And that's what makes Putin's next move so important, crucial really. Because whatever he does will send a message to Washington that he's either up to the challenge or he's not. Which is why he needs to come out swinging and do something completely unexpected. The element of surprise, that's the ticket. And we're not talking about military action either. That just plays to Uncle Sam's strong hand. Putin doesn't need another Vietnam. He needs a coherent game plan. He needs a winning strategy. He needs to takes risks, put it all on the line and roll the freaking dice. You can't lock horns with the US and play it safe. That's a losing strategy. This is smash-mouth, steelcage smack-down, a scorched-earth event where winner takes all. You have to be ready to rumble.
Putin needs to think asymmetrically. What would Obama do if he was in Putin's shoes?
You know what he'd do: He'd send military support to Assad. He'd arm rebel factions in Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Nigeria and elsewhere. He'd strengthen ties with Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador -- providing them with military, intelligence and logistical support. He'd deploy his NGOs and Think Tank cronies to foment revolution wherever leaders refused to follow Moscow's directives. He would work tirelessly to build the economic, political, media, and military institutions he needed to impose his own self-serving version of snatch-and-grab capitalism on every nation on every continent in the world. That's what Obama would do, because that's what his puppet masters would demand of him.
But Putin must be more discreet, because his resources are more limited. But he still has options, like the markets, for example. Let's say Putin announces that creditors in the EU (particularly banks) won't be paid until the ruble recovers. How does that sound?
Putin: "We're really sorry about the inconvenience, but we won't be able to make those onerous principle payments for a while. Please accept our humble apologies." End of statement.
Moments later: Global stocks plunge 350 points on the prospect of a Russian default and its impact on the woefully under-capitalized EU banking system.
Get the picture? That's what you call an asymmetrical attack. The idea was even hinted at in a piece on Bloomberg News. Here's an excerpt from the article:
"Sergei Markov, a pro-Putin academic, wrote in a column on Vzglyad.ru. 'Since the reasons for the ruble's fall are political, the response should be political, too. For example, a law that would ban Russian companies from repaying debts to Western counter-parties if the ruble has dropped more than 50 percent in the last year. That will immediately lower the pressure on the ruble, many countries have done this, Malaysia is one example. It's in great economic shape now." (Is Russia ready to impose capital controls? Chicago Tribune)
Here's more background from RT:
"Major banks across Europe, as well as the UK, US, and Japan, are at major risk should the Russian economy default, according to a new study by Capital Economics. The ING Group in the Netherlands, Raiffeisen Bank in Austria, Societe General in France, UniCredit in Italy, and Commerzbank in Germany, have all faced significant losses in the wake of the ruble crisis...
"Overall Societe General, known as Rosbank in the Russian market, has the most exposure at US$31 billion, or $25 billion, according to Citigroup Inc. analysts. This is equivalent to 62 percent of the Paris-based bank's tangible equity, Bloomberg News reported.
"Following the drop, Raiffeisen, which has $15 billion at risk in Russia, saw its stocks plummeted more than 10 percent. Raiffeisen also has significant exposure in Ukraine, which is facing a similar currency sell-off as Russia." (Russia crisis leaves banks around the world exposed by the billions, RT)
So Putin defaults, which nudges the EU banking system down the stairwell. So what? What does that prove?
It proves that Russia has the tools to defend itself. It proves that Putin can disrupt the status quo and spread the pain a bit more equitably. "Spreading the pain" is a tool the US uses quite frequently in its dealings with other countries. Maybe Putin should take a bite of that same apple, eh?
Another option would be to implement capital controls to avoid ruble-dollar conversion and further capital flight. The beauty of capital controls is that they take power away from the big money guys who run the world and hand it back to elected officials. Leaders like Putin are then in a position to say, "Hey, we're going to take a little break from the dollar system for while until we get caught up. I hope you'll understand our situation."
Capital controls are an extremely effective of avoiding capital flight and minimizing the impact of a currency crisis. Here's a short summary of how these measures helped Malaysia muddle through in 1998:
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