"The Russian Bear"

"Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly", a statement from a children's story, yet it contains a valuable warning. Many times deception and disaster come cloaked in a cloud of friendship. I remember a picture in my history book of Hitler shaking hands with Stalin upon the signing of a non-aggression pact. Both were smiling and seemed friendly. Stalin later found out Adolph wasn't such a nice guy. In the movie "The Godfather", Don Corleone said, "Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer". A boxer will sometimes lure his opponent into a corner, feigning injury or weakness, only to render a knock-out blow to his foe. Just days before Pearl Harbor, Japan had diplomats in Washington, happily conversing with our president in a charade of friendship and cooperation.

Last week, President Barack Obama had a meeting with Russian President Dimtry Medvedev. This meeting was lauded as a renewal of friendship between two of the world's most powerful nations. This was to be a benchmark to a new era of trust and truth between former ideological foes. The photo-op of Obama and Medvedev seems eerily familiar to me.

A few days ago, the F.B.I. made a series of arrests of suspected Russian spies! Ten people were taken into custody on conspiracy charges. They have been accused of trying to gather information on United States foreign policy by attempting to gain the confidence of people in the government. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Michael Farbiarz, said "this is just the tip of the iceberg", a sobering statement. It also seems disturbing to me that statements have been made alleging that Barack Obama was aware of this situation before his handshake with the Russian president. The possibility of Obama knowing this and then embracing the Russian leader can be taken as another example of Obama's lack of experience as he dismissed the gravity of this surreptitious act.

Vladimir Putin has taken issue with the arrests as a trivial matter. This is certainly to be expected from the former K.G.B. chief. Robert Gibbs said this incident would have no effect on the new era of cooperation with the Russians and the United States.

We have given up our missile defense shield in Eastern Europe; we have made compromises over sanctions on Iran because of the Russians. Now, we are turning a blind eye on undercover foreign agents operating on our shores. WHAT ARE YOU DOING MR. OBAMA? Before a bear kills, he grabs you around the shoulders in a huge hug; then he disembowels you with his rear claws; the claws you don't see!