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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Mt. Ashland Ski Area to open one lift Friday Watch SOU championship on big screen at HEC in Medford Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Matthew T. Mangino: The future of the death penalty in question? Free guided day hikes planned at TouVelle, Valley of the Rogue Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Matthew T. Mangino: The future of the death penalty in question? Emergency services Man pleads guilty to gang-fight charges Emergency Services Police utilize social media to track down sex offender Politics and Elections State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change GMO labeling votes recounted under careful watch in Jackson County Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn’t mean what you think it means Education Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Logos may offer students 'fifth year' at RCC or SOU St. Mary's plays host to youth robotics tournament A lesson in giving Hedrick student council works to clean up the language Environment No fish, no funding for problem dams Most residents speak against gas pipeline Coalition asks for defense of GMO ban Home Help: Make your new house feel like home Bighorn sheep reintroduced along Klamath River State News As deadline nears, Oregon's health insurance signups still low Gang-related shooting in Portland sends 3 youth to hospital GMO labeling proponents concede defeat Tribes can decide whether to legalize pot Lawyer says football player had altercation Nation - World Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting Obituaries Dolores Jean Marier Christina Lea "Mima" Jacobson Donna Jeanne Brawn DeCamp Joan E. 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Jim Brock: Just enjoy the holiday, already Our View: Celebrate by helping those in need Letters to the Editor, Dec. 17 Editorials Our View: Celebrate by helping those in need Our View: Ashland Hospital's remarkable turnaround Our View: Councilors' criticism less troubling than secrecy Other Views: Riley leaves strong legacy at OSU Our View: Cheers and jeers Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Dec. 17 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 16 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 15 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 14 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 12 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Loved one chose death with dignity in Oregon Guest Opinion: Forest thinning means water for the future Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Guest Opinion: SOU pool decision short-sighted Guest Opinion: It's time for biologists to let OR-7 go dark Lifestyle Latest stories Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Community blog: Liver pat� an easy nosh for Hanukkah and beyond How NOT to install drywall 5 Things to Do This Weekend (Dec. 19-21) Dave Ramsey: When children steal money Food Community blog: Liver pat� an easy nosh for Hanukkah and beyond Local bubbly can ring in the New Year Food for Thought: How to keep your kitchen organized during the holidays Kitchen Call: Shopping for the cook Community blog: Gobble gougeres as appetizers or with light meals Home and Garden How NOT to install drywall Dear Monty: Siblings dispute inherited real estate Home Help: Create a happy homemade holiday Rogue Valley Christmas light displays Remodeling your attic: Know the details before you start Health Community blog: The Promise of Hope � and Health - Fulfilled Community blog: Saving Lives Health Watch: Curb your kitchen cravings this holiday season Community blog: Unsubscribe.com Community blog: Redefining Family Hiking Biking Faith Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Religion news: Pope aims to expedite sex abuse rulings Milestones and Achievements Ashland celebrates 'Wild' screening with Cheryl Strayed Asante merger stabilizes Ashland hospital's finances Time running out for O&C funds Hire 'em and pray for snow Madi-Stiles Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Seattle rock band Smokey Brights plays Howiee's ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Eight Dollar Mountain and Fruition play Applegate Lodge Dance to the Southern Oregon Jazz Orchestra John Nilsen's holiday concerts kick off this week Theater ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Meet the real Jacob Marley This Nutcracker ballet will have a superhero twist Plumbing the depths of meaning TMTO presents 'A Christmas Carol: The Musical' Music Seattle rock band Smokey Brights plays Howiee's Eight Dollar Mountain and Fruition play Applegate Lodge John Nilsen's holiday concerts kick off this week Ashland Blues Society hosts open jam Rating old-timers’ albums from 2014 Community Events Dance to the Southern Oregon Jazz Orchestra Rogue Valley Christmas light displays It's a Hamazon holiday at the Playwright Public House 4 Things to do this Week Soroptimist holiday home tour features four houses this weekend Dining Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Ooblies Artisan Waffle Sandwiches Brunch at Loft Brasserie The Bohemian Club Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Mt. Ashland