Obama's Reset

Did we win the Cold War and Lose the Peace?

Watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics I was struck by how it underlined that from the Hanseatic League to the February Revolution, Russia is and has been historically a Western power.  77% of the Russian population lives in Europe while 75% of its territory lies in Asia.

The Marshall Plan

At the end of WWII we had the Marshall Plan, a coherent politico-economic plan for the restoration and recovery of Europe.  At the end of the cold war we sometimes helped, often gloated, and frequently kicked at the remains of the former Soviet Union, obviously lacking any plan at all.  Twenty years later we still seem to be lacking any rational plan for dealing with the Russian Federation.

Reset

Outside of the initial successes of the New Start treaty, Obama's reset with Russia has largely fizzled.  From Egypt to Syria, Snowden to Sochi, America's diplomatic relationship with Russia is zombie-like, stumbling and jerking around reflexively with little apparent cogent thought.  

America and indeed all the western nations need a plan.