Vladimir Putin has a message for Barack Obama and the United States, a message he sent via Russian warplanes buzzing the Navy destroyer Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea. Yesterday the Pentagon released video of the jets flying extremely close to the ship more than 30 times over the past two days. Military Times originally reported the story yesterday here. CBS News quotes the Obama administration calling the “simulated attack” passes unsafe. The video below shows two Russian jets coming incredibly close on one of their passes.
Putin’s message is that he holds Obama in the utmost contempt and that it is safe for him to show it. He knows Obama thinks him retrograde. Obama transcends concerns about national pride as a relic of the past. Putin wants to spread his message and publicize Obama’s attitude to those who take matters of national pride and humiliation seriously, even if it is redundant in both cases.
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