Ski Area to open one lift Friday ... Watch SOU championship on big screen at HEC in Medford ... Our View: Celebrate by helping those in need ... Mt. Ashland Ski Area to open one lift Friday ... Watch SOU championship on big screen at HEC in Medford ... Our View: Celebrate by helping those in need ... ANOTHER VIEW Charles Krauthammer: Ukraine abandoned MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 7, 2014 @ 12:01 am Posted Sep. 7, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News At his first press briefing after the beheading of American James Foley, President Obama stunned the assembled when he admitted that he had no strategy in Syria for confronting the Islamic State. Yet it was not nearly the most egregious, or consequential, thing he said. Idiotic, yes. You're the leader of the free world. Even if you don't have a strategy — indeed, especially if you don't — you never admit it publicly. However, if Obama is indeed building a larger strategy, an air campaign coordinated with allies on the ground, this does take time. George W. Bush wisely took a month to respond to 9/11, preparing an unusual special ops-Northern Alliance battle plan that brought down Taliban rule in a hundred days. We'll see whether Obama comes up with an Islamic State strategy. But he already has one for Ukraine: Write it off. Hence the more shocking statement in that Aug. 28 briefing: Obama declaring Russia's invasion of Ukraine — columns of tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery and a thousand troops brazenly crossing the border — to be nothing new, just "a continuation of what's been taking place for months now." And just to reaffirm his indifference and inaction, Obama mindlessly repeated his refrain that the Ukraine problem has no military solution. Yes, but does he not understand that diplomatic solutions are largely dictated by the military balance on the ground? Vladimir Putin's invasion may be nothing new to Obama. For Ukraine, it changed everything. Russia was on the verge of defeat. Now Ukraine is. That's why Ukraine is welcoming a cease-fire that amounts to capitulation. A month ago, Putin's separatist proxies were besieged and desperate. His invasion to the southeast saved them. It diverted the Ukrainian military from Luhansk and Donetsk, allowing the rebels to recover, while Russian armor rolled over Ukrainian forces, jeopardizing their control of the entire southeast. Putin even boasted that he could take Kiev in two weeks. Why bother? He's already fracturing and subjugating Ukraine, re-creating Novorossiya  ("New Russia"), statehood for which is one of the issues that will be up for, yes, diplomacy. Which makes incomprehensible Obama's denial to Ukraine of even defensive weapons — small arms, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. Indeed, his stunning passivity in the face of a dictionary-definition invasion has not just confounded the Ukrainians. It has unnerved the East Europeans. Hence Obama's reassurances on his trip to the NATO summit in Wales. First up, Estonia. It seems to be Obama's new red line. I'm sure they sleep well tonight in Tallinn now that Obama has promised to stand with them. (Remember the State Department hashtag #UnitedforUkraine?) To back up Obama's words, NATO is touting a promised rapid reaction force of about 4,000 to be dispatched to pre-provisioned bases in the Baltics and Poland within 48 hours of an emergency. (Read: Russian invasion.) First, we've been hearing about European rapid reaction forces for decades. They've amounted to nothing. Second, even if this one comes into being, it is a feeble half-measure. Not only will troops have to be assembled, dispatched, transported and armed as the fire bell is ringing. The very sending will require some affirmative and immediate decision by NATO. Try getting that done. The alliance is famous for its reluctant, slow and fractured decision-making. (See: Ukraine.) By the time the Rapid Reactors arrive, Russia will have long overrun their yet-to-be-manned bases. The real news from Wales is what NATO did not  do. It did not create the only serious deterrent to Russia: permanent bases in the Baltics and eastern Poland that would act as a tripwire. Tripwires produce automaticity. A Russian leader would know that any invading force would immediately encounter NATO troops, guaranteeing war with the West. Which is how we kept the peace in Europe through a half-century of Cold War. U.S. troops in West Germany could never have stopped a Russian invasion. But a Russian attack would have instantly brought America into a war — a war Russia could not countenance. It's what keeps the peace in Korea today. Even the reckless North Korean leadership dares not cross the Demilitarized Zone, because it would encounter U.S. troops and trigger war with America. That's what deterrence means. And what any rapid reaction force cannot provide. In Wales, it will nonetheless be proclaimed a triumph. In Estonia, in Poland, as today in Ukraine, it will be seen for what it is — a loud declaration of reluctance by an alliance led by a man who is the very embodiment of ambivalence. Charles Krauthammer's email address is [email protected]. 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