Ukraine, the 8th-dan-black-belt Russian strategist aims to score a new ippon against his seemingly clueless opponent. Putin’s last win, the annexation of Crimea, was bagged without firing a single shot and at a low cost to Russia, as Western sanctions have had very little bite. Putin is positioned now to up the ante and force Obama and the Europeans to accept his demands on Ukraine. With the Russians at the gate and no credible deterrent, they’ll have to give in. In the next few months, Kiev will gradually go back under the Kremlin’s sphere of influence, the right wing Ukrainian nationalists will return to the wilderness, and Euromaidan will be just a memory. Again, without firing a single shot. Luckily for Putin he faces an American administration with no clear strategy, headed to a likely loss of the Senate in November and unable to use its superior military strength. The danger would be for Putin to get too confident and press too hard. It might me wiser to give Obama some leeway in Syria and Iran – where the Russian president already scored other ippons. You dont have to admire Putin (I definitely do not) to admit that hes a Judo master. But geopolitics are more complicated, unpredictable and dangerous. The overall situation could easily turn against Putin. Then we’ll see if he has truly mastered ukemi, the Judo art of accepting defeat.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 19:47:26 +0000
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