While answering journalists' questions at the White House briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest attempted to convince the reporters present that Russia does not play any significant role at the international arena.
In an apparent failure to compare Russia with any other modern country, Earnest decided to turn to history. In doing so, he compared Russia with none other than the USSR, forgetting to mention that Russia was just one of the 15 member republics of the Union.
“The Cold War was characterized by two international superpowers who were in a sort of global test that was backed by the threat of the use of the nuclear weapons. The situation today is much different than that. Russia is no longer a superpower. I’ve observed in the last couple of weeks that the condition of the Russian economy is weak and further deteriorating,” the White House spokesman said.
“They are now the 15th-largest economy in the world, and they rank somewhere behind Spain.”
The White House continues to put the boot into Russia, which is odd given that the two countries are effectively fighting on the same side in the war against terrorism. But while the Pentagon's efforts in the Middle East have been an unmitigated disaster, Russia has had spectacular success through developing and executing on a clear strategy, leading some analysts to the conclusion that Washington may be on the verge of losing the geopolitical initiative in the region.
