EDITORIAL: How to invite war? Equivocation

Russia and China take advantage of American leadership vacuum

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, sits prior to a meeting with Israel’s President Shimon Peres at the President’s residence in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. Peres met two of ‘The Elders’, a group composed of eminent global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela. (AP Photo/

Sebastian Scheiner)

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Monday, March 3, 2014

President Obama, like Jimmy Carter before him, is finally getting a late education in how the world works. It’s not how he wants it to be.

The world is a dangerous place, where history and greed trump good intentions. Words are cheap.

Red lines and vague warnings to bad actors mean little to men who scheme for power, strategic advantage and territory. Vladimir Putin, communist or not, is one tough Russian.