Putin Says …

The president of Russia has written an op-ed article for the New York Times! Will Obama send a reply to Pravda? I don’t think there is anything in our election laws preventing the Russians from paying taxi fares to get Republican voters to the polls. So I guess it’s worth sticking around on earth a while longer, just to see what other near-miracles may happen.

Putin had several valid points and stated correctly the rule of international law: Any attack on another country may only be made with the sanction of the Security Council or in self-defense (which the U.S. concedes is not at issue.) Putin omitted any explanation of how the Syrians came to make their proposal to surrender their chemical weapons arsenal and sign the gas treaty. Their offer was of course a direct response to Obama’s threat to strike Syria. The UN and Congress may not believe that Obama will hit Syria regardless of their objections. But Assad and Putin believed him.

Now we have to decide whether the Syrian offer is merely a delaying tactic. The former constitutional law professor from Chicago may make some constitutional law history.