U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy toward Russia has been ineffective and wrong, according to Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal.
“I think, this president’s [Obama’s] policies actually encouraged, not discouraged, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and I think that’s been a mistake,” Louisiana Governor and Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal told Sputnik on Thursday.
Putin has got another 17 months of Obama’s term to exploit his weaknesses and wreak havoc in the geopolitical order, according to an American political expert, as it was recently reported by ValueWalk.
Putin showed what he thinks about Obama by annexing Crimea and subsequently invading Ukraine. And while Russia signed the Minsk ceasefire agreement in February this year, Russian troops still swarm eastern Ukraine.
As a response, Obama and his allies impose rounds of sanctions against Russia over the Kremlin’s aggression in Eastern Europe.
“I think one of the reasons Putin is in eastern Ukraine and Crimea is that he doesn’t respect this White House, he doesn’t respect Obama’s foreign policy,” Jindal said.
Jindal also added that he believes that “peace through strength works.” “We need to have NATO deployments in Eastern Europe with our allies. I think that actually deterrence works,” he said.
The relations between the U.S. and Russia have been at its worst since the end of the Cold War, with NATO and Moscow regularly carrying out military drills with the other side’s military capabilities and war plans in mind.
Talk with Russia from a position of strength
In August, ValueWalk reported that analysts at the European Leadership Network think tank analyzed Russia’s large-scale military exercises that took place in March as well as NATO’s smaller military drills in June.
The think tank concluded that the “nature and scale” of the drills showed that “Russia is actively preparing for a conflict with NATO, and NATO is preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia.”
Jindal believes that cooperation between Washington and Moscow may be constructive if conducted from the position of strength.
“I think we’d certainly be willing to talk from a position of strength,” Jindal said. “If we start from a position of strength, it could be constructive but it hasn’t been to date.”
The U.S. and Russia continue to cooperate on global matters such as counter-terrorism, fighting with ISIS, finding the resolution to the Syrian crisis as well as space, arts and other areas.
“But to date, when you look at Russia’s interventions in Syria, it hasn’t been helpful,” Jindal said, referring to last week’s reports indicating that Russia entered the Syrian Civil War.
In the reports, images of aircraft similar to Russia’s Yakovlev jets above the Syrian territory triggered speculation that Moscow was preparing to launch airstrikes against some of ISIS targets.
However, the Kremlin then dismissed reports that Russian aircraft was taking part in airstrikes against the terrorist network.
Trump is unlikely to win in 2016
Many American political experts believe that Donald Trump is unlikely to win the presidential election in 2016, even though he has already gained significant support among American people, who are tired of politicians that talk too much and do little.
Two other candidates that have never held elective positions in the U.S. – Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina – are attractive to U.S. voters as well.
However, Trump’s candidacy has all indications of a prematurely inflated bubble, which is about to burst. It is believed by American experts that as November 2016 approaches, Republican voters will make a shift to more traditional politicians.
Among 17 candidates from Republicans, at least five of them meet ‘requirements’ of a traditional Republican candidate: Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and John Kasich.
Although American experts agree that Jeb Bush is pressured by previous mistakes of his brother and father, both former presidents of the U.S. However, despite his not very convincing support (according to polls), he still has all the chances to win support of major sponsors as well as large-scale politicians.
On top of that, he has sufficient funds ($119 million) to have a successful and smooth campaign, which is more than his rivals have.
Ted Cruz draws away Trump’s voters
Marco Rubio has received large support thanks to his political abilities during debates, but there are still a lot of things American people don’t know about him. However, it would be a surprise if Republicans chose a new-fledged Senator, since they criticized Obama for that back in 2008.
Like Bush, Scott Walker is not the brightest candidate, but he is called a hero from Wisconsin and a trade union conqueror, which is why he has chances among sponsors. However, Walker’s support has been on the decline in Iowa as well as across the entire country, while his lack of knowledge in certain matters pushes U.S. voters away.
Ted Cruz has gathered more money than any other Republican (excluding Bush) and he is liked by conservative activists, who will prevail at many Republican meetings and primaries. Cruz is also eager to draw away voters from Trump in case the current top candidate bursts like a bubble. However, Trump is supported by the whole Republican party, and his supporters will turn not only to Cruz.
John Kasich has little chances to succeed, but he made a good impression on many high-ranking Republicans that believe he is better choice than Marco Rubio. It’s important to note that Kasich has been gaining support in New Hampshire, where moderately conservative voters of Republicans live.
