What is most troubling about Mr. Putin's aggression in Crimea is that it reflects a growing disregard for America's credibility in the world. That has emboldened other aggressive actors - from Chinese nationalists to Al Qaeda terrorists and Iranian theocrats.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the concern that Russia's actions diminish America's global credibility, encouraging other aggressive nations and groups.
In this quote, John McCain expresses grave concern regarding Vladimir Putin's aggressive actions in Crimea and how such behavior symbolizes a broader trend of eroding American credibility on the world stage. He suggests that this loss of influence emboldens not only Russia but also other nations and groups with aggressive intentions, such as the Chinese nationalists, Al Qaeda, and Iranian theocrats, indicating a dangerous shift in global dynamics and a potential rise in acts of aggression worldwide.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about international relations at a political debate.
Giap was a master of logistics, but his reputation rests on more than that. His victories were achieved by a patient strategy that he and Ho Chi Minh were convinced would succeed - an unwavering resolve to suffer immense casualties and the near total destruction of their country to defeat any adversary, no matter how powerful.
Whenever America sends its citizens into harm's way, it must do so with eyes wide open.
For decades we have been living lives of abundance, with little regard for our natural resources or global health. But we are now facing hard choices in our energy policy. Future generations - my children and grandchildren, along with yours - will have to live with the decisions we make today. And so it is time for us to make some tough and - hopefully - smart choices regarding our energy use and production before it is too late.
We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital.
I appreciate our government's determination to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the Bytyqi brothers, which Serbia's Interior Minister has rightly called 'an exceptionally serious crime,' and hope the Serbian government's pledge of full cooperation... is matched by a final accounting of their murder.
For Mr. Putin, vacillation invites aggression. His world is a brutish, cynical place, where power is worshiped, weakness is despised, and all rivalries are zero-sum.
'Do you pray for the senators, Dr. Hale?' No, I look at the senators and I pray for the country.
Increasingly, the state system has been eroding. Terrorists have exploited this weakness by burrowing into the state system in order to attack it.
The President can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power in the Federal Constitution or in an act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof. There is no undefined residuum of power which he can exercise because it seems to him to be in the public interest.
The public is strongly in favor of the Kyoto Protocols, so strongly in favor that a majority of Bush voters thought that he was in favor of it. They are simply unaware.
In Palestine, the Israelis claim they found a land without people,' a Syrian officer explained to us. 'Now they will take southern Lebanon and claim they have found another land without people if these refugees do not return.
The corporate lobby in Washington is basically designed to stifle all legislative activity on behalf of consumers.
